computEr systEms/softwarE 31
in the test section resulted in a 2.6 per cent increase in truck speeds, and reduced variation in truck speed by 7 per cent.
Now the entire haul ramp is being checked and improved, and any sections with a grade of more than 10 per cent will be reduced to 10 per cent or lower. This adjustment is predicted to save at least 8.3 seconds per full uphill trip.
Fuel injector analysis
Minitab’s analysis of the team’s fuel injector data also revealed that 10 per cent of the fleet’s trucks were not operating at their peak.
As part of developing the new procedures for identifying and replacing faulty fuel injectors, the team found that replacing one injector in one truck improved cycle time by 5.6 per cent, enough to result in one extra trip out of the pit per truck per day.
These improvements are now making the Cadia Hill Mine more productive, and much more efficient. Newcrest Mining anticipates that it will save more than $835 000 in just the first year of implementing these changes.
Minitab Statistical Software originally developed in 1972, is the software used most often in Six Sigma, the world’s leading quality improvement methodology. More than 90 per cent of companies in the Fortune 100 use Minitab, and virtually all major quality
engineerlive ad 1/8/08 12:36 PM Page 1
Fig. 2. Minitab’s powerful graphics quickly and clearly reveal when one of a truck’s fuel injectors isn’t performing.
improvement training and consulting organisations use and recommend the company’s software. In 2007, Minitab received the Customer Value Leadership award from Frost & Sullivan, the world’s leading growth consulting company. m
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Eston Martz is Senior Creative Specialist with Minitab Inc, State College, PA, USA.
www.minitab.com
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