Pit & Quarry, February 2018
A long term goal Canyon Rock leaders have is full automation in their quarry of the equipment In secondary and tertiary screening the touch of a button allows operators to recrush any individual product by reversing conveyors which are operating on VFDs Inclined screens are also operating on VFDs allowing the screening direction to change as necessary and providing constant monitoring of motors We maintained the same manpower in the quarry but we moved some employees into different positions because the automation reduced the number of people required for different phases of crushing Jon says Before we upgraded our automation system we required three employees to run our plant With the new automation we moved one employee into a mechanic position and have the other working as a loader operator SECONDARY ADVANTAGES Additional benefits of the upgrade are minimized labor costs and enabling diagnostics to detect production failures on any segment of the crushing process Warning systems include alarms that alert operators of problems The second level of alert is embedded into the diagnostic information available to Canyon Rocks programmers indicating performance issues with specific equipment Both alert systems aid Canyon Rock operators in troubleshooting and reducing downtime In Canyon Rocks tertiary screening operation the new automation system allowed the company to shave down peak demand costs by reviewing energy usage data the system provides By maintaining consistent speed the company is also better able to manage power use With the upgrade our plant operators can now remotely start plant operations through the use of a tablet Jon says We now have a standardized look and feel in the quarry When we trained operators to use the new system it proved to be user friendly with no need for re training Canyon Rocks automation upgrade added to the companys ability to reduce environmental impact by reducing the number of times material is handled leading to lower fuel use and electrical power consumption LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Our long term goal is full automation in the quarry Jon says We were recently awarded another large project and further automation would make our quarrying process even more efficient Our general plan for the quarry is designed to accommodate increased capacity if necessary We are always trying to utilize the latest technology to improve safety efficiency and sustainability throughout all aspects of our operations Jon adds We want to see Canyon Rock continue into the future lasting at least for the fourth generation and beyond P Q Loretta Sorensen is a freelance writer in Yankton South Dakota She produces material on a variety of topics serves as a ghostwriter and has authored her own books RESHAPE www kpijci com pitandquarry com January 2017 PIT QUARRY 15
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