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Finning identifies big savings for minerals supplier

Finning UK & Ireland has completed an 18-month in-depth consultancy for Imerys UK at its Cornwall site, which has initially identified potential savings of more than £600,000. 

The team at Finning, the world’s largest dealer of Cat equipment and parts, were approached by Imerys to identify operational cost and CO2 emissions reductions at their 38sqm site in Cornwall. The site, which employs around 1,000 people, produces 700,000 tonnes of kaolin per year and is one of 250 sites which Imerys operates across 50 countries.  

The analysis of this site by the Finning team included observing operator behaviour, haul routes, site conditions and fleet health to develop increased efficiencies. 

The team identified several factors impacting the operational efficiency at the site. These included several sharp haul route turns and haul routes with gradients greater than 10% resulting in increased fuel burn and cycle time. The team also looked at dump area management, jobsite set-up as well as considering the operational requirements of dealing with legacy stockpiles and multiple face heights. 

The findings of the in-depth study were presented to the management team at Imerys alongside indicative data on improving fuel burn, minimising machine wear and tear, optimising loading times, reducing idle times and waiting times. 

Glen Heather, Imerys Mining Technical Engineer Central Area, who has been working alongside the Finning team said the data, modelling, and operational advice provided proved invaluable in quantifying the cost to our operation of not making improvements. 

He explained, “The consultancy support from Finning has enabled us to quantify the cost savings for a range of improvements, such as road widening, that will optimise operational efficiency across the site. The data provided also enables us to identify which improvements to prioritise to deliver the greatest savings. 

“We knew we needed to improve our plant productivity to improve our environmental performance, reduce the cost of wear and tear on our machines and cut our fuel costs. What we didn’t know with accuracy was how much not changing them was costing us.” 

Key recommendations
Work with Imerys initially began in July 2021 but was extended when their senior managers and supervisors could see the benefits. The key recommendations for improvement have related to adapting some of the on-site haul routes, reducing gradients and rolling resistance, while increasing the width of the routes to enable machines to pass each other, and limit pinch points which decrease machine idling times and fuel burn. 

Ross Marshall, Continuous Improvement Advisor at Finning said: “We identified lots of operational changes for the team at Imerys and highlighted key changes to management, infrastructure and operator techniques using Caterpillar quarry modelling solutions. To demonstrate productivity and increased efficiencies, the specialised Cat modelling software also presented and simulated cost savings to justify management making the on-site improvements. And, in collaboration with the Imerys team, we used the modelling solution to demonstrate how Imerys could make a 10% decrease in cycle times on site. 

“When you consider the number of assets operating at this site, it was important to simulate the impact that small incremental gains have on the amount of fuel efficiency and machine wear and tear. 

“Visiting this unique site to get an accurate view of the whole operation was essential as there were legacy issues with access roads being both steep and narrow meaning they were struggling to achieve efficient dump truck times because they were having to pull into laybys which was racking up idling costs," Ross continued.

“Operator experience is also vital in achieving maximum site productivity, and because of our work Imerys is committed to a program of training and so far, 16 of their operators have undertaken our proprietary eco-Drive training which shows them how to improve the machine efficiencies. 

“What’s most helpful to site operations teams is that we can simulate and carry out physical surveys to show what good looks like for them, so they can see if making the changes we propose will give them a good return on investment.” 

Glen agreed. “Understanding how much implementing a different route design can save in operational costs makes it far easier to take action, so it’s really helped us from an operational perspective. 

“I’ve also seen real value in having an independent pair of eyes to identify our areas of improvement. Ross and his team were willing to come and see the challenges we face on site and were extremely clear and professional in all their communications with us, and we’re really pleased with the work they have done."

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