truck cycle and delay automated data collection system in surface

Introduction

Data collection represents a significantendeavour in the mining industry. Manycompanies invest a considerable amount oftime and money in order to obtain data fromtheir operations. In the case of surface mining,operations need to collect different types ofdata, such as production rates, energy/fuelconsumption, cycle times, delays, number ofoperating hours, etc. Raw data, or field data,needs to be mined and filtered prior to thegeneration of daily, weekly, monthly, andyearly reports.

There are different methods that can beused for data collection, including operator’sdaily production log, engineer’s field timestudy, and an automated information system.In some surface mines, the equipment operatoris required to write down the starting andending times of every truck cycle. This isusually accomplished in an operator’s journal,which can be very distracting and time-consuming to maintain. The second approachrequires an engineer to constantly take time

measurements from several cycles in a singleshift in order to generate reliable data. Thistask is also highly time-consuming. Finally,data can be collected and transferred directlyfrom the mine site using an automatedinformation system (AIS). Informationtechnology (IT) provides the industry withhardware, software, and networkingcomponents, while the application ofinformation systems (IS) enables miningoperations to manage hardware and softwareto collect and process data. Both IT and IS helpthe industry retrieve field data in real time,and thereby eliminate paper-based reports.The development and implementation of ISand IT have made it possible to apply comput-erized systems capable of recording datadirectly from the equipment.

The Australian company APS hasdeveloped a series of sophisticated ITs capableof tracking and recording truck data such asGPS locations, production cycle time, idle time,delay times, and production records (APS,2011). This system’s infrastructure consists oftouch-screen displays, GPS antennae, radiocommunication, and multiple sensors locatedwithin the structure of the equipment. Theentire system is capable of reporting to acentralized server in real time (APS, 2011).Although this tool is highly sophisticated anduseful, a significant amount of employeetraining may be required before it can be used,and it can constitute a large capital investmentfor smaller operations. Another automatedinformation system has been developed byWenco International Mining Systems, whoprovide a FleetControl system that is capable ofcollecting activity, location, time, and

Truck cycle and delay automated datacollection system in surface coal miningby P.G. Terrazas Prado*, V. Kecojevic*, D. Bogunovic†, and P. Mongeon†

SynopsisThis paper presents the results of research on the development andapplication of a custom-made truck cycle and delay automated datacollection system (TCD-ADCS) in a surface coal mining. Truck cycleand delay field data are locally stored in trucks and thensynchronized and replicated through a wireless network into acentralized server containing an already-developed integratedproduction management system (IPMS). The system relies on motionsensing and distance travelled in order to automatically define thecycle starting/ending points, cycle time, position, and delay time.Connectivity and communication between loading equipment andtrucks are also established. Communication between the equipmentoperators and TCD-ADCS system is via a user-friendly graphicinterface. The hardware used for the development of this systemconsists of a rugged touch-screen personal computer, 2.4 GHz radiotransmitter antenna, and a commercial GPS receiver. The system wasdeveloped, tested, and deployed at a surface coal mine in the USA.

Keywordssurface coal mining, truck and shovel, data collection, informationsystems.

* Department of Mining Engineering, West VirginiaUniversity, Morgantown, WV, USA.

† North American Coal Corporation, Ackerman, MS,USA.

© The Southern African Institute of Mining andMetallurgy, 2013. ISSN 2225-6253. Paper receivedJan. 2013; revised paper received Sep. 2013.

881The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 113 NOVEMBER 2013 ▲

Truck cycle and delay automated data collection system in surface coal mining

production data directly from the field (Wenco, 2012a). Itcontrols several mining activities, and connects directly to anon-site and off-site WencoDB system (Wenco, 2012b), whichis a tool operated with a MS SQL server database. Like theAPS system, this monitoring system is well-suited for largersurface mines, and it also may require significant employeetraining. Hawkes et al. (1995) suggest using various IS suchas AMSKAN, DISPATCH, and PMCS 3000, which are allavailable on the market. Systems like VIMS (Vital InformationManagement System) by Caterpillar (2012) and Komtrax Plus(formerly VHMS) by Komatsu (2012) are also used forequipment data management. In addition to the abovemen-tioned systems, there are several other commercially availablesystems developed to collect, analyse, and report mineproduction data. However, the application of availablesystems restricts the client to using the data analysis andreporting features provided, restricting the opportunity toapply the IT that best fits the mine’s needs.

