The right part at the right time

Komatsu is collaborating with Centennial Coal to launch Springvale mine into a new era of digital harmony.

Centennial Coal faced a challenge at its Springvale mine in New South Wales: parts were wearing out faster than expected.

Springvale uses longwall mining methods to extract coal, but an expansion into new territory had brought with it harder lithology, meaning harder wear on critical parts and equipment.

“We really went through hell on the first block,” Springvale mechanical engineering superintendent – production Hayden Ticehurst told Australian Mining. “Our usual maintenance program didn’t cut it, and we needed data quickly.”

That’s when the coal miner contacted mining equipment solutions specialist Komatsu.

Starting with the implementation of a simple tool for gathering data on part usage, the team at Komatsu quickly realised the mine would need a more holistic solution to keep Springvale on track.

Enter the company’s asset management program (AMP) which, according to Komatsu’s reliability engineer Rob Hancock, allows Springvale to look at the intricacies of its operations like never before.

“We gather machine metrics, such as tonnes produced, from a customer’s machine and combine it with data gathered from tailored maintenance and production inspections on site,” Hancock told Australian Mining. “By tracking each piece of equipment and its parts, we can generate a HART (health and remaining time) report that predicts wear.

“We then use that data to predict any unforeseen problems the mine may face and schedule maintenance and part replacement accordingly, reducing unplanned breakdowns.”

Komatsu’s AMP takes every aspect of the mining chain into consideration, helping Springvale improve equipment availability, reduce unplanned downtime, and mobilise actively, rather than reactively, to the wear of parts.

Komatsu field service coordinator Craig Roberts was on-site to implement the AMP. He said a key pillar of the AMP’s success comes from building up a site-specific resource.

“The AMP builds a history based on conditions,” Roberts told Australian Mining. “It’s not a history of what wear Komatsu might get out of a certain part nation-wide; it’s about giving the customer tailored information they can use to plan maintenance, overhaul costs, and plan for the future.

“It has been a massive step-change to take Springvale’s asset management from an excel spreadsheet to a fully realised mobile rounds platform that’s set for the service engineer.

“The whole process has since been streamlined with data able to be input into tablets underground and uploaded as soon as they reconnect with Wi-Fi, allowing greatly improved timeliness in getting reports to the customer.”

As Komatsu ramps up the AMP’s scope, it has the potential to integrate data from a range of metrics like vibration, oil, and digitised work procedures.

An embedded service engineer is now also on-site three days a week to help Springvale make the most of its new world of data.

“That ongoing support is there to assist Springvale with every aspect of its asset management,” Roberts said.

“Clear communication lines in place help Springvale and Komatsu work together to optimise the mine’s parts and maintenance planning into the future.”

Before the implementation of the AMP, Ticehurst said Springvale wasn’t making full use of its service engineers.

“If you send your service engineers underground for tasks like changing oil and parts, you’re missing out on the opportunity to break the mould of predictive maintenance,” he said.

“By treating our original equipment manufacturer (OEM) engineers like the experts – and not just labour hire – we are leaning on their knowledge and we are able to get results we’ve never seen before.

“By approaching the AMP collaboratively with Komatsu, we have gone from a spreadsheet to a fully-fledged data collection and consultation process.”

Looking to the future, the relationship between Springvale and Komatsu is set to go from strength to strength as it continues to optimise the miner’s operations.

“It takes work to build up a data history and put a plan in place to use it and the team effectively,” Ticehurst said. “But the results are so worth it.”

This feature appeared in the September 2024 issue of Australian Mining.