Coal Age

NOV 2014

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From the smallest operations to the many massive surface coal complexes that dot the map of America's coalfields, the heart of the production process is the haul truck. It is also consistently the focus of research and development, including ergonomics, maintenance, safety, production efficien- cies and, particularly over the last several years, autonomy. Having said that, the condition of the market has not really had an impact on t h e w o r k b e i n g d o n e i n t h e e n h a n c e - m e n t s o f h a u l t r u c k s o v e r a l l ; i n f a c t , OEMs seem to be capitalizing well on any l u l l i n d e m a n d b y p u t t i n g m o r e t i m e , money and energy into improving tech- nology for the long-term future. There is no question that the idea of autonomous haulage has the ultimate "cool factor" in surface mining. Technology always considered for someday is here and, while still being polished, is arguably closer to reality in North America than one might think. Haulage autonomy is not cheap and is complex to implement, but we've already been shown that it is possible elsewhere (and mostly with high levels of success). That is certainly more than can be said for underground automation efforts at this point in time. C a t e r p i l l a r S e n i o r M i n i n g M a r k e t Professional James Humphrey recently addressed one of automation's biggest o b s t a c l e s , o v e r c o m i n g t h e i n d u s t r y ' s p r e c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y , b y pointing out that there is a natural resis- tance to change. "When it comes to implementing a game- changing technology like autonomous haulage on an operating mine site, the resis- tance can at times appear insurmountable," he said. "Whether based on real informa- tion or misguided preconceptions, it's essential that we don't underestimate the effort it will take to overcome this resis- tance, while clearly recognizing when it's worth the effort." Looking at all of the operations world- w i d e t h a t n o w c a n b o a s t a u t o n o m o u s haulage, it is important to note that those locations also had similar hesitations. As Humphrey noted, it certainly wasn't an instant epiphany that got those mines to jump on the automation bandwagon, nor was the advancement of the autonomous mindset an overnight success for OEMs. "Caterpillar…began building toward autonomy more than 30 years ago and had a truck operating in the mid-1990s," he said. "Lessons learned during those e a r l y y e a r s l e d t o t h e r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t there was much more to be learned — not just about the machines themselves, but about the systems and knowledge t h a t m u s t b e i n p l a c e f o r a s u c c e s s f u l implementation. "Working closely with customers, initi- ating real-life demonstrations on mine sites, having discussions with regulatory agencies and other stakeholders — these and many other activities were necessary before autonomy could be fully and suc- cessfully launched." After decades of effort, Caterpillar's f i r s t o f f i c i a l c o m m e r c i a l a u t o n o m o u s m i n e s i t e w e n t t o w o r k i n 2 0 1 1 i n Farmington, New Mexico. Fast forward just a few years, and Cat h a s n o w r e l e a s e d t h e r e s u l t s o f a c a s e study focused on its autonomous truck system in coal, which wrapped in March 2013 at that mine, BHP Billiton's Navajo complex in the northwestern region of the state. T h e 2 1 - m o n t h t r i a l o f t h e O E M ' s Command for hauling autonomous truck system involved three Cat 793 mining trucks that moved nearly 3 million bank cubic yards (2.3 million cubic meters) of material, and processes and procedures were refined to build toward commercial installation of larger fleets. The project additionally permitted the Caterpillar team to gather information that led to significant improvements in cycle times and truck utilization over the course of the trial. "The extended trial in New Mexico enabled us to work within an operating mine to conduct training and implement safe work procedures — and to establish autonomous haulage processes that worked for the mine," said Dan Hellige, mining solutions manager. "Because the trucks were often operating 24/7, we were able to make technical changes and see results quickly. That data guided us in making a number of improvements." The Caterpillar team made two signifi- cant software updates and several minor updates as the feature set evolved; first, h au l t r u c ks B Y D O N N A S C H M I D T , F I E L D E D I T O R 26 www.coalage.com November 2014 For the Long Haul From automation to ergonomics, advancements in haul truck technology have never been more dynamic A Cat 793F autonomous truck at the Navajo mine trial.

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