Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/468886
25 AGGREGATES MANAGER March 2015 MINE MANAGEMENT Tire wear and fuel efficiency rely a great deal on the operator. So train your operators. Who would disagree? Train- ing is a bit like mom and apple pie. Everyone loves it, and none would dispute the value. Yet, it is easy to check the box and forget to make it useful. If the effectiveness of training could be measured, its value would be ap- parent and hard to overlook. But how do you do it? Fuel consumption is a great proxy for the overall effi- ciency of machine operation. Everyone understands it. Fuel is personal and tangible: unless you are a rock star, you routinely fill your own car. It's visible and immedi- ate: machines are filled every day or two. You don't need months or years to uncover trends. And, it has a big im- pact on the overall cost as Figure 1 shows. Taken togeth- er, this makes it a good metric to track and optimize. When operator training is scheduled, be sure to mea- sure or sample fuel consumption before and after the training. Experience shows that, when operators receive refresher training on how to run a machine proper- ly, fuel consumption will go down while accomplish- ing the same work as before. This delta gives a tangible ROI to any time or money invested in the training. Each year in the Quarry Academy (www.quarryacademy. com), we review actual case studies where fuel savings in excess of $10,000 per machine, per year, were realized due to operator training, with no loss in productivity. The reasons are various, but add up to real money (see Load & Haul - Operator Efficiency). Some are basic, but it is easy to miss the impact unless put in dollar terms. Do the math! Operator variability Are all operators created equal? Like other profes- sionals, operators strive to do their job in the best manner possible, but there are differences. As said previously, continuous improvement is vital in all areas of aggregate operations. This is especially true with operator performance. Training must go beyond the basics and assess not only skill, but gauge wheth- er it is progressing in the right direction. What is needed is an ongoing training program based on measurables. This is particularly important because perception and reality may not always coincide. An operator believed to be doing well may, in fact, have the wrong kind of im- pact on the performance and cost of your operations. Recently, Volvo Construction Equipment conducted an in-depth study to quantify variability in operator skills. Seventy-three operators self-described their skill level as novice, average, or professional. They then operated iden- tical wheel loaders in three typical quarry applications: - Re-handling crushed stone (stockpiling); - Load-and-carry crushed stone (as if to a hopper); - Truck loading blasted rock (at the quarry face). Extensive measurements were taken over sever- al days testing. Operator performance was quantified in terms of productivity (tons per hour) and fuel effi- ciency (tons per liter or gallon). Looking at ton-per-li- ter or ton-per-gallon is more indicative of operator performance than a simple fuel-per-hour result. Observations from the study: 1. There was a high correlation between skill and re- sults. Training that increases competence ben- efits both production and fuel efficiency. 2. Skill "self-evaluation" is not very reliable. The study found a significant overlap amongst all catego- ries. If an operator is deemed good enough, what proof is there? The difference may be dramatic. 3. There were dramatically different results for novices vs. pro- fessionals. While this result was expected, it is now quan- tified. Productivity varied up to 700 percent among these groups, while fuel efficiency varied up to 200 percent. 4. Average operators had dramatically lower results than professionals. Again, productivity varied up to 300 per- cent while fuel efficiency varied up to 150 percent. This poses the question: Can an 'average' operator keep up; or what does it cost in fuel (or downtime) when he tries? 5. Among "professionals" only, results varied dramatically. Productivity varied up to 100 percent, and fuel efficiency varied more than 70 percent. Even among profession- als, there is clearly significant scope for improvement. 6. Individual operators' results varied up to ±15 per- cent. Again, this should be no surprise but was quan- tified; we all have good days and bad days! Some of these conclusions are obvious, but oth-