Training Delivers Cost Savings to Businesses

CATERPILLAR INSTITUTE (VICTAS) looks at lower operation costs and fuel consumption following the delivery of the new Eco-Operator Training Course.

IN a series of closely monitored case studies conducted by Caterpillar Institute, the importance of operator training was confirmed by impressive savings in fuel as well as improved safety and reductions in carbon emissions.

The new Caterpillar® Eco-Operator Training Course focuses on best practice techniques which will lead to reduction in fuel consumption as well as a knock-on effect on other costs such as tyres & tracks, reduction in carbon emissions and an increase in engine working life.

The case studies were a series of actual training days, they consisted of both theory and practical sessions and they were conducted on-site at various locations. For the practical session, the participating groups of operators were asked to perform a controlled truck loading function before commencement of training while engine performance data was simultaneously collected and monitored by Caterpillar® Electronic Technician Soft ware (ET).

The practical session required the operators to perform a set truck-loading task before any theory training, which they then repeated later in the day after the training had been conducted.

The ET software used to collect live data included cycle time, fuel burn rate and engine speed. All this was being wirelessly transmitted from the engine during both of the loading operations. The captured live data showed up any variations in fuel burn rate and performance changes.

The key outcomes evidenced from the data collected showed:

• Significant cost savings in fuel burn.
• Extension in engine working life before major engine surgery was recommended.
• Considerable reduction in carbon emissions.

Table 1 shows data captured at the commencement of training and at the end of the training day. Featured is one operator who was MOST improved and showed a reduction in fuel burn by almost ten litres per hour and one operator who was the LEAST improved and showed fuel burn reduction of less than one litre per hour. The AVERAGE of all operators who participated however was a significant three and a half litres per hour savings in fuel burned.

Table 2 shows the results of data, which was captured on-site before and after the actual training day (up to a week in some cases) in a real time work environment. One operator from each group was selected to be monitored.

The data here is a combined average of the information captured from each of the operators who participated and also shows a reduction in fuel burn, a significant saving of four and a half litres per hour.

The first and the most significant savings statistic to note are the reductions in fuel consumption. Companies who put their operators through this advanced techniques and best practice training should see significant cost savings. Depending on the size of the fleet, this could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Another significant savings can come from extended engine life by delaying the recommended major surgery time. Caterpillar’s data indicates that the engine is reaching the end of its current working life when a certain number of litres of fuel have been consumed.

If the average fuel consumption was reduced by the findings here, even at three to five litres per hour, this would equate to an extension in working life of thousands of hours before major engine surgery was recommended.

In addition to the fuel savings and possible engine working life extension, every litre of fuel consumed creates 2.7 kilograms of carbon emissions. Any reduction in fuel burn could not only save thousands of dollars in fuel reductions, hundreds of thousands in some cases, it will also result in a reduction in carbon emissions.

The CMPA has held discussions with Caterpillar Institute (Vic-Tas) about working towards incorporating the Eco-Operator Training as a component of the Certificate II or III Extractive Industries Operations.

The Caterpillar Institute (Vic-Tas) has scheduled a series of the Eco-Operator Training Courses which will be conducted at the institutes Clayton campus. Courses can also be conducted on your site, for more information and dates on Caterpillar® Eco Operator Training, contact The Caterpillar Institute .

For more information on Caterpillar® Eco Operator Training, contact The Caterpillar Institute on (03) 8561 8700, email civtinfo@cat.com or visit www.caterpillarinstitute.com.au

You must be logged in to post a comment Login