Komatsu Australia’s team on the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KGCM) project – otherwise known as the ‘Super Pit’ – has recently won a continuous improvement award for the development of a much safer and faster pin-lock system for bucket change-out on the four PC8000 excavators used at the mine.
The award, the 2009 Barrick Site CI Award, was made by Russell Cole, General Manager of KCGM.
According to Garry Giles, Komatsu Australia’s Project Manager at KCGM, the previous pin-lock system required service technicians to manually position the bucket pins – which weigh up to 500kg – while they were inserted and removed.
“This was a definite safety hazard, as service personnel were in the vicinity of the WA250PT-3 tool carriers we use for the change-outs,” he says.
“Weighing 400-500kg apiece, each of the locking pins are 280-300mm across and 750mm long – so they are difficult to handle.
“The new system eliminates any need for manual handling; instead, we use our Komatsu WA250PT-3s with a pin pushing attachment to insert the pins.”
Before the introduction of the one-piece locking device, changing over an 800-tonne bucket on a PC8000 normally took 12-16 hours.
“With the new system, we now have this time down to seven or eight hours,” he says.
“Our new pin lock system is a unique one-piece locking device that retains itself, and automatically aligns the pin into the bucket, reducing the risk of any injuries to personnel during installation of the bucket.
“In addition, the time taken to fit the bucket pins has been greatly reduced.
“As well as developing this one-piece locking system, we’ve changed the location of the pin-locks, giving much easier access for the IT loaders.”
The PC8000 buckets are changed over once a year, with the removed bucket being refurbished by Komatsu Australia’s team at KCGM.
The design and manufacture process was completed in-house at KCGM by the Komatsu Australia team, with technical support and approval from Komatsu Mining Group (KMG).
“This pin lock device can be used on other Komatsu mining excavators, from the PC8000 down to the PC3000, plus it can also be adapted to use on other pins, such as bucket and boom top pins on the PC8000 and other machines.
“The introduction of this locking device will greatly improve safety and machine downtime,” Giles says.