SA coal miner prioritises uptime with Booyco Engineering HVAC man-on-site contract
RECOGNISING the importance of mobile equipment uptime, a leading South African coal miner has renewed its man-on-site maintenance contract with Booyco Engineering.
This ensures the heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems on the surface mining equipment is kept in optimal condition, so operators can always work in comfortable conditions as required by law.
Keeping its mobile equipment operators comfortable in hot, cold or dusty conditions is a priority for a South African coal miner, so it has renewed its man-on-site HVAC maintenance contract with Booyco Engineering for another three years.
According to Booyco Engineering MD Brenton Spies, the performance of HVAC systems is operationally and legally critical for companies wanting to optimise their uptime and production levels. Regular maintenance by specialised technicians can make sure that mobile equipment owners can achieve this vital goal, says Spies.
“The conditions on many South African mines are demanding – especially the variations in temperature and the high levels of dust,” he says. “For this reason, the law requires that working conditions do not present any physical hazards to operators – including extreme temperatures.”
He highlights that underperforming HVAC equipment can result in a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act – as driver cabs have extensive window space for improved visibility. This exposes operators to considerable heat in summer, he explains, and cold in winter – as the windows provide little insulation from ambient temperatures outside.
“Our man-on-site contract with this surface coal mining operation gives the customer three of our trained and experienced technicians – with vehicles – who work on the mine site to ensure ongoing maintenance is conducted,” says Spies. “This includes maintenance of the equipment’s air conditioners at intervals of 500 hours, 1 000 hours, 2 000 hours and 4 000 hours.”