OPTIMISING the operation of trucks on mine haulage routes in places as far-flung as the arctic circle is a pressing business need for the global mining industry facing rising cost pressures.

Fuel, maintenance and operational costs for mining haulage trucks can squeeze mining company profit margins and companies are looking for ways to control these unpredictable expenses.

Queensland-based mining consultancy, Smith Global, has developed a software solution aimed at addressing these haulage issues which can be critical at mine sites in remote locations with challenging weather conditions and difficult terrain.

Smith Global managing director, Kerren Smith, said its specialist haulage software, called Optimizer, can unlock savings for miners seeking to trim their haulage costs.

The software has delivered extensive savings in fuel, maintenance and time for its clients that include top tier mining companies.

“What we have as a value proposition, is that we are a design house, particularly focused around transport,” Mr Smith said.

The company’s clients are in the mine transport and haulage industries, and Smith Global is seeking to expand its product offering to the large mining company sector.

The Optimizer software is customised for each client and is capable of quickly analysing a miner’s haulage operations to highlight areas for efficiency improvements leading to greater productivity.

The package can provide what-if scenarios to allow the modelling of different haulage routes and comparison of different vehicle combinations.

Project implementation

There are three distinct phases to implementing a project using Optimizer: assess; analyse and outcomes.

The Optimizer process starts with defining project goals and the needs of a client including, auditing a trucking fleet’s performance and equipment used in the handling process to establish a baseline, before moving on to a comprehensive analysis of various haulage routes.

The second stage is to carry out a methodical comparison of potentially viable options collaboratively with client staff, from workshop personnel to senior managers.

When initial baseline performance data is gathered into the Optimizer system and client objectives set, an in-depth analysis can begin on evaluating different haulage options.

This next step involves using the software’s proprietary specialist tools to process data and produce findings within the scope of the client’s project requirements.

The third stage of the process is the evaluation of these haulage route options and findings to identify areas of cost savings and efficiency improvements such as clearing bottlenecks.

This final stage covers many different aspects, including, gradients, road surface conditions, speed restrictions, corner radii, and obstacles such as bridges.

In addition, the company’s self-designed software package, REVS, allows the input of data such as specific GPS coordinates to build up a simulation of haulage routes for individual mine sites.

REVS stands for Route, Environment and Vehicle Simulator and has been developed in-house by Smith Global.

The REVS software can calculate and compare laden and unladen trip times for trucks, and highlight the productivity of different haulage configurations such as powertrain, trailer type and payload.

Data output from the software can include detailed information on comparative fuel burn for different routes, brake usage, payload throughput, and information on stockpiling footprints for material.

All these outputs can be used by clients to increase their competitive advantage through innovative haulage route design that improves productivity and saves on costs.

The Optimizer process is key to the Smith Global Whole-of-Life cost modelling system, which allows clients to accurately assess the relative cost options for replacing or extending the life of mining equipment.

Mr Smith, who has 45 years’ mining industry experience, said the company take in relevant information, put it into its software package with the various haulage positions to be used, and then provide a full route outcome.

“For any position along  a haulage route we can tell you exactly what gear you are in for what period of time and at what speed,” he said.

The technology found that the driving styles can vary considerably for different drivers on the same haulage route, revealing a human factor at play in haulage performance.

The software is particularly tailored towards evaluation of long-haul trucks rather than earth moving equipment.

Smith Global has expanded its business in the past 18-months with the intention of targeting the top tier of the global mining industry with its haulage software package and has already had some success in this new strategy.

The company has carried out significant feasibility studies for miners using its optimisation software, including studies into the expected lifespan of mining equipment, and maintenance reviews.

In one whole-of-mine life equipment case study, the consultancy studied data for 40,000 hours of equipment operations at a minesite to analyse costs and audit maintenance plans.

“Australia is a good place for mining companies to test their equipment because we have got arduous conditions with long distance, high temperatures, but we do have good regulation,” Mr Smith said.