Development and integration of a custom-made AIS forfield data collection may prove to be more efficient than usingavailable systems on the market. It allows the mine to makechanges and adjustments that best fit the company’sbusiness model to generate more effective results. Thecurrent commercially available systems may be too compre-hensive for the needs of the mine, particularly smalleroperations. Furthermore, a custom-made system may notonly entail lower capital and maintenance costs, but couldalso be more user-friendly.

The Fimiston gold mine in Western Australia hasdeveloped and used its own surface mining reporting system(Karunaratna and Mattiske, 2002). It consists of acombination of data collection tools that have been adapted tomultiple development stages of the mine.

The Integrated Production Management System (IPMS)developed by Bogunovic (2008) was implemented for aspecific coal mining operation in the USA. The systemincludes production, energy consumption, and CO2 emissiondata from multiple items of equipment in the mine. Data fromvarious sources such as spreadsheets and paper-based formsis integrated into the IPMS and near real-time reports aregenerated. The mine recognized a need to develop customizedtechnologies that will facilitate automated data collection andtransfer directly from the field to the IPMS. Therefore, themain goal of this research study was to develop andimplement an automated information system that is able tocollect field data from dump trucks, and to transfer such datain real time through a wireless network (WLAN) to an IPMSlocated in an office environment. The specific researchobjectives were to:

(i) Establish communication between trucks, loaders,and a remote server, using a wireless network

(ii) Build a software application to collect truck cyclerecords such as loading time, dumping time, haultime, haul distance, load location, and dumplocation

(iii) Create a software application for delay time anddelay category recognition during regular operatinghours

(iv) Generate a user-friendly front-end interface fortruck and loader operators

(v) Select and integrate computer hardware such as

touch-screen displays, portable computers, GPSantennae, wireless modem PC-cards, andappropriate radio antennae (all hardware must bemounted in a secure form on trucks and loaders)

(vi) Establish communication between an automateddata collection system (ADCS) and the existingIPMS (the developed automated informationsystems must be able to synchronize data in realtime).

The system, called the Truck Cycle and Delay AutomatedData Collection System (TCD-ADCS), was specificallydeveloped for a coal company that owns a mine in thesouthern part of the USA.

Methodology

The TCD-ADCS is a custom-made system that fulfills thecompany’s business model. Data flow, naming conventions, avariety of codes, and many other details used for day-to-dayprocess are integrated in this system. In addition, the systemwas built within the company, and all maintenance andupgrades are provided by the mine’s IT personnel. Since theTCD-ADCS was designed around the company’s businessmodel, it can be applied to other mines within the samecompany.

There were four major phases (Figure 1) in building theTCD-ADCS system: design, development, testing, andintegration.

The design phase required detailed knowledge of both thefield data structure and the data management. In otherwords, there was a need to define what data to collect andhow to collect it from the field. The database file provided bymine management consisted of over 70 tables and

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882 NOVEMBER 2013 VOLUME 113 The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 1—Phases applied in building the TCD-ADCS system

corresponds to the IPMS database structure. These tablescontained employee data, crew definition, scheduling, andfield equipment.

It was required that the new TCD-ADCS be compatiblewith the existing IPMS system in order to maintain anidentical data structure and establish interaction between thetwo systems. Tables of interest were separated as incomingdata tables, and certain rules were set to maintain the dataintegrity of the existing database. Under no circumstancescan employee identification numbers, employees’ full names,equipment serial numbers, equipment categories, equipmentfleet, crew codes, etc. be altered in the equipment.Mechanisms that allowed interaction between the datacoming from the field and the office database wereestablished.

Also, the TCD-ADCS structure provides communicationbetween loading equipment and haul trucks. This techniqueconsists of using the available wireless ad-hoc network anddata synchronization methods instead of implementinghardware expansion for peer-to-peer communication. For theTCD-ADCS, loaders play an important role as primaryequipment for the generation of cycle records. The loadingequipment operator is in charge of pre-selecting and definingspecific material description and dumping location valuesduring truck cycle runs. Dump location and materialdescription data is transferred in the form of a messagebroadcast, which is the synchronization of data created bythe loader and retrieved by trucks from a centralized server.

