Pit & Quarry, July 2018
HAULING FORWARD THINKING Big mining is realizing the benefits of autonomous haulers The aggregate industrys transition away from manned trucks is closer than you think BY ZACH MENTZ echnology plays an ever increasing role in our lives with each new 21st century day As technology becomes more ingrained in our daily habits the premise of such developments is straightforward to simplify enhance and improve the way we live communicate and work Technological advancements have emerged in industries across the globe in recent decades and the aggregate industry recently arrived to the party In an industry traditionally marked by manual labor and human work ethic the concept of autonomous technology is a bit foreign at a glance When examined closely though the benefits of autonomous technology become abundantly clear All of it is designed to automate the process within the product line to maximize the capabilities of the machines to ensure youre getting the most productivity out of the machine that you can get says Brian Yureskes director of sales and global accounts for Komatsu Like any other industry theyre constantly making improvements and developing new technology that allows us to be even more efficient and to do more with less Considering two consistent points of emphasis for aggregate producers are efficiency and productivity its only a matter of time before autonomous technology ultimately becomes prevalent in quarry operations The priority of what is driving forces changes a bit over different markets and countries says Uwe Müller global chief project manager advanced engineering for Volvo Construction Equipment Volvo CE But overall the interest is the same and the driving factors are improving efficiency improving safety more independence from your operators and flow in your site being more productive EARLY STAGES As the first manufacturer in the world to commercialize autonomous haulage systems AHS Komatsu began AHS trials at Codelcos copper mine in Chile in 2005 Three years later Komatsu deployed its first commercial AHS at Codelco Fast forward to present day and Komatsu has more than 100 AHS trucks hauling three different commodities across six mines in Australia North America and South America By the end of 2017 T Autonomous hauling has already reached the mining industry and its only a matter of time before the technology is prevalent in quarry operations 10 PIT QUARRY July 2018 pitandquarry com
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