For this reason, a lot of mining and transport companies visit Australia to test their equipment, as they can effectively drive long distances to get good baseline data for vehicle testing.

Among the company’s other work is holistic design and identifying process improvements, and also forensic type work such as identifying the reasons for equipment failures.

Overworked trucks operating on inefficient routes can result in higher maintenance bills and repair costs, not to mention increased driver fatigue that can become a health and safety issue.

Conversely, miners aware of these issues can occasionally go too far in the opposite direction by over-servicing their trucking fleets and taking trucks out of service for more times than is necessary.

The OPTIMIZER process is about using quality data evaluation to make optimum decisions.

Real world results

Smith Global has deployed its haulage software to remote mining sites such as an iron ore mine on Baffin Island in Canada’s Arctic north, located 700km from north pole, involving a 100km haulage route for trucks.

In this project, Smith Global had to deal with difficult road conditions with the route affected by seasonal cold weather and road curvatures, gradients and surfaces that made it difficult to deliver consistent productivity.

The project with the Canada-based iron ore miner lasted for two years and covered an in-depth analysis of road conditions, time wastage and shift-work patterns.

“Over a two-year period we virtually doubled their productivity,” Mr Smith said.

“We went through a program of getting rid of corners and certain levels of the jump ups and what that did to traction,” he said.

The consultancy discovered through its data that trip times on the iron ore haulage route in Canada could vary considerably, which had to be factored into its findings.

By making incremental improvements to the haulage route and equipment the consultancy was able to increase speeds in certain stretches, trim journey times, avoid bottlenecks and increase productivity.

Time-modelling software provided by Smith Global can be used to predict cycle times for complex haulage routes resulting in recommendations to change the grade, layout and surface of roads.

Haulage history

Smith Global’s origins lie in building coal haulage equipment for Australian coal mines, and it became the largest supplier of oversize road transport equipment for use on coal mine haul routes.

Six years ago, the company identified an opportunity in the market to expand its consultancy business overseas in holistic design, and design analysis to overcome equipment failure.

This expertise has given the company a strong foundation on which to base its haulage software consultancy business.

“I think it is because we have a strong manufacturing background in bespoke equipment that means when we do productivity reviews, we can come up with potentially different styles of long-haul combinations that might not have been foreseen,” Mr Smith said.

A lot of the company’s consultancy review work is linked to its manufacturing expertise as it has specialist knowledge of the capabilities of transport equipment.

As a family-owned business with a 120-year history, Smith Global has worked in 21 countries and six continents across the mining and extractive industries, and other sectors such as the sugar industry.

“We have the knowledge and experience and tools we have developed over the years that have provided significant benefits to our clients,” Mr Smith said.

The company has extended its expertise to the diagnosis of problems with power equipment in underground mines.

Smith Global’s service also covers equipment risk assessment for transport and materials handling systems and for operational processes.

More information: Smith Global
Phone number: (07) 5482 1166 / +61 7 5482 1166
Email: Kerren Smith, managing director, kerren.smith@smithglobal.com.au
Website: www.smithglobal.com.au

The post Haulage revolution appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

AUTONOMOUS mining is a hot topic in industry circles as mine operators press ahead with adopting new technologies that allow them to achieve increased productivity and safety combined with reduced overheads and time savings.

A sometimes overlooked benefit of automation is the opportunity it offers mine workers for job enrichment, as all mine-site staff need to be trained up to operate safely in an environment of autonomous vehicles and excavators.

For example, a maintenance operator carrying out scheduled maintenance on autonomous trucks may have to manually drive autonomous vehicles out of the inspection bay and back to the mine.

Though not directly involved in the operation of autonomous equipment, these maintenance operators need to be trained in how to work with autonomous vehicles which involves them acquiring extra skills.

Immersive Technologies product manager Ravitha Sukumaran said a holistic approach is therefore needed to mine-site automation to ensure all workers are safely protected.

“One man’s mistake in an autonomous system can have a huge impact, as opposed to in manned operation,” she said.

