Engineering & Mining Journal

JUL 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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D I E S E L S A N D V E N T I L AT I O N Minimizing Downtime Rakochy noted that a key factor in Sandvik's success in implementing these new-technology engines has been the engineering, technical support and onsite service from the Volvo Penta team and their worldwide dealer network. "With the nature of mining, time is critical. Depending on the customer needs, service support needs to be dispatched to match their needs as quickly as possible," Rakcohy said. "While Volvo is new in Sandvik underground mining equipment, they have a robust support network in place for the healthy business they enjoy in their other market segments—on-road, off-road, marine and power generation. We can leverage this expertise and their support network. We can often establish a working relationship, for instance, with a nearby Volvo Construction Equipment dealer to be the frontline service provider at a given mine site. "When the need arises to dispatch service people to the mine site, usually they will be on site within 24 hours," he said, noting that in a majority of cases, repairs will need to be made to the machines underground, rather than bringing them to the surface. "As we populate new sales areas with Volvo Penta powered equipment, we organ- www.e-mj.com Sandvik says that, in some cases, it's possible for a mine to run two machines with its low-emissions engines in an area where they could only operate a single machine before—with no increase in ventilation. ize training events involving the Sandvik service organization, the customer's service team and usually the appropriate Volvo dealer. Training is provided by the Volvo Penta technical training team. When field problems occur, the customer can call upon either Sandvik or the Volvo dealer for assistance. Should the problem require higher skill levels, the extended Volvo support network will provide assistance, coming to the customer site if necessary," Rakochy said. "It's natural to have a learning curve with any new technology, and the new Volvo Penta engines are no exception. But there is tremendous effort and cooperation between all parties at the outset to educate, train and raise the level of competence and familiarity with the product," he said. "When introducing a new engine underground there is some trepidation, but we have yet to receive any negative feedback where the customer has suggested he has made a mistake in purchasing the equipment," Rakochy said. "On the contrary, we have customers come back and ask about retrofitting older machines with the Volvo Tier 4i engines." James is a freelance writer who covers construction and mining equipment. JULY 2013 • E&MJ; 67

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