Reliable wireless data transfer is essential, since this willavoid field data corruption. It is important to realize thatinstability of data routes can result in data loss. Equipmentmust be able to communicate to a centralized serverregardless of its location in the mine site. Unfortunately,network administrators do not have complete control overpossible events that may disrupt the on-site networkcomponents. In a surface mine, wireless network componentscan be easily affected by weather conditions, power supplyfailure, or hardware damage. In the case of such events, theTCD-ADCS is able to invoke a local data storing feature.

The required hardware for the TCD-ADCS system wasselected and divided into two categories: equipment hardwareand non-equipment hardware. Non-equipment hardwarerefers to ITs that establish the local area network (LAN),wireless network (WLAN), servers, modems, routers, andother passive and active network components. Most networkcomponents are located in an office environment. Some ofthem, like wide-range wireless receivers and repeaters, arelocated throughout the mine site. Equipment hardware refersto the combination of passive and active computercomponents added to the mining equipment (e.g. trucks andloaders). This cluster of components is similar to that of anoffice environment (e.g. computers, modems, and receivers).The design and development phases of this research projectrequired installation of hardware for wireless communication,GPS signal reading, data storage, and ultimate userinteraction (Figure 2). As a result, the following hardwareadditions for field equipment were selected: a Panasonicportable touch-screen computer (also as remote server), aGarmin GPS 18 USB receiver, a PCTEL 2.4 GHz radiotransmitter antenna, a Motorola Mesh WLAN PC modem, andmiscellaneous passive computer components.

The second phase of this research included thedevelopment of the following components in the TCD-ADCS:loading system application (LSA), truck system application(TSA), and synchronization agents. The combination ofthese three components led to the development of aproduction equipment environment (PEE) information systemremotely integrated with an office environment (Figure 3).

A loading system application (LSA) is a collection ofhardware, software, and a unique SQL server environment(Figure 4). This equipment environment is capable oftransmitting a loader message to the truck fleet through awireless network. The structure of a loading equipmentenvironment includes an end-user interface developed for MSWindowsTM applications, a database engine for equipmentapplication (EDB), data synchronization features, andhardware implementations.

The functionality of this system application was reducedonly to the pre-selection of a horizon and dump location fortruck production cycle data generation. Along with hardware


883The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 113 NOVEMBER 2013 ▲

Figure 3—Production equipment environment integration with IPMS

Figure 2—Equipment environment hardware requirements


and physical database implementations, the LSA is presentedthrough a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI, in directinteraction with the loader operator, is limited to a fewavailable options (menus and buttons) in order to decreasecomplexity and potential sources of distraction. The goal ofthe loader’s GUI is to allow a brief user-friendly interactionbetween the hardware (PC) and the operator whileaccomplishing the LSA objective.

A dump truck environment was introduced as the majordata collection feature in the TCD-ADCS. The truckenvironment includes computer hardware, truck systemapplication (TSA), and a physical local database engine. Thephysical development was accomplished using similartechniques to those of the development of the loadingequipment environment. Integrating a MS SQL server CEdatabase enabled the real-time data synchronization to theremotely located temporary database TDB (Figure 5).

In contrast to the loading equipment’s role in the TCD-ADCS, haul trucks employ a system application designed togenerate production cycle and delay data in real time directlyfrom the mine site. The truck environment’s responsibility isto store and report loading, dumping, hauling, returning, anddelay times, along with GPS data. Also, the structure designincludes features that log operating hours and GPS tracking.

The objective of the TSA is to introduce an end-userinterface while minimizing the interaction between thesystem application and the truck driver. Enabling the systemapplication to insert most of the field data into the equipmentdatabase reduces the potential for human error. For example,to avoid creating false field data, the TSA’s GUI does notinclude a feature to manually submit completed truck cycleruns into the equipment database. Instead, the systemapplication follows a logical sequence of cycle stages beforeinserting new records into corresponding field tables. In thisway the integrity of every truck cycle includes loading,haulage, dumping, return, and variable delays.

The testing phase began after the development of theTCD-ADCS, and included GUIs for the LSA and TSA. Duringtesting, the programming code was debugged and elementson the GUIs were rearranged. Equipment operators on themine suggested several aesthetic modifications for the LSA

and TSA. Initially, the testing phase took place in a closedenvironment where multiple mine personnel had theopportunity to interact with the TCD-ADCS. Through thisprocess, fictional data was generated for data synchronizationtesting purposes. Subsequently, the testing phase continuedwhen the TCD-ADCS was introduced to a real mineenvironment.

