The hidden cost of transporting equipment

In surface mining, load and haul operations are the engine of production. But in that engine, there is a persistent leak — one that costs operations time, money, and machine life every single day: moving tracked equipment across the site.

It is a challenge so baked into mining operations that many see it as inevitable. Moving an excavator/shovel to a new bench or pit face? Budget for hours of downtime, thousands in undercarriage wear, and a truck queue backing up while you wait.

“There are many issues with the typical way of moving equipment on a mine site that interfere with productivity and profitability,” said Jim Thompson, vice-president of mining sales at Brandt. “There is total cost of ownership, which is not only the cost of the machine, but also maintenance and repairs; mechanical availability — the downtime you experience during the time it takes to do that maintenance; and effective availability — using the machine in the most efficient and effective way. The ability to move equipment quickly and easily allows for more flexible and efficient mine planning that takes changes in production needs into account,” added Thompson.

Safety is also a concern. The vibration caused when moving a machine not only wears out components, but it also causes operator fatigue and even long-term health effects. “Reducing vibration improves work comfort and job satisfaction, leading to greater productivity and alertness, which reduces the chances of an incident,” Thompson said.

And then there are the CO2 emissions. The many hours spent moving machines can result in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of emissions per mining operation each year. “The mining industry is always looking for ways to eliminate waste and reduce its environmental footprint,” notes Thompson.

An alternative to crawling machines to get them from point A to B is to employ a transportation system using lowboy trailers or dollies, such as those by Sleipner Finland.

“We had a customer who used the Sleipner system to relocate a 570-tonne capacity machine. That move would normally have taken 40 hours. They now do it in 45 minutes. With a 12-hour workday, that means you can move 14 trucks in a single shift. When each truck carries thousands of dollars per load of materials, the time savings pays for the system in a single move,” Thompson says.

According to a calculator on the Sleipner website, using E-Series dollies to move a single 570-tonne excavator means a savings of money, time, and emissions over the course of a year. Here are the stats:

• Annual production increase: $2,613,600

• Annual undercarriage rebuild part savings: $231,000

• Life cycle costs reduction percentage: 10.75%

• Annual saved travelling time: 396 hours

• Fuel saved in year: 96,228 litres

• CO2 reduction in year: 257 tonnes

Sleipner’s DB Series Trailers have also been a hit with mining operations. “Operators appreciate the way these trailers are set up. With competing systems, you must disconnect the trailer and drive the equipment on the front, a process that takes 45 minutes and leads to safety concerns. With the Sleipner system, trailers are permanently connected with a rear-loading system, and you can load or unload the same piece of equipment in two minutes. Our customers really value the time savings and increased safety,” Thompson says.

A case example for Sleipner DB130 trailers shows that, for a fleet of 19 dozers, two dozers tram always and 11 full-time mechanics are required per shift. When a Sleipner trailer is used to transport dozers to a workshop for service, it saves 20% of time compared to field service, meaning two fewer mechanics are needed per shift. Using the DB130 increases dozer efficiency by at least 5% — the equivalent of two dozers — so, the same job can be done with 17 dozers instead of 19. That leads to a huge reduction in annual life cycle costs.

“I have been in mining for over 30 years, and rarely does a product come along that is this transformational and impactful, not only for mining operations, but also for the industry itself. It is simple and immediately effective,” concluded Thompson.

What it adds up to for the mining industry is a lower total cost of ownership, higher mechanical availability of equipment, more productivity, and increased effective machinery use — all the elements that make the engine of production run smoothly and efficiently. 

Sabrina Cataldo is a senior copywriter at Brandt.

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