Teck Resources recently installed a Pulse TerraMatrix RS shovel payload monitoring system on one
of its P&H 4100 rope shovel working at a Canadian coal operation.
Teck Selects BMT’s Shovel Payload Monitoring System
BMT WBM said it has worked closely with GHO staff to develop and refine the Pulse TerraMetrix RS system to help address accuracy problems commonly associated with shovel-based payload monitoring systems. Charles Constancon, director of BMT WBM Canada, said, “Unlike other payload monitoring systems that apply electrical parameter esti-mation techniques to approximate the payload, the TerraMetrix system employs a load cell-based device and directly measures the inertial and dynamic loads applied to the dipper. As a result, more accurate payload measurement is main-tained, even under severe dynamic load-ing conditions.”
Configured to communicate with any third-party truck dispatch system, the Pulse TerraMetrix RS system can be applied to various brands of electric rope shovels, including P&H and Cat models. According to the company, recent devel-opments in the system have included a comprehensive machine health monitor-ing capability using strain-sensing trans-ducers placed on the A-frame and boom structures. These transducers allow the system to track boom jacking and adverse swing events, identify alarm events and quantify the mechanical damage per swing cycle. Productivity indicators provide meaningful online feedback to the operator including aver-age bucket/truck payload, overall shift production, swing cycle time and operat-ing and delay times.
The system developed for Teck is configured to communicate through the mine’s wireless mesh network to a server located in the mine’s administra-tion offices. Data is saved in a SQL database and is accessible through a server analysis program located on the mine’s intranet.
This enables maintenance, training and production staff to access, process and analyze the data on a shift basis, to identify where production shortfalls arise and where further operator training is required, said BMT WBM, which is based in Brisbane, Australia.