3 Nifty dash keeps mine humming: Steve Sullivan knows how to slash downtime.A 27-year veteran heavy equipment mechanic at Newmont Mining Newmont Mining Corporation NYSE: NEM, based in Denver, Colorado, USA, is one of the world's largest producers of gold, with active mines in, Nevada, Indonesia, Australia/New Zealand, Ghana, and Peru. Some smaller operations include Bolivia, Mexico, and Canada. has come up with a revolutionary "plug-and-play" dashboard for underground mining equipment that saves time and money. Steve Sullivan Steve Sullivan (born July 6, 1974 in Timmins, Ontario, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League and has played for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. has always had concerns about the electrical systems of underground mining equipment. He says they are prone to damage and deterioration as a result of the harsh environment below surface. It is the major cause of underground fires. Since he and some of his colleagues have put the new system into use at the Holloway Mine, 60 kilometres north of Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake, mining town, E Ont., Canada. An important gold-mining center, gold was discovered there in 1911 and again in the 1980s at Harker. The mining of iron ore and tourism are two other important industries. , the company has significantly reduced machinery downtime The time during which a computer is not functioning due to hardware, operating system or application program failure. . Although Newmont has not disclosed total cost saving figures, they did say a repair on a load haul dump vehicle takes less than an hour compared to the usual 44 hours. Sullivan says that can mean saving up to $200,000 per job, or $5,000 saved per hour of downtime avoided. "(The company ends up) just paying a mechanic's wages--and we don't make $5,000 an hour," Sullivan says. Traditional systems are hard-wired together. When one part malfunctions, mechanics have to take apart the whole system. With the new plug and play system, mechanics broke the electrical panel into a series of modules that plug into each other. "If (one module) was broken or cut, rather than tear it all apart and spend a lot of time on it, you can just grab a spare one and plug it in," Sullivan says. The damaged module is shipped alone for repair. As Sullivan was developing the dash, many of the electrical systems installed on company vehicles in the mine were nearing the end of their usable life. It was a perfect time to implement the new invention New Invention may refer to:
The Atlas Copco Group, founded already in 1873, is a global industrial group of companies headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. , along with several single boom jumbos, a scissorlift and an emulsion emulsion: see colloid. emulsion Mixture of two or more liquids in which one is dispersed in the other as microscopic or ultramicroscopic droplets (see colloid). Emulsions are stabilized by agents (emulsifiers) that (e.g. truck have been refitted with the new electrical dashboards. Many of the vehicles have similar plug and play components, which simplifies the electrical system and maintenance. "Our mechanics are good, but they have to focus on hydraulic systems, transmissions and everything else." Sullivan has been nominated for theNewmont Chairman's Award for the innovative plug and play dash system. Original equipment manufacturers will eventually catch onto the new electrical panel, Sullivan says, but for now they are still hardwiring the vehicles and equipment. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Holloway's maintenance department has been manufacturing spare components in-house, but would prefer to farm out the work. The plug and play dash could also have applications in forestry, since both industries experience downtime loss as a result of damaged electrical systems on vehicles. Newmont employees do not care to commercialize the innovation. Rather, they would prefer to share their experience and knowledge with other mines to improve safety. Mines and Aggregates Safety Health Association statistics indicate 22 per cent of fatalities and serious accidents in Ontario mines are equipment-related. Two-thirds of all underground fires are caused by mobile equipment. Severe fires could shut down the mine for weeks causing serious injuries to workers who have inhaled in·hale v. in·haled, in·hal·ing, in·hales v.tr. 1. To draw (air or smoke, for example) into the lungs by breathing; inspire. 2. fumes fumes odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema. and smoke. If this system is a way to reduce fires or eliminate them all together, Sullivan says, developing it was more than worth it. www.newmont.com QUICK FACTS Newmont Mining Kirkland Lake Founded: 1921 Steve Sullivan, mechanic No. of Employees: 14,000 World Wide www.newmont.com By KELLY LOUISEIZE Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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