In the mining and resources industries, safety is an obvious priority, and every year there are brand new innovative products that help sites become safer by using them. Innovation doesn’t only come with products but it is embedded into the culture through workplace guidelines, practices, and legislation all to create a safer environment to work in.
Without innovative products, however, we would not be able to streamline processes like we do. We would not be able to increase production, we would not be able to lower shut down times and of course, mines wouldn’t be able to sustain their business over time.
With innovation comes responsibility, and that is why we see so many new high-end products hitting the market in 2017. We see ground-breaking responses to onsite issues in the form of usable equipment, intelligent technology and time-saving solutions to everyday problems.
When it comes to transport within the mining industry, safety is by far the most important factor, and one of the most prevalent issues in transport is tyres. Tyre safety on any vehicle is essential, but when it comes to innovative solutions to maximise tyre life and increase productivity, there’s no one doing what Kal Tire is doing. Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group are not just tyre safety specialists, but they train your onsite crews to ensure your operation performs at its peak, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Kal Tire began operating in Western Australia in 2000, and in the spring of 2016, acquired the mining tyre services business of the long-established national tyre service provider, Klinge & Co. Kal Tire Australia is now serving more than 20 mines across Australia and in regions such as the Pilbara, Hunter Valley, the Bowen Basin and more.
We spoke to Peter Nilsson, who is Innovation, Research and Development Manager at Kal Tire about the innovative products and why it’s so important that the industry stays on top with ideas and solutions. Our first discussion was on tyre safety in mines, and its importance.
“I think everyone who works with tyres in the mining industry agrees with me when I say that safety is the top priority when it comes to servicing and managing tyres. An example of this is the training and development Kal Tire provides to our tyre technicians. Here we are focusing on delivering the highest quality of training to drive safety and efficiency throughout our organization and to our customers,” Peter said.
“Safety and efficiency are two areas which must be managed correctly. Combining these two critical elements to ensure that our customers receive service excellence at every one of its location around the world is the result of Kal Tire’s mining tyre service.”
When it comes to the processes of developing new products there is a lot of work involved in getting it to the production stage. Peter tells us how Kal Tire has started an internal Innovation process called “Investing in Innovation” where all team members have an opportunity to provide an idea or suggestion on tooling, equipment or solution that they feel will improve safety and efficiency for their team members and their customer’s operations. This process generates a lot of exceptional ideas and the whole process is reviewed monthly. Each idea is evaluated and assessed internally and is followed by a value-added scoring system to define its level of priority.
“Each new idea is designed and engineered at our Innovation Centre,” Peter says. “First, we run an in-house test to check the functionality of prototype units, followed by a 3-month field test at one of our global operations. ‘Proof of the tooling’ allows our tyre service operations to use the new innovation for a period of time, so we can review their feedback on safety and efficiency. If the result meets or exceeds the set parameters in the project definition, then the project will be commercially available for our global group.”
It’s this type of internal teamwork that helps to keep Kal Tire ahead when it comes to innovation. Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group has a broad network with 45 years’ experience providing tyre management services and supply across five mining rich continents.
“We have an extensive core competence when it comes to providing OTR tyre and service solutions. I believe the difference with Kal Tire is that we drive our innovation to deliver solutions which can provide extraordinary value to our customers and their operations,” he explains.
“We understand the complexity of our customer’s environment and operation, which means we can innovate and develop commercial advantages and find better ways to deliver value. I will give you an example; internally we run an in-house safety system which reports and measures the number of safety incidents for all our global team members. This system is very important for our future innovations since it can spot and identify areas which need additional focus so we can improve safety for our team members.”
Kal Tire’s Gravity Assist System is a perfect example. After having reviewed internal statistics on incidents from their system and visiting several mine sites it was clear that something needed to be done to improve the safety and efficiency of tyre maintenance operations.