“If one man makes a mistake, it can negatively impact the performance of that entire shift or day.”

Immersive Technologies plays a key role in providing training to operators and on-site mining staff to enable them to make the transition to autonomous operations.

The company’s exclusive focus in terms of its training is currently on mine-site workers, for example loader-operators and machine operators, and not office-based roles.

Operators interacting with the autonomous vehicles need to be trained to manage the step-up from working within manned operations.

Misconception about automationMrs Sukumaran said there is a common misunderstanding about the automation of mine sites.

“A lot of people have the misconception that autonomous systems eliminate people,” she said.

“It does for some roles – say truck operator roles, but for the remaining operating roles they need to be trained to a higher level of proficiency as compared to similar roles in manned operations, otherwise productivity is quickly diminished.”

Also, there can be a lack of preparedness on the part of some industry players in terms of anticipating some of the challenges of mine-site automation for their personnel.

“Selecting the right people to do the right roles, effective training and suitable upskilling strategies are key to ensuring a highly proficient workforce,” Ms Sukumaran said.

“If personnel in an autonomous environment have a poor understanding of the autonomous system used, or if they incorrectly interact with autonomous trucks, they can easily pose safety issues and reduce operational efficiency.”

Range of servicesImmersive Technologies has expanded its repertoire of services from providing technology products to clients to offering consultancy and training services for mine-site workers.

“Our services are not just providing the technology, which is core to what we do,” Mrs Sukumaran said.

“We are in the business of delivering real results to our customers, so for anything that challenges the industry, we develop solutions to tackle the challenge.”

Technology is applied to client problems in a targeted way to ensure they receive a tailor-made solution to their autonomous operations issues.

Immersive Technologies has virtual reality-based machine inspection products and autonomous equipment simulators used to train mine workers.

The company sells or leases its simulators to mining companies and these are used to train operators on autonomous equipment.

Mining industry professionals are exposed to Immersive Technologies’ solutions at its experience centres which are located at five of its offices around the world.

Mining companies can lease additional simulators from the company for periods of high training demand and then return the technology.

The company’s simulators are a platform into which different machine modules are plugged to provide training on specific OEM machine make and model for operators.

“You can buy or lease a single simulator base platform and you can fit in different machine models, a bulldozer, shovel or grader,” Mrs Sukumaran said.

This modular solution enables clients to select the training module that suits them best.

Immersive Technologies regularly updates its training and technology on a world-wide basis, to ensure clients receive the latest tried-and-tested solutions that have been applied in a practical way.

By regularly updating its simulator software, the company ensures the technology on its simulators stays up-to-date and current with industry standards.

This approach is one of the ways in which Immersive Technologies differentiates its product offering to stand out from its competitors, and at the same time its approach saves clients’ money.

“For example, there are 20-plus-year-old Immersive Technologies simulator platforms in North America that are running machine modules with current software to solve current industry problems,” Mrs Sukumaran said.

The company currently supports 149 different machine models.

Immersive Technologies has diversified from simply selling products to clients to providing value-adding services that help deliver results in both manned and autonomous operations.

Many of these new products and services originated from customer needs and feedback.

Data analytics Operator Performance Analytics is the one of the latest services provided to clients, that has been developed in the past two years.

This involves the company analysing data from clients on the operation of their vehicle and equipment fleets to identify problems down to the level of individual equipment operator.

“We are in the business of looking at data from any fleet management system that the customer can provide, so we can look at problem areas and provide tailored training to address these,” Mrs Sukumaran said.

For example, one or two trucks in a client’s fleet may be breaking down frequently. Immersive Technologies can diagnose the human causes and suggest a solution.

“The way we present that data is intuitive. We provide a dashboard to the customer so they can identify specifically who requires what training interventions,” she said.

The company makes available to its clients best practice experiences sourced from case studies gathered from its network of global offices.

