Did you know that one tire for a CAT 793 truck can cost up to $30,000-$35,000, making the tires on one vehicle worth over $100,000? With approximately 130 trucks across the Company, that very quickly adds up.
One of our latest Continuous Improvement initiatives is a new global tire management program to improve overall tire performance and tire life by 10% at our sites across the globe. Extending tire life can have wide-ranging positive effects across our business, including improving cycle times to optimize mining activities and contributing to our all-in sustaining cost reduction effort for Achieving Excellence.
Tires are often overlooked as a way to increase efficiency and savings, but they are a valuable part of the equation. It was determined that some tires were being discarded too soon, even with substantial tread life left.
Extending tire life is a multi-faceted process that starts with choosing the right tire for the climate and terrain of the site, including factoring in whether trucks go uphill, downhill or stay on flat ground.
Another key aspect is education and overall operator awareness, including optimizing speed and handling curves on the road. Providing better driving training can mean longer tire life, as well as overall tire monitoring and maintenance, from keeping tire pressure consistent to not overloading vehicles.
The road design itself, and maintenance of haul routes, is equally important, as is reducing any risk of debris that could cause cuts or punctures.
“We’re excited starting a new global effort to establish a world-class tire management system” said Mark Umanec, Analyst, Business Optimization. “We are really looking at the overall holistic approach from not discarding tires with a safe amount of tread life left to looking at the road design of haul routes. It’s going to improve our overall mining activities.”
Mark Umanec, Analyst, Business Optimization, at Round Mountain
