IM recently spoke to ECOmplete President and CEO Debra Johnson about its innovative and patent pending Primo IAS – Idle Alternative System for mining that has the potential to save mines many millions of dollars simply through managing haul truck idling through technology that allows auxiliary tech to keep the truck’s critical systems running but extending haul truck engine and parts life by 10% or more and cutting diesel usage by reducing 600-700 hours of wasted idling per year.
“After a mine defines what constitutes idling on their trucks (eg the parking brake or wheel lock is on, plus the truck is in neutral and not moving), the system controller is programmed to the site’s specifications. This process would include defining an acceptable idling time (eg 5 minutes) and a warning to the operator that the truck is shutting down. The operator has the option to allow the truck to turn off or press an override if they will be moving shortly. Once the truck is shut down in a safe manner, Primo IAS takes over with a customised smart controller that has been programmed with the site’s specifications of what to keep running and what to turn off. The climate control of the cab, to the operator, functions exactly as it did before with the same controls, except that the air conditioning is now coming from an auxiliary compressor in the Primo IAS housing that runs off a small diesel generator, while heat will come from coolant circulated through the hot engine block. An auxiliary heater, which would also run from the smart controller, can be added for colder climates. The 13 hp diesel engine is automatically turned on to charge the truck’s batteries when needed and to drive the auxiliary compressor. This will extend engine life, reduce maintenance, and reduce fuel consumption to less than ½ gallon an hour.”
Why has a system like this not been looked at before? “Fuel costs and idle time, even today, are frequently not accurately measured or are not closely monitored in mining. They have both been viewed as a ‘cost of doing business’ and therefore not very controllable. Furthermore, mining is, as we know, a cyclical industry that has traditionally had a difficult time with what teams see as incremental innovation. Management wants step change and operations need to mitigate risk, so a challenge that isn’t screaming with measurements and KPIs that doesn’t have an easy answer is a low priority when there is ore to move or costs are being cut. In addition, when the subject of idle has come up, the ‘just turn the truck off’ approach has always seemed like a reasonable solution – until you look at its actual effectiveness given the underlying causes of why trucks idle. Operator safety and comfort, the concern that a truck might not restart for a couple key reasons, the historic misperception that stopping and starting an engine is hard on a truck, and the overall mining culture all keep the ‘just turn it off’ approach from being effective.”
The first two prototypes ran successfully in two different mines. The first small scale production run (six systems) has been operating with about 99% reliability for the last 12 months. “We have seen a range of idle reduction on both Caterpillar and Komatsu trucks depending on how the site defines its parameters, as well as how it measures idle. Generally, however, the system has been able to consistently reduce at least 1/3 of the defined idle. Given that haul trucks typically idle +/-30% of the time and run +/-6,000 hours a year, the numbers add up quickly. Interestingly, while we have not installed the systems on autonomous haul trucks, we have learned from multiple sources that for a variety of reasons, autonomous trucks generally idle more than human driven trucks and that Primo IAS could be very effective in that environment.”