“Miners who are now considering moving to an autonomous haulage system commonly engage with Immersive Technologies early in their purchasing process, because we have worked with a great diversity of autonomous and manned operations around the world,” Mrs Sukumaran said.

“They ask ‘what are the challenges’ and ‘how can we prepare ourselves’”.

The company can advise clients on suitable approaches to training their workforces for automation.

Ms Sukumaran said there were several benefits of moving over to an autonomous mining system.

They include increased safety productivity and profitability, reduction of human-related errors in truck operations, and job enrichment for mine workers.

“Productivity is increased because trucks can run 24-7 with no breaks, and less variance introduced by human proficiency levels and behaviours” Ms Sukumaran said.

“An autonomous circuit is generally more predictable because all the human elements that come into play during truck operations are reduced.”

Unscheduled maintenance on trucks are reduced under autonomous haulage systems, as equipment is operated in a standardised way compared with the wear and tear from varying driving styles of different human operators.

Meanwhile, human operators can gain from acquiring new skills in automation, leading to potentially greater earnings.

More information: Immersive Technologies
Phone number: 08 9347 9000
Email: enquiries@immersivetechnologies.com
www.immersivetechnologies.com

The post Immersed in automation appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

SCANIA’S new 650hp and 730hp prime movers add a new dimension to off-road bulk haulage.

The New Generation fleet is the product of more than 10m km of testing and development with an increased focus on customer profitability.

The R 650 is, in the words of general manager, Robert Taylor, “a pretty cool bit of kit”.

Being able to haul a gross combination of up to 360t requires some heavy-duty hardware.

Scania began the R 650’s development process by trialling the truck with different loads including gold, coal and iron ore, and assessing the capabilities of the truck at various tonnages, with different driveline combinations.

After a two-year trial, the optimal combination of gear ratios, axles, hubs and engine specs was selected for the base cab/chassis model.

Clean power

Those two years of real-world trials on mine sites situated in Australia’s harshest locations has led to the development of a cab/chassis combination that ticks all the boxes when it comes to a built-for-purpose haul truck wish list.

First up is that incredible powerplant, the heartbeat and literal driving force that delivers such enormous pulling power.

With 16l of turbocharged diesel displacement, the Scania DC16 V8 develops a stump-pulling 3700Nm or torque and is available in 650hp (485kW) or 730hp (544kW) configurations.

So far, the 650hp variant is taking care of 200t nett loads on mine sites with aplomb.

Despite the fact that this superbly developed engine produces huge power, it is also fully Euro 6 compliant and actually uses 3pc less fuel as a result of this refined state of tune.

The Euro 6 standard is the most stringent ever imposed and reduces the acceptable limit for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) from .18g/km to only .08g/km.

“Scania has been using the Euro 6 standard in its retail fleet for some time in response to customer needs”, Mr Taylor said.

“The lower emissions are important for customers when bidding for tenders, as environmental considerations are always relevant.

“Many companies, including Coles and Woolworths, specify these requirements for all their contractors.”

Heavy duty drivelineTo cope with the increased engine power and the resultant load pulling power, Scania utilised its new GRS0935R gearbox design, which is 40pc stronger than the gearbox used in previous models.

The gearbox features an optional overdrive to maximise the huge torque on hand and therefore further enhance fuel economy.

Larger hubs have also been introduced, with higher load rated axles and a 6.43 final drive ratio.

Once again, the aim was to provide a complete driveline capable of withstanding constant driving under enormous load and in extremely hot and dusty conditions.

Australian mining truly is the acid test for hard working transport equipment.

These new RBP900 drive hubs give each rear axle a load rating of 21,000kg for a total rear bogie weight of 42t.

Up front, the axle has a 12,000kg load rating.

Designed primarily as an off-road vehicle, the R 650 has already been put to work in mining operations around the country, including hauling bauxite 140km north of Weipa, in Qld – a location which is only accessible by boat or helicopter, which makes reliability a highly critical factor.