Peter explained how innovation is a relatively new concept within Kal Tire. “We have only been up and running now for 2 years, but within such a short time we have already developed 11 new innovations which have enhanced the safety aspect for our team members but also improved the efficiency for our customer’s operation. Out of these 11 new innovations, 8 have been patented by Kal Tire. Introducing the patenting process to Kal Tire and to our Innovation Centre is another solution to give Kal Tire and our customers a competitive edge.”
In the mining industry, there are many large problems when it comes to safety, and Peter offers some insight into what they are, and what he believes can be done about it.
“The mining industry has inherent risks and there’s no question of the industry resolve to continuously improve performance. However, from the tyre service perspective, I think there are a few common areas which relate to safety issues. Business is business and the profit motive can have a risk of prioritizing production over safety. This is a challenge for many industries, not just mining, but it must be managed correctly to find the right balance.”
Understanding and being aware of your role and environment is the first step to prevent injuries in the workplace. Here again I am referring to how we train our team members and the importance to follow our Safe Work Procedures; tried and true protocols.”
“Overall, I think the mining industry is also focused on improving implementation of preventative maintenance practices in operations. Preventative maintenance development also covers hand tooling and shop equipment ensuring these elements are maintained and/or replaced when needed. Preventative maintenance is a process of making sure that people and equipment are operating at peak efficiency at all times, reducing breakdown interruptions that can lead to rushing and risking injuries. Focus on prevention will reduce injury far better than protection which tends to come into play after the actual incident.
Back in September 2016, at the MineExpo show in Las Vegas, Kal Tire unveiled a simple prototype version of a mechanical tool that would safely and weightlessly maneuver the 30kg torque guns used to fasten lug nuts on earthmover tyres. One year later, Kal Tire’s patented, next-generation version, (now far more refined and robust), now called the Gravity Assist System was presented at the recent Asia-Pacific International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) where it received plenty of attention from the industry. Peter discussed why it was a necessary innovation to design for the industry.
“Gravity Assist System is a new piece of equipment which allows the tyre technician to weightlessly maneuver the torque tool and accessories. Before, the tyre technician had to fasten 60-70 lug nuts on their own holding a 30kg torque gun repeatedly and extensively. Now using this Gravity Assist System and attaching a range of different torque tools and attachments, tyre technicians simply let the system to do the work.”
“What started us thinking about the Gravity Assist System, were questions about how could we support the weight of these tools to reduce strains and injuries for tyre technicians and how could we speed up the process in order to achieve better efficiency”.
The Gravity Assist System, unpowered and controlled entirely by the tyre technician, reduces pinched fingers, fatigue and strain are common when mounting earthmover tyres, particularly ultra-class tyres. The Gravity Assist System improves not just efficiency, but also quality and precision with heavy tools.
Kal Tire has many exclusive new innovative products in the works and some recent releases as well that are important for mine operators to consider.
“In 2016, we released the exclusive patented Ram Mounts, which were developed to break the bead on tyres for CAT 795, 797 and Komatsu 830, 930. We have also developed Power Carts – one electrical and one for pneumatic function. The Power Cart was developed to improve the safety of our tyre technicians but also to improve our operational efficiency. The functions of the Power Cart are operated by remote control, enabling the tyre technician to stand away from the hauling truck area during critical tasks where proximity poses an increased risk.”
“The Lock Ring Lifter, is designed to aid in the installation and removal of lock rings on OTR haul truck wheels. The Lock Ring Lifter can support the full weight of the lock ring and change its elevation to raise and lower the lock ring with minimal human effort. The Lock Ring Spreader is designed for safe and controlled spreading and relieving of lock rings to aid in the installation of lock rings on OTR wheels. The combination of the spreader and lifter reduce risk and effort considerably to seat the ring in place” he says.
Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group has now grown to 2,700 team members internationally. This includes the 200 Klinge team members who all joined Kal Tire, bringing to the company the highest quality technicians and their decades of experience on mine sites throughout Australia.
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