Western Region

New Business

Steve covered the ground rules for our new forum for this meeting. We want to share common best practices in maintenance and safety. We encourage all participants to share something, but it is not required. This meeting is not intended to bash the OEMs.

Elections for Chairman and Vice Chairman were held. Dorian Dunn was elected Chairman and Brent Saddoris was elected Vice Chairman.

Best Practices

We again started this meeting with a best practice share. We hope that people don’t take this too literal, the statement “best practice”, is simply an opportunity for everyone to share with the group any area of maintenance that they feel is working well for their respective companies. It is also an opportunity to just let the group know of any new happenings at your mine. It also provides the group and opportunity to ask questions and perhaps gain some in-sight for things that could be implemented at different sites. As we come across subjects that stir a lot of conversation, we will ask that person to prepare a presentation on the topic at the next meeting.

Turquoise Ridge has set up on-site/in-house training, particularly for the electricians. They started out making a test board for a particular jumbo circuit and found the results very positive. The trainer will take a class of electricians and get them familiar with the circuit schematics and basic troubleshooting guidelines. He will then put problems in the board and have the electricians work the problem. Here again, he will go through the basic troubleshooting guidelines step by step with the electricians. In many cases, he puts in minor problems as these are the most typical problems in the field. They have since developed a test board for engine starters and alternators.

The PM program has been an area of concentration recently.

Newmont has started using their dispatch system to track task training compliance with operations. When an operator reports that he/she is preparing to use a piece of equipment, the system will tell the dispatcher if the person is signed off to operate it or not. This brought up a discussion on maintenance task training. The discussion was around annual refresher training for equipment use, some mines view this as necessary and some mines do not.

A drill maintenance team has been implemented. The team works specifically on drilling equipment and has been getting drill specific training. It was felt that drills are one of the more complex pieces of equipment to work on and they needed highly skilled technicians on these units. The results have been very positive.

Warranty administration has been another area of focus. The warranty administrator has been training the maintenance group on things that could be flagged as warranty. This has been good and bad. The group has improved in terms of filing warranty claims that may have gone unnoticed in the past. At the same time, this new tool has stopped troubleshooting a problem when it looks like a warrantable failure. In some cases, the problem is not warrantable as it was more of problem on the input signal to the component than an actual component failure. The program has a goal of X amount of dollars saved and has a cut off limit to warranty claims so as not to waste time on every part. This group has also managed to get a 1 year unlimited warranty clause for all of their components.

Queenstake has recently sent several technicians to align boring classes at the college. Align boring is a constant need and now they have technicians to perform this work. In the area of safety, they have a DPM technician that travels from site to site performing his tests. As he is not in one place constantly, he brings a fresh look to working conditions and behaviors. This person will make observations and corrections as he goes about his tasks.

Atlas Copco has started an apprentice program in conjunction with Great Basin College. The technicians will go to GBC for some initial training and then receive more specific OEM training on the job and through Atlas Copco as classes become available.

This brought up a discussion on GBC training. It was mentioned that GBC would like to start more specific OEM training. If we have suppliers that are willing to let GBC staff attend their training, GBC could then use the material and provide the service to all the mines either in Elko or Winnemucca. Cashman equipment will also be making an effort to get some OEM specific training stated on their equipment.

Barrick has recently purchased equipment with cabs. The cab glass has created a visibility issue with operators. The visibility is not the same with glass as it was with an open cab, as a result they have been using spotters to bring equipment into and out of the shops. Auto lube systems have also been implemented. The lube systems can be very effective as long as they are maintained. The systems can not be put on and then forgotten about.

Midas reported that they had received a citation from MSHA on DPM tag records. The inspector’s interpretation of the rule is that a log book for tagged equipment must be kept. The inspector was shown computerized maintenance system records of work performed due to DPM issues and still wrote the citation. Several other mines commented that computerized maintenance system records had been sufficient in the past and could not understand this citation.

Stillwater uses a “Pre-PM”inspection system before sending equipment in for maintenance. The process allows for a field inspection prior to performing a PM. During the inspections, problems and parts are identified and staged for the PM. The results have been very positive. DPM testing is also performed as the equipment is in route to the PM bay. They have also started expanding their use of infrared thermography. They are not only testing electrical circuits but also hydraulic circuits with good results on both.