The final phase in the process was the deployment of theTCD-ADCS in a surface coal mine. The deployment phaseincluded merging databases, hardware installation, andemployee training. In this stage all excess components usedin the development phase were eliminated and only essentialparts required for synchronization with the IPMS databasewere deployed. The hardware installation on the fieldequipment was accomplished with the help of the IT andmaintenance departments at the mine site. Figure 6 showsthe touch-screen computer installed in a truck’s cabin.

During the deployment phase, equipment operators wereexposed to office training sessions before using the TCD-ADCS. They found the simple GUI interaction with the systemwas quick and user-friendly. Prior to ultimate application andintegration in multiple trucks, the TCD-ADCS was tested overa six-month period to resolve unexpected issues and makeoperators comfortable using the system.

Results and discussion

The loader system application (LSA) was not designed forequipment production or delay time data gathering. Itsprimary objective is to provide a GUI to select materialdescriptions and dump locations. The LSA uses the TDB asmediator in order to establish equipment communication.Built with two WindowsTM screens, the GUI for the LSAincludes LogIn and Main modes.

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Figure 4—Loading equipment environment

Figure 5—Truck environment

Figure 6—The touch-screen computer installed in a truck’s cabin

Beginning with the LogIn screen, the LSA offers aphysical platform for the registration of the loader’s operator(Figure 7). In this manner, production records will beassigned to both truck and loader operator during IPMSreporting.

The second and most important form in this GUI is theMain screen (Figure 8). The default screen has been highlysimplified to produce an effective interaction with theoperator. The Main screen is organized in three sections,including basic user information, horizon and dump locationselection, and selection history. At the top of this screen, theoperator finds information introduced and selected while atthe LogIn mode. This upper section also includes time anddate stamps. Within the second section, the selection ofhorizon and dump location is made through combo boxes ordropdown lists. Ideally, the loader operator will manuallyselect items that best fit the material handling. This data isreported as a message broadcast into the TDB. Later, thisdata is synchronized back to trucks for accurate productiondata generation. Finally, the last section in the Main screen isa visual reference of the latest broadcast. The operator mayrefer to this section for up-to-date decision-making.

As per safety requirements, the truck operator isresponsible for completing a pre-shift equipment inspection,which usually takes fifteen minutes and is conducted prior toboarding the truck. After this step, the PC installed in theequipment’s cabin (integration phase) initializes the TSA.

The GUI for trucks includes the following screens: LogIn,Default, Delay, and Setup.

Similar to the LSA, the TSA begins by showing an initialLogIn screen (Figure 9). The operator is required to insertand select basic personal and equipment information. Both ofthese entries are used throughout the field data generationprocess.

After the login process, the operator can see the TSA’sdefault screen (Figure 10). At this point, the systemapplication is ready to start collecting field data. One of themain purposes of the GUI is to provide the driver with visualinformation during each cycle run. The top of the defaultscreen displays selected items during the login process (i.e.,employee name and equipment number). This particular mineoperates under two 12-hour shifts (morning and night). Thesystem application recognizes the shift description based on alogin time stamp. Also, using a date stamp, the TSA assignsa crew ID code that corresponds to the scheduled crew.

A secondary purpose of the default mode is to collectitems from the screen and use them as components of theproduction cycle records. For instance, the truck operator isresponsible for choosing the loading equipment number withwhich he or she is working. Once a selection is made, thesubsequent production records carry both loader and truckequipment numbers. This way, the IPMS can generateproduction reports based on trucks or loaders separately.


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Figure 7—LogIn screen for LSA

Figure 8—Main screen for LSA

Figure 9—LogIn screen for TSA

Figure 10—Default screen for TSA


When a loader number is selected, the horizon and thedump location items are automatically updated. Therefore,the truck driver is excused from specifying the horizon andthe dump location. However, the GUI provides the truckoperator with features that allow a manual change of bothobjects. This process is done by using the edit keys. Amanual change may occur during a loss of network connec-tivity or if a verbal request is made by the supervisor.

Shifts statistics are also viewed at the Default screen.Prior to the implementation of the TCD-ADCS, the truck cyclenumber was the only data available for drivers. Now, theoperator can have a visual reference of how many cycles havebeen completed, as well as the material cycle category. Inmost cases, drivers often kept a written production log withthe total number of cycles. Some operators even used thumbcounting-clickers to keep track of cycles. The production logswere collected at the end of every shift by supervisors, whowere responsible for manually introducing the total cyclecount for every truck into the IPMS. However, since theimplementation of the TSA, each production cycle is reportedinto the database in real time. With every cycle completion,each production record includes data that describes thecharacteristic of the truck cycle, including date and time,shift, crew, equipment number, employee number, loader ID,loader employee number, horizon, dump location, averagepayload, and material description.