Despite 200t payloads, the prime mover operates comfortably at up to 80kmh on the haul road, though speed restrictions see it sitting at 60kmh during normal service.

Pre-sales and after-sales client service

The R 650-Series trucks are highly developed prime movers, designed specifically for mine haulage but there are many options and variables that can be incorporated to deliver a truck that is absolutely tailor-made for a particular client and working environment.

It begins with a visit to site by qualified Scania technical personnel, who assess the job at an holistic level.

Factors such as road gradients, corner radii, road surface conditions and load requirements are all part of the data collected before a document is signed or a spanner turned.

From there, Scania’s engineers will fine tune the R 650 cab/chassis to produce a truck that suits that client’s exact requirements to provide years of reliable service:  a built-for-purpose solution.

Scania has recently established new vehicle preparation shops in Perth and Brisbane and has offices in every state capital in Australia, except Tasmania.

Local suppliers will work with Scania to modify the truck to the customer’s specifications.

Each client receives individual attention at each step of the process, with their own assigned agent liaising with them and keeping them abreast of progress on a weekly basis.

The client is kept constantly in the loop, providing them with peace of mind that the build process is being conducted in a timely manner.

Thanks to the wonders of modern telemetry and data transmission, every truck Scania build can be monitored at any time, anywhere in the country.

This allows Scania’s technical staff to work in conjunction with the truck’s operators to spot any issues and correct them in the least amount of time possible.

Preventative maintenance

Scheduled servicing is one facet of the after-sales service, highlighting the need for oil, brake, hydraulic and other system maintenance that is required for a particular vehicle under its particular operating conditions.

Scania takes this a step further by also incorporating a preventative maintenance schedule into its ongoing relationship with each client.

This allows the truck’s operator to schedule downtime for the replacement of known wear parts prior to failure.

Consequently, parts and labour can be on hand before the truck is pulled from service and other trucks can be re-scheduled to cover the shifts of the truck being maintained.

Ultimately, this leads to the best possible uptime for the truck and greater profitability for the truck owner or mine operator.

Driver training is another feature of Scania’s after-sales service.

This often overlooked aspect of bulk haulage is a very worthwhile investment as properly trained drivers are able to maximise the performance of the vehicle without placing undue loads on the engine, driveline or brakes.

Again, this translates directly into lower operating costs and greater productivity over the life of the truck.

“We also have an after-sales rep that works with me and will touch base with the clients on a regular basis,” Mr Taylor said.

“It doesn’t matter where you are, if you need us, we will come to site and assist.

“Keeping the customers on the road and making sure the truck is performing at its optimal level will always be the prime objective.”

Driver safetyScania developed the new R 650-Series of trucks with drivers at the core of the design.

Innovative features include an ergonomically designed cab that ensures driver comfort.

The seat position ensures that the driver can sit straight at all times, putting less strain on musculature.

This is known as the optimal driver position.

The interior also introduced a larger display screen with better graphics and easy to access controls to allow full attention on the road and high visibility.

The steering wheel incorporates push button controls and touch screen media.

There are also advanced safety features including top-rated steering wheel and side curtain air bags.

Keeping the driver comfortable helps productivity, reduces down time for haulage and helps meet health and safety requirements.

More information:

Scania Australia

Phone: (08) 9360 8536

Email: robert.taylor@scania.com.au

Website: www.scania.com.au

The post Bulk Power appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

CT general manager Chris Smart said that while the company purchased land, buildings, plant equipment from Bradken, it started from scratch when building a reputation.

“We have the right combination of expertise and customer service to offer technical solutions specific to each customer,” he said.

“We’re known as a foundry who can make things others can’t.”

CT’s goals are to expand on that record to provide customers with exemplary service in terms of quality and reliability, deliver on time, and maintain compliance to specification.

“We went from a loss in our first year to almost $6m in our third,” Mr Smart said.

“But now, customers are recognising our expertise and we’re starting to break into new markets.”

Modern equipment

The plant is modern, having benefited from an extensive capital expenditure program over the past 15-years in the areas of melting, moulding and heat treatment.