Arch Coal has been set up with Chrysler as a warranty repair center. They use a lot of Dodge pickups underground and can now make repairs to these trucks on a warranty basis. The parts and labor are reimbursed through Chrysler when they make repairs to the trucks.

It was mentioned that they have discovered a new soot filter that will regenerate at a very low temperature and has reduced NO2 emissions. They also mentioned that exhaust system back pressure can be an MSHA violation.

On the topic of fuel additive testing, it is thought that there are too many of these products being promoted and one could not possibly test them all. It was recommended that that before anyone do any testing with a fuel additive, a request for credible ISO 9000 data be made available. A person should make sure the product is recognized by the EPA and approved by the EPA. Some of these additives can be very hazardous.

The group was encouraged to consider the power of this organization, particularly with MSHA on DPM and noise issues. The group should consider presenting a collection of projects being worked on in the area of fuels, fuel additives, exhaust filters, noise suppression etc. In doing so, we could show MSHA that collectively we are

Geo Temps Presentation

The underground group joined the surface group for this presentation. It was not originally on our agenda, however the group thought it would be beneficial to hear what Geo temps is doing to help bring qualified people into the area. Here are a few bullet points from their presentation.

Geo temps looks for reliable, safety conscience, skilled workers.

They are having difficulties keeping people due to money, work environment, job locations, and individual personal reasons. They try to match workers personalities to the work place environments.

Geo temp employees are looking for stability, competitive wages, good working conditions, secure workplaces and recognition/incentives.

Reasonable offers for mechanics include relocation allowances, signing bonuses, benefits. They are looking for stating wages around $18 an hour for an entry level techs and $30 an hour for experienced techs.
Geo temps covers all responsibilities for their employees legally as well as the quality of work.

Recruiting is active across the entire country. Additionally, if a mechanic is found, an employer must move quickly to hire them or they will find other work.

Synthetic Fuel Presentation – Lancer Industries, Greg Orrell

The presentation is attached to the emailing. Lancer Industries has been testing synthetic fuels with MSHA and several mines. Initial test results are indicating a reduction of CO, NO and NO2, elemental carbon and DPM. The testing is on-going and a few more tests are scheduled to take place at the University of Minnesota in the near future. We will be getting an update of the testing at our next meeting.

Queenstake Loader Rebuild Presentation – Steve Volkert

The presentation is attached to the emailing. Steve gave the group a brief history on the Jerritt Canyon Mine. He talked about the loader rebuild program’s beginnings and how they got started with these rebuilds. It was Steve’s feeling that the rebuild program is not for everyone and people should not make this decision lightly. The benefits include a reduced overall cost and operator ownership with the finished product. The down side is the project requires manpower, project management and may have longer periods of down time associated with the rebuild as opposed to simply sending a loader to a supplier for rebuild.

Norco Presentation – Jay Nyborg

Jay Nyborg made a presentation on the safety supplies available from Norco. Norco has a large variety of safety glasses, reflective hard hat bands and absorbent towels, which Jay distributed to the group. We talked about full body harness restraints and Jay showed us the latest version from Miller. The harness is hinged at the waist so you can bend over without the harness tightening up on you. Jay showed us several versions of tie off blocks that have a red felt indicator if they have been used, these tie off blocks do not require annual inspections because they are using this indicator felt. We talked about sound measuring devices that are of a point and shoot type, you point the device at an area and it will measure the noise levels from that particular area. Norco also carries a noise cancellation ear muffs. The ear muffs cancel any outside noise and can be fit with radio communications. Jay showed us a device that can be used for a tie off point using a split set, the device is placed inside the split set bolt and wedges itself in the bore. Norco is also working with a supplier in Winnemucca to make a battery operated, telescoping paint stick. The paint stick is a fiber glass telescoping rod and the paint can operation is electrically operated by a switch on the handle. Finally, Norco is making another attempt at selling safety boots. Several samples were given away to the group for testing.

Next Meeting Vendor List

Northern Nevada Equipment – Bobcat vehicles

Next Meeting Presentations

Heat resistant coatings for noise control – Turquoise Ridge

Synthetic fuel updates – Steve Forbush

Cummins 5.9 (Dodge pickups)calibration code changes for underground – Steve Forbush