Truck Monitor Screen Repairs - Huge Savings with Increased Reliability

About the Company

BMA Caval Ridge mine is the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance eighth operation in Queensland and employs around 500 people. The mine produces up to 5.5 million tonnes of premium quality metallurgical coal per annum and has a significant investment in their fleet of Caterpillar 793 Trucks.

Summary

The Cat 793 truck is one of the largest trucks that Caterpillar produce powered by an 85 litre engine and weighs over 122 tonnes. Like on many of these large size trucks, the driver controls most of the trucks’ ancillary systems through a large touch screen computer monitor. Having to operate in harsh environments, the screens have become insensitive to touch which can result in unreliable operation. As these monitors are no longer manufactured or available, the alternative would be to upgrade to a new screen at a higher cost and requiring modification to the trucks wiring system. ROM-Control was approached by BMA Caval Ridge to provide a more economical repair and refurbishment of the existing screens.

Issue to be resolved

The touch screens are an integral part of the operation for the large trucks providing information regarding operation and are the operators’ interface to controlling many of the truck functions. The tactile components of the monitors are integrated into the monitor’s architecture including the physical placement of wires and other connections. To refurbish these screens and ensure total reliability, ROM-Control referred to their database and contacted many of their suppliers internationally to locate specific components that would be compatible for the touch screen monitors. As a result they set about re-designing a new system that will allow the new parts to be fully consolidated and physically secure within the monitor’s housing. The result was Rom-Control were the only provider that could offer a tangible bespoke solution that was fully guaranteed. Compared to the upgrade costs with original parts, the ROM-Control solution was by far the more economical alternative.

Action

ROM-Controls’ highly trained staff examined the touch screens and by contacting our large network of suppliers and providers, identified a suitable alternative to refurbish the screens at a fraction of the cost of a replacement and with minimal risk. Due to BMA Caval Ridge remote location, it was essential that the screen repairs be reliable after the modification which was assured as ROM Control’s procedures and testing regime conformed to AS9001. For all repairs and refurbishment, Rom-Control also provided a full one year unconditional warranty.

Result

In the field trials that were performed by BMA Caval Ridge proved the reliability of each touch screen and found a success rate of 100%. BMA Caval Ridge has listed ROM-Control as the primary source for repairing these screens.

Adrian Ciorogaru Ph. 1300 766 287