CT has an automated fast loop system in place, allowing for large orders using sand moulds (that can also incorporate multiple patterns and even different casting metals) and the ability to pour up to 5-tonnes at a time using a large induction furnace.

The company also has two 3-tonne furnaces with a total annual capacity of 3500t.

Over the past three years of operation, CT’s work has consisted of Caterpillar parts for underground trucks including axle housings, cross beams and tilt levers, as well as mining drag and hoist chain and rigging gear.

Drag chains of up to 5-inch link diameter and 21-links in length have been cast on site for customers around the world.

“Our capabilities include crusher liners, mill liners, apron feeder pans, rotary breaker liners, scrap shredder hammers and liners, rail and truck components – to name but a few,” Mr Smart said.

“Metals include carbon, low-quench and tempered steels, manganese steel, stainless and heat resisting steels, alloy white irons, and grey and SG iron.”

Technical expertise

Though many companies in the mining industry have turned to China for steel and iron castings, Mr Smart says CT stands apart by offering technical expertise and a heritage of the Bradken plant’s history of quality and service.

“The business employs previous experienced ex-Bradken staff, many of whom have worked at this facility for many years,” he said.

“Our many years of industry experience allows us to advise our customers on ways to improve efficiency and save money on most jobs, whether it is by reducing the number of patterns required through clever design or using specific techniques and metals.

“It is this experience that leads to a better quality product, with a longer service life that directly translates to lower operating costs over life of mine.

“Added to our capabilities, is our cost structure, which ensures that we remain competitive, especially for steel castings in the weight range of 50kg to 3t.

“Our prices are a viable alternative to importing and we are an ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturer – so our customers can be assured of exemplary service in terms of quality, reliability and on-time service delivery.”

CT also offers nightly shipping to Melbourne for trans-shipment by road or rail to all Australian destinations.

More information:

Castings Tasmania

(03) 6343 1570

www.castingstas.com.au

The post Renewed, revitalised, reborn appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

The company is a leading provider of civil, structural and mechanical engineering, tanks, project development, agricultural and forestry equipment, blasting and paint services, and specialist aluminium welding services.

Since purchasing Lust Low Loaders in 2007, the Davey Group has transformed the brand into Rhino Low loaders – the benchmark of Australian manufacturing.  The Davey Group’s facilities are unparalleled in their ability to manufacture heavy duty, custom built trailers and dollys, and to provide a full range of spare parts and services to clients.

At their specialist facility in Toowoomba, Rhino dollys and trailers are built to the highest standard by Australian tradespeople for Australian standards.

The custom-built dollys can be designed and manufactured to very particular client-specific needs, such as varying axle and wheel combinations and turntable types.

The Toowoomba workshop employs only the most skilled tradespeople to build the dollys on time and to spec – every time.

For tri-axle and quad-axle low loaders, a dolly can jack up the payload capability by 14 tonnes.

The tri-axle low loaders have the optional capability of hydraulic widening, and wide decks that can span up to 4.2m, which can accommodate suspension widening, which allows for a more stable platform for high and heavy loads such as excavators and mid-range machinery.

With the optional read steering, the trailers can increase the payload manoeuvrability which has become increasingly desirable in Australia in recent years.

When the job requires the most heavy duty transportation, fully customised design is often required.  The Rhino quad-axle designs are tailored to client needs and can haul loads of up to 37t, and up to 52t with a 2×4 dolly.

Like the tri-axle trailers, the quad-axle can feature deck-widening capabilities to 4.2m, and can accommodate suspension widening to stabilise the platform for high and heavy loads.

These trailers are seriously tough and can transport anything from a dump truck to a super yacht.

The company also has a range of hydraulic ramps that can be custom-fitted to low loaders, as well as a full maintenance, repair, sandblast and paint facility on-site.  The facility services and supports the manufacturing facility as a one-stop outlet for all trailer requirements.

