Although it is essential in effective maintenance, the live testing of mining vehicles and equipment can be hazardous and time consuming. The SafeGauge range of digital testing systems, developed in Australia and now distributed in South Africa by Booyco Electronics, changes this.
SafeGauge sensors are easily fitted to large equipment and measurements can be read from up to 50 metres away.
Booyco Electronics is a leader in promoting safety on mines with its proximity detection systems (PDS). Chief Sales Officer, Graeme Jardine says the SafeGauge range aligns closely with the company’s safety focus.
“As the mining industry works towards Zero Harm in the workplace, mines are always on the lookout for technologies that can make their sites safer,” says Jardine. “SafeGauge helps to achieve this by addressing an important area of maintenance: live testing.”
Live testing is the testing of large equipment like articulated dump trucks, rigid frame dump trucks, load haul dumpers and hydraulic shovels, while they are running, to generate essential data on the machines’ condition. Jardine says this is traditionally conducted with hoses and handheld gauges, to test variables such as pressure, fan speed and wear on rotating equipment such as slew bearings. The practice often means maintenance staff need to be close to an idling machine, working near high pressures and rotating components.
“With the Safegauge sensors and products, which are fitted to large equipment with quick couplers or magnets, the necessary readings and measurements can be taken from a distance of up to 50 metres,” he explains. “This removes personnel from any hazardous areas where they might, for instance, be positioned in crush zones of unplanned movement.”
The wireless monitoring system allows workers to test live machines from a safe distance and does it up to seven times quicker. This translates directly into less downtime, which improves the productivity of mobile plant.
“The innovations by SafeGauge eliminate the need for hoses and gauges when conducting tests on running machines, and this eliminates the risks associated with traditional handheld gauges, such as the dangers of overpressure causing hose or gauge bursts,” Jardine says. “Instead, SafeGauge provides compact and portable kits that can be easily transported to the site or used in a workshop.”
The Workshop Kit, for example, has up to seven connectable transducers for measuring pressure. Jardine notes that the SafeGauge Field Service Kit has been particularly popular as an all-in-one kit for field technicians. It includes a dial indicator for wear measurement and two pressure transducers for pressure measurement.
“In our engagement with markets in South Africa and north of our borders, customers have been enthusiastic about putting SafeGauge to work,” he says. “They have been impressed by how easy it is to use the equipment, with just a relatively short induction.”
He highlights that the advanced technology of the SafeGauge range makes it a suitable addition to Booyco Electronics’ offering – as it leverages Booyco’s depth of electronic and digital expertise.
“Our established resources and market footprint equip us well to support SafeGauge in South Africa, and we look forward to taking these solutions into other parts of Africa,” Jardine says.
For more information visit: www.booyco-electronics.co.za
