Following a potential fatal incident (PFI), Veyex was approached to develop an innovative composite solution to replace the carbon manganese steel pin bushes on all bucket wheel reclaimers.
Through the utilisation of Veyex’s innovative engineered composite solutions, the company provided an engineered composite bush for trial over a 52-week period.
This trial resulted in a safe and successful outcome for the iron ore producer.
The challenge:
- Previously, bucket wheel reclaimers were equipped with carbon-manganese steel bushes and pins to secure buckets in place.
- Significant force was necessary to remove the pins for servicing the buckets. In some instances, hydraulic pulling equipment was utilised due to the immense force required.
- During a change-out, a 24mm threaded bar sheared and projected through the front and rear windshield of the forklift holding the bucket, landing 8m away. (No one was in the forklift due to hazards identified during the pre-start checklists).
- A substantial risk of an uncontrollable release of energy, potentially resulting in a PFI.
- Veyex provided a specially formulated composite bush that underwent rigorous testing in a field environment for a 52-week period.
- During the trial period, no failures or issues were reported.
- Subsequently, at the 52-week bucket changeout, the pins were removed with considerably less force, thereby eliminating the risk of PFI.
- All bucket pin bushes across the entire fleet of iron ore reclaimers have been replaced with Veyex bushes.
- The implementation of composite bucket wheel bushes throughout the business has eliminated a relatively high-risk procedure from daily operations.
For more information on Veyex’s products, you can visit its website.
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