Finally, while in the default mode, GPS sentences areconstantly received by the Garmin GPS 18 USB receiver. TheTSA uses GPS data efficiently, since it can be overwhelmingto the EDB. A new record on the GPS stable is inserted afterthe equipment reaches a certain distance from the most recentrecording. Through this process, the distance travelled duringhaulage and return stages on each truck cycle is measured.

A major feature of the TCD-ADCS is the delay recognitionand delay data collection capability. The TSA’s GUI includes adelay mode that provides easy access for manual delay codeselections. The Default screen includes a delay key to activatethis mode. This key does not necessarily need to be selectedmanually. The system application frequently uses the GPSintegration to take measurements of the truck’s groundspeed. Therefore, it is possible for the system application tobe aware when the equipment stops. It is not adequate toassume that all stopping events are considered delays, sincesome truck cycle stages require the equipment to reachstopping points. While in the delay mode, loading anddumping events are treated differently from variable delays.On the delay screen (Figure 11), the equipment operator findsa list of options containing most common variable delays.Also, loading and dumping notifications are accepted on thisscreen.

When a truck cycle run is interrupted by a delay event, itis the operator’s responsibility to immediately identify thereason for stopping. This is done by clicking on one of thedelay options. Once a delay code selection is made, the TSAwaits for an end-of-delay acknowledgement. However, thesystem application is programmed with a default delay codein case no delay selection is made. Just like with the delayrecognition logic, the GUI is able to automatically click theEnd of Delay key by measuring the ground speed. All truckdelay events generated from the field are labelled withequipment number, employee number, date, shift, crew, delaycode and category, duration, and start and end time.

Since the TSA has no interaction with the truck’s onboardcontrols, the recognition of loading and dumping events canbe difficult. As a solution, the system application contains aloading and a dumping key within the delay mode. While thetruck is loading, the driver must indicate by clicking on theStart Loading button, upon which the GUI immediatelychanges the functionality of this key to an End Loading key(Figure 12). Again, using the GPS ground speedmeasurement, the TSA automatically concludes the loadingrecording when truck movement is detected.

The Start Dumping key follows the same procedures asthe Start Loading key, except it is used for dumping eventsonly. Additionally, this key includes a synchronization call atthe end of every dumping event. In this way, the TSAmaintains the TDB with the most recent truck cycle dataavailable.

Finally, a Setup screen (Figure 13) is incorporated intothe GUI for definition of variables. This screen can beaccessed only by the supervisor or the mine engineer. In thisscreen, the authorized personnel are able to change specificparameters used throughout the process of truck cycle anddelay data collection.

After the integration of the TCD-ADCS, paper-based cardswere eliminated and replaced with the data synchronizationfeatures included in the system application. Data transfer isautomatically completed in real time, allowing for the latestdata generated in the field to appear in the IPMS soon aftercollection. Field tables within the IPMS are constantly being

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Figure 11—Delay screen for TSA

Figure 12—Delay screen at loading mode

populated by TSAs. Therefore, paper-based cards are usedonly as a backup in case the TCD-ADCS is temporarilyunavailable.

Figure 14 shows customized report samples for truckdelays generated by the IPMS. These reports contain usefulinformation about the equipment for the managementpersonnel to use and improve their decision-making. Thecompatibility of the TCD-ADCS and the IPMS provides anaccurate and efficient custom-made truck productionmonitoring system for the surface coal mine.

Conclusions

The surface mining industry is in constant need of moreeffective and efficient methods designed to take constant andaccurate field measurements. More accurate data translatesinto better control of equipment and employee productivity.When field data is transformed into useful information,management decision-making is significantly improved.

This paper has focused on the development of a truckcycle and delay automated data collection system to be usedin surface mining operations. The development of thiscustom-made system was inspired by the previous successfulincorporation of the Integrated Production ManagementSystem (IPMS). The TCD-ADCS collects complete truck cycledata as well as fixed and variable delays in real time. Thedata collected includes loading and dumping times, haulageand return time and distance, average payload, load anddump locations, material description, operating hours, anddelay code and duration. The system also includes a GPS


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Figure 13—Setup screen for TSA

Figure 14—Temporary Delay report sample


tracker tool for the collection of coordinate locations ofoperational events. Field data analysis and reporting were notincluded in the scope of this paper. However, a comple-mentary objective of this work included the creation of asystem compatible with the IPMS for the analysis of data andreporting purposes.

