Sometimes addressing one haulage issue or opportunity has a flow-on effect that generates additional value.
One recent project with a Tier 1 miner in the US involved modifying a Hercules Truck Bed design to achieve higher payload capacity while transitioning to Autonomous Haulage Systems (AHS). The new design also improved the safety of maintenance activities to extend the truck beds’ life.
Schlam customised the Hercules truck beds to be compatible with the site’s AHS infrastructure, asset lifecycle strategy and conditions. This new design was then trialled against the traditional OEM truck beds to compare the potential payload capacity of each option against the site’s target.
In an innovative study using highly sensitive scales and scanning hardware, both the Hercules and OEM beds achieved an average target payload in line with the site objective of 260 tons. However, the study found Schlam beds were between 4.6 and 6 tons lighter than the OEM beds. This enabled the Schlam beds to better comply with the 10/10/20 payload policy in comparison with the OEM beds.
While this study validated the performance of the Hercules based on weight, one of the key changes to the successful design was based on wear management. Traditional large steel plate liners were traditionally included in the beds sourced from the OEM at the time of commissioning. To extend the life of the OEM truck beds, these liners need to be replaced as they wear. Independent studies have shown this activity comes with high safety risk associated with stored energy.
The weight of the modified Hercules was redistributed into the bed floor which was 28% thicker than the average. This ensured they achieved the optimal operational hours before maintenance intervention was required. The option to install a wear management system to extend the life of the beds remained. However, the need to remove liners was eliminated which reduces cost and significantly improves safety.
What started as a study in payload became an opportunity to also think differently about maintenance and asset life strategies. By developing a comprehensive, data-driven solution, Schlam identified opportunities for the mine to gain value from both improved payload capacity and lower maintenance costs.
