Sandvik set up the group to create a forum for discussion about its products, particularly the new Autocut system.
The Autocut sequence involves the bolter-miner’s cutter being programmed to travel through a pre-determined set of coordinates, including pauses for shuttle cars, as well as interfacing with other machine functions, such as conveyors and Auto TRS.
Sandvik Mining’s MB product line specialist Duncan Edwards said the Autocut system had the ability to bring about process improvement in underground coal mining applications through greater consistency, and measurable, repeatable coal production.
“Autocut has been outstandingly successful with [Centennial Coal’s mine] Mandalong, and we have since tried to implement it at six or seven other sites around Australia, without that same success,” he said.
“We would introduce the system, commission it, the mines would trial it, all would appear to be going well – then when we left the site, the mine would stop using it.”
“Given Mandalong’s success with Autocut, our goal is to see the system used as the standard production tool for all MB series machines in Australia.”
The user group aims to establish why the Autocut was so successful at Mandalong but not at other coal mines.
“Our aim in setting up an Australia-wide bolter-miner user group was to see the benefits achieved at Mandalong extended to other underground coal operations,” Edwards said.
“However, we realised it was not up to us at Sandvik to tell miners how to use our machines in their operation, rather for them to tell us how our machines could better fit into their processes.”
“By setting up a user group, our customers could talk about what they wanted together with their peers, and learn from each other’s mistakes, so that they weren’t all making the same ones at different site.
“We specifically wanted it to be more than a customer forum – we weren’t trying to sell anything. Instead we were focusing on the opportunity areas in which Autocut could bring about a step-change in the way things were done on a site.”
Sandvik Mining’s first MB User Group met in mid-November 2012, and included a full-day forum.
