Lampson’s Gladstone team recently transported a massive P&H 4100XPC, a process involving loading and unloading the heavyweight shovel, a sight it said was genuinely remarkable.
The relocation of the 4100XPC face shovel required the preparation of 54 axles of Goldhofer platform trailers in three rows of 18 x 8 axles (432 tyres).
This also involved propulsion provided by three SPMT engine packs and two Kenworth C540 prime movers with traction blocks, supported on five 15m steel mats, column stands, and with equipment mobilised to the mine site on 10 trailer loads.
For Lampson, each component passed a strict site compliance inspection by the mine safety personnel before entry, an integral piece to the process.
Behind the scenes of the big move, hours of office work and planning were required to establish employees and equipment on the mine site.
Working within the mine environment, it was important to use tools such as the critical path method (CPM) and a schedule that accounts for every project step.
This included assembly, disassembly, the transport route and unloading to identify the time for events, potential hazards, and determine the critical steps for on-time completion.
A dedicated site induction day, an online Webex meeting, and a site JSA meeting all enabled access to the equipment and the team at the site.
On the mine, Lampson’s team assembled the equipment and set the assembled trailer into the shovel loading position.
The steel mats were installed on the platform trailer, and earth ramps were pushed up to allow the 1500-tonne shovel to walk itself onto the awaiting trailer.
The shovel bucket rested at one end of the trailer, and the counterweight was supported to provide a stable, balanced load for on-rubber transport through the mine.
The relocation across 14 kilometres of existing mine haul roads was completed during a single day and all within two weeks, which included assembly and disassembly.
Lampson’s trailers are road registered, which provides further options for moving equipment to or from other mine sites using public roads, with the experienced team providing transport and lifting services to mines across Australia since 1990.
Contact Lampson at info@lampson.com.au, on 0249410400 or through its local state offices.
