Autonomous Inspection Unit
Seaham Quarry
Site Contact: Richard Tomkins -
Quarry Manager
Richard.Tomkins.@boral.com.au
Phone: 0408353154
Background


Preventative Maintenance inspections are key in running a successful and
reliable quarry operation. The benefits of properly operated preventative
maintenance are;
-
Equipment downtime is decreased and the number of major repairs are reduced
-
Better conservation of assets and increased life expectancy of assets, thereby eliminating
premature replacement of machinery and equipment
-
Reduced overtime costs and more economical use of maintenance workers due to working on a
scheduled basis instead of a crash basis to repair breakdowns
-
Timely, routine repairs circumvent fewer large-scale repairs
-
Improved safety and quality conditions for everyone
-
Accurate records of inspections and completed tasks enables trending for predictive
maintenance activity.
A significant quantity of preventative maintenance inspections require
equipment to be isolated and personnel to enter a space not designed for
human occupancy.
Concern

Preventative maintenance inspections in
screens and chutes require personnel to
engage in high risk activities,
particularly;
-
Confined Space

Manual handling and movement tasks
associated with screen and chute
inspections can cause strains

Length of time required to complete the
inspections – what is acceptable?

Preparation of documentation for
maintenance activities is time
consuming

Record keeping of accurate inspections
are not detailed enough.
Cause

The operational, maintenance and
management team asked themselves
“Why do we need personnel to enter a
confined space to conduct an inspection?”

The answer being
“Because that is how the industry has
historically done it”

From this the team set a task to find a
solution and eliminate the risks associated
with conducting screen & chute inspections,
improve the time required to conduct
inspections and provide accurate records of
inspections
Solution – Remote Camera Inspection Unit

Together the team identified an opportunity using remote camera technology to
eliminate the need for personnel to enter the confined space.

The camera system can take photos and video recordings which can be saved on a
computer and referred to at a later date.

The need for high risk permits and confined space training is no longer necessary to
conduct screen inspections.

Solution – Remote Camera Inspection Unit
The unit can identify;
-
Missing bolts
-
Wear on screen media
-
Worn centre & side rails
-
Chute wear
-
Material build up
-
Pegging
Further Development – Autonomous Inspection Unit

The original application lacked the flexibility of
being able to turn and focus on issues. Together
the team identified an opportunity using RC
vehicles to excel the capability and application of
the system.

Extensive research was undertaken to find the
most appropriate lighting and RC build to ensure
the vehicle was robust and provided quality film
and photos.
Further Development – Autonomous Inspection Unit
The unit worked so well in the screens we went one step further sending it into
chutes and under crushers where we have our most tightest confined spaces.
Again giving us a great view and taking the strain of the inspector. Image on
right shows the inspector 12 meters deep under the 3rd crusher in making the
retrieval extremely difficult if needed to be performed.
Future Developments

The team has begun work to setup a pivot control system on the camera. This will
allow them to drive the unit to a specific location then use the camera controls to
look around adding even more flexibility and investigative power to the system.
Benefit Analysis

After implementing the autonomous inspection unit for screen inspections
the maintenance team have;
-
Eliminated the risk of working in a confined space
-
Eliminated the risk of manual handling and moving
-
Reduced inspection time by 1 hour
-
Reduce documentation preparation (SWMS, High risk permits)
-
Accurate and detailed inspection records
 Using the autonomous inspection unit ;
Screen inspection time is now 1.5hours and 1 person compared to 2.5 hours with 2 people.
Screen inspection hours have now gone from 36hours down to 18hours per month reducing the
hours checking the screens by 50% and taking the manual labour strain off the operator.
The unit also gives a clear visual record for some extra advice if the screen cloth needs to be
changed or there maybe more life in them. We have been saving around $3500 on cloths a
month by maximising their life span.
Build something great™
(BCM NSW/ACT Country Quarries (North) – Seaham Quarry)
Richard Tomkins
March 2015
®