MEMBERS DAY OUT IN BENDIGO

CMPA SECRETARIAT reports on the successful day recently held at Bendigo for CMPA Members.

THE fine morning of 18th March 2010 saw over 40 representatives of the quarry industry from all over Victoria meet at the All Season Quality Inn at Bendigo to get on the bus for the tour out to the Allstone basalt quarry near Newbridge.

Tim and Wes Bird, Quarry Manager Kelvin Nicholson and all the Allstone team had put in a great effort to have the operation in tip top shape for the site tour. The sales team from Astec and JCI was also on hand to give a run down on the new JCI Kodiak K400+ cone crusher which operated beautifully.

Then it was back on the bus back into Bendigo for a quick bite of lunch before Sarah Andrews facilitated the Guarding Workshop.

WorkSafe provided an overview of operator’s legal obligations with participants then working in groups through key guarding issues, discussing pros and cons of various attachment methods and developing Job Safety Analysis procedures for the various guarding situations encountered on fixed plant.

After a short break, the CMPA Members General Meeting was held. This was an opportunity to be updated on some key issues by the experts such as:

• Adrian Town of CMPA who provided a summary of the CMPA Reference Manuals,
• Colin Thornton of DPI who gave a summary of rehabilitation bonds,
• John Pititto of Mead Partners who outlined some handy hints on managing credit during these economic conditions,
• Graeme Newman of VicRoads who presented an overview of recent changes to specification and an idea of future directions, and
• Roger Buckley of CMPA who provided a quick summary of recent interactions with Government and asked for input into future CMPA activities.

This was followed by a BBQ dinner and networking with other Members. A total of 60 CMPA Members, government staff and other industry personnel participated in the various aspects of the day.

Thanks to all those who helped make the day such a success, especially the presenters. All presentations made on the day can be viewed on the CMPA website www.cmpavic.asn.au Have a look at them today!

CMPA Member, Brian Calovic, provides his summary of the CMPA day at Bendigo.

ALLSTONE QUARRIES VISIT

I was very impressed with the presentation of the quarry site. It appeared to be very well managed and extremely clean and tidy. It definitely left me feeling embarrassed on the condition of my own site. Full credit to the team at Allstone.

We inspected their new JCI Kodiak K400+ cone crusher, a 400 tph capacity floating top shell cone crusher. Overall height was approx 2m so a very compact machine compared to a J50. CSS was set on 28mm and I’m told it would be able to comfortably open to a CSS of 40mm with spare draft from new. Draft range was from 4.25”-14.00”.

It has a sensor that counts movement on the locking ring threads as it is adjusted to determine CSS with potential for automated CSS adjustments. It also had a fixed wear indicator to give operators an idea of manganese life. Although this does not mean daily checks are removed, it has potential for some form of automation.

Manganese changes appear to be done easily. It has a tramp metal relief system that uses a mechanical hydraulic pressure relief valve system to release the top shell and relieve pressure. This system is also used to empty the crusher chamber aft er a power failure or crusher stop event.

Everyone at Allstone had nothing but praise for the machine. They had a parts issue in the early stages but now they had parts EX-USA within 2 days.

The machine appeared to flow well with good reduction size passing the crusher. They had a problem with motor overload set at 535A but have not had a problem since raising the load limit to 570A.

The motor was purchased second hand and overhauled. Drive system is a single belt driven by splined pulleys. Hydraulic components were located outside of the machine, with good access for maintenance.

The electronic control box supplied with the crusher seemed operator friendly. The two representatives from JCI USA were very knowledgeable and keen to get a shot at the Australian market. All people representing the crusher came across as very proud and excited with their product. The crusher would be a good option to consider if you were in the market for a crusher of this type.

CMPA FIXED PLANT GUARDING WORKSHOP

The visit to Allstone was followed with the Guarding Workshop back in Bendigo. During the Workshop it was interesting to hear what others do on their sites and what individuals think is appropriate or not in their own applications.

I do think that the issue of guarding should be a simple one. If it moves or has the potential to injure someone then it must be guarded. The guard should be bolted or locked in place some way that a tool is required to remove it and ensures that the person has consciously made the decision to remove the guard. Electrical interlocks work well but may not be practicable for all applications.

While some methods of guarding and attaching guarding are debatable the fact that guards must be fitted to protect people from injury should be a ‘no brainer’.

I was horrified listening to what some people were saying on what they considered acceptable. Equally horrified by how many owners/operators/managers were happy to stick their heads in the sand. How do we get people to put guards back on? This is clearly a thing of culture that needs to be inserted into people’s brains as not negotiable. Management need to enforce and monitor this.

Cleaning under guards and removing guards was also a point raised several times. While we are all about production and achieving production outcomes, surely safety must take precedence. Why not look a step back at the reason for the spillage and address that.

There are of course break downs but in those out of the ordinary circumstances do we not just stop, repair & resume. If the procedure is to stop production and safely resolve, then so be it.

It always gets me how people will argue to comply with minimum standards not maximum achievable safety protection. Guarding is there to limit our liability and most importantly protect us from injury. If it needs a nut & bolt, if it takes time, if we need to walk to the workshop and get a tool, etc, etc, just do it!

If we considered ourselves or our own loved ones what would we want? The minimum standards or the best protection?

CMPA MEMBERS GENERAL MEETING

It’s always good to attend these meetings for networking and to hear from very informative speakers. It does however make for a long day. Unfortunately we did have to leave early after the meeting with the long drive home.

Adrian Town of the CMPA provided an overview of the CMPA Reference Manuals. These manuals are something the CMPA should be proud of, given the amount of time and effort needed to put something like this together.

Colin Thornton from the DPI provided a talk on rehabilitation bonds. He gave a summary of the how the bonds system works and a few suggestions on how to minimise them. The question and answer time indicated that this is still a contentious issue for many operators.

The financial cash flow talk from John Pititto of Mead Partners was interesting and informative. He made some good points that can be looked at from all levels. Cash flow is something that could be better managed.

Graeme Newman from VicRoads provided an overview of specification changes and Vic Road’s future directions which was also very informative. I was not aware that these changes were taking place.

I am concerned about changes being made to the 7mm specification and flats on sealing aggregates. I will be interested to see how the registration of product blends works out. Also looks like there is planned to be an easing of test requirements which is a good thing. The issue of VicRoads needing to oversee the transport contractors and not just focus on the quarries was also raised.

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