The TCD-ADCS consists of two system applicationsdeveloped for trucks and loaders. It offers user-friendlygraphic interfaces for the operators, and provides datasynchronization tools for real-time data transfer from thefield to an office environment.

The results of the use of the TCD-ADCS and its outcomescan be summarized as follows:

➤ Successful data transfer from the field to an officeenvironment using database synchronization

➤ Constant equipment communication through wirelessnetwork connectivity

➤ User-friendly GUIs for operator interaction with theTSA and the LSA

➤ Minimization of employee training➤ Successful integration with the already existing IPMS➤ Completion of paperless truck and shovel production

monitoring system.

Using available technologies, it was possible to generate afield data recording system that best fits the mine’s needs.The mine management team believes that the implementationof the new information systems and information technologies(i.e. the TCD-ADCS and the IPMS) has significantly changedthe current production monitoring of the company.Interaction between the custom-made TCD-ADCS and theIPMS completes the data transformation cycle from raw fielddata to useful information, which can be used to make bettermanagement decisions.

List of acronyms

ADCS = Automated Data Collection SystemAIS = Automated Information SystemsAPS = Automated Positioning Systems

CE = Compact EditionEDB = Database Engine for Equipment ApplicationGPS = Global Positioning SystemGUI = Graphical User InterfaceIPMS = Integrated Production Management SystemIT = Information TechnologiesIS = Information SystemsLAN = Local Area NetworkLSA = Loading System ApplicationMS SQL = Microsoft Structured Query LanguagePEE = Production Equipment EnvironmentTCD-ASCS = Truck Cycle and Delay Automated Data

Collection SystemTDB = Temporary DatabaseTSA = Truck System ApplicationVHMS = Vehicle Health Monitoring SystemVIMS = Vital Information Management SystemWLAN = Wireless Network

ReferencesAUTOMATED POSITIONING SYSTEMS. 2011. Truck and Shovel.

http://www.apsmining.com/Solutions/Truck%20and%20Shovel/default.aspx

BOGUNOVIC, D. 2008. Integrated data environment for analysis and control ofenergy consumption (IDE-ACE) in surface coal mining. Doctoral disser-tation, Pennsylvania State University.

CATERPILLAR. 2012. Vital information management system.

http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37498&x=7

HAWKES, P.J., SPATHIS, A.T., and SENGSTOCK, G.W. 1995. Monitoring equipmentproductivity improvements in coal mines. EXPLO 95 Conference, Brisbane,September 1995. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. pp. 127–132.

KARUNARATNA, K. and MATTISKE, T. 2002. Automated production data collectionand reporting at a large open pit mine. CMMI Congress 2002, Cairns,QLD.. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. pp. 141–149.

KOMATSU. 2012. Komtrax-Plus.

http://www.komatsuamerica.com/komtrax-plus

WENCO INTERNATIONAL MINING SYSTEMS LTD. 2012a. Fleet Control.

http://www.wencomine.com/products/

WENCO INTERNATIONAL MINING SYSTEMS LTD. 2012b. WencoDB.

http://www.wencomine.com/products/ ◆▲


For further information contact: Head of Conferencing, Raymond van der Berg, SAIMMTel: (011) 834-1273/7 · Fax: (011) 833-8156 or (011) 838-5923

E-mail: [email protected] · Website: http://www.saimm.co.za

The Southern African Institute of Mining and MetallurgyFounded in 1894

SCHOOL

UndergroundLoad and Haul—Gold

18–19 February 2014 •Goldfields Conference Venue, Welkom

BACKGROUNDAs part of the SAIMM philosophy,schools are used to advance theknowledge of the younger membersof the SAIMM. Underground loadingand hauling is a fundamental aspectof the mining cycle and hasnʼt beencovered in a number of years.

This school is a ʻback to basicʼcourse for underground loading andhauling. Day one will reviewequipment selection criteria for arange of loading and haulingequipment. Day two will present thepractical application and bestpractices as applied to the load andhaul production cycle.

truck cycle and delay automated data collection system in surface

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