The Davey Group also specialises in large, complex industrial equipment, storage solutions, materials handling, processing plants and supporting infrastructure.

The company’s depth of experience and its second-to-none capabilities bring significant value to projects where timeliness, workmanship, budget and flexibility are crucial drivers.

The Davey Group operates from a modern 39,000m² facility, which includes more than 8000m² of workshops with overhead service cranes, and 8000m² of hard stand area for storage and loading.

More information:

Phone: (07) 4634 7767
Email: info@thedaveygroup.com.au
Website: www.thedaveygroup.com.au

The post Heavy haulers appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

With catchy product names and slogans including “Hercules, the strongest tray in earth”, “Bullant, toughest underground” and “Barracuda, buckets with bite”, the company says it can provide solutions above and below ground and beyond, with support from parent company Schlam Group.

General manager Glenn Brearey said the company had positioned itself as a market leader in the sector by identifying new and innovative ways of solving common problems backed by exceptional customer service across the value cycle.

“Innovation is at our core and safety is a priority,” Mr Brearey said. “We focus on quality customer support and innovation – taking products further to maximise our customer’s productivity and payloads.

“Recently we designed a super lightweight Hercules body for an autonomous truck for an iron ore miner in the Pilbara. The Hercules body design was specific and customised to ensure that weight reduction did not affect the overall wear requirements or durability of the body.

“The trial data we have received shows the Hercules body exceeded all our expectations and has given us a new direction of improvement based on our proven existing design.”

Safety is a key driver for innovation for the company.

“We have developed a patented pin insertion tool to improve safety when removing and installing the Hercules bodies,” Mr Brearey said.

The pin insertion tool addressed a long-known safety issue in mining maintenance – removing the need to work under a suspended load. It reduced the need for manual handling and exposure to strains and other potential injuries when installing pivot pins.

“The wireless technology and some basic hydraulic principals remove the worker from a potentially dangerous position,” Mr Brearey said.

“Not only can we increase worker safety around that task, we can increase the value proposition for the product.”

DT HiLoad chief executive officer Ryan Schlam said the company excelled at innovation while remaining low risk for customers.

“We don’t take risks that could impact reliability because we understand that reliability is equally as important as productivity – they actually go hand in hand,” he said.

“We like to experiment with new things and lead the customers to achieve more, but we also act in a responsible way not to put customers’ operations at jeopardy through unnecessary engineering risks.”

The company is working on a range of high wearing, high strength steel as a natural evolution of its products.

“The material options we are working on will go in specific areas of our products where the wear characteristics of the materials matter most,” Mr Brearey said.

“We believe this will give our clients different options for material selection in key areas of the Barracuda buckets and Hercules bodies. This will further improve our products’ reliability and abrasion resistance and will aid weight reduction.”

Schlam support

Mr Schlam said the company’s key point of difference was how staff focussed on innovation above and beyond the core business of buckets and bodies.

“Given the extensive experience DT HiLoad and the wider Schlam group has in asset management, combined with our strong OEM and customer relationships, we can provide cost effective solutions and support,” Mr Schlam said.

While DT HiLoad specialises in OEM design and manufacture of heavy equipment, the support of Schlam Group means the company can adapt to changing market requirements and customer needs.

“With more and more miners looking at automated fleet options, we have continued to support this change in requirements and designed our Hercules bodies to meet this new demand,” Mr Schlam said.

“We see our core strength in our business as three pillars.

“We have a heavy steel processing and manufacturing arm, we also have an extensive capability for business management, project management, leadership, and thirdly we have a firm understanding of manufacturing, with international connections with manufacturing in countries like China.”

DT HiLoad is completing projects internationally in China and Central Asia which positions the company for global competitiveness.

“Our international presence is set to grow as we look to enter other key mining regions such as Africa and Central Asia,” Mr Schlam said.

More information:

Phone: 08 6148 5555

Email: info@dthiload.com

Website: www.dthiload.com

The post Beyond buckets and bodies appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.