ESS Engineering has launched a new retrofit kit to enhance conveyor belt tracker safety in Australian mines.
Conveyor belt mistracking is a common issue across Australian mine sites.
Contributing factors that may cause mistracking including idler misalignment, belt condition and off-centre material loading.
Once a conveyor belt excessively mistracks, other issues can start to occur, including material spillage, environmental hazards, safety hazards, and damage to the conveyor structure, components, and the belt itself.
The associated cost with these issues can be enormously high, especially if belt misalignment results in an unexpected shutdown.
“There’s a lot involved in getting a belt back online when mistracking triggers a shutdown,” ESS sales and service technician Jerome Reid told Australian Mining.
This is why belt trackers are an important tool for ensuring belt alignment in conveying processes.
“At ESS, our aim is to keep belts aligned and operating smoothly, reducing the need for shutdowns,” Reid said.
Image: ESS Engineering
ESS trackers accomplish this by using durable guide rollers which run along the edge of the belt to sense misalignment. These rollers are linked to a mechanism which pivots a roller frame and guides the belt back into its central position.
The tracker does this on a continual basis, providing smaller corrections and requiring less force.
ESS was recently contacted by a major iron ore customer after it began having trouble with trackers from other suppliers.
This prompted the customer to update its safety design standards, which resulted in the need for upgraded components that could be retrofitted onto existing trackers.
The client had procured several trackers from different suppliers. Among these, ESS was chosen to make these changes due to its track record for product reliability and client collaboration.
“We received feedback that our products have become a go-to solution thanks to their superior performance and reliability, in some cases replacing a competitor’s unit.” ESS engineer Mitch Stone told Australian Mining.
“We worked extensively with the customer to create a solution which best suited the new requirements.
“It was important to make the solution easily retrofittable because of the large number of ESS trackers already installed and the high cost associated with complete replacement.”
The resulting kit improves existing features and adds extra security by tethering major parts of the tracker assembly together, reducing the chance of falling objects in the unlikely event of a failure.
The kit gives customers even more peace of mind about an already widely used and well-proven product.
If a guide roller seizes while the belt is moving, it can eventually be severed in two, introducing a fall risk from the loose portion and potentially posing a risk to workers below. The revised design ensures a severed roller is still tethered to the frame.
Stone said the kit adds a layer of protection on sites with particularly demanding conditions.
“ESS can tailor its solutions to the needs of any site,” he said. “This allows us to remain dynamic in our approach and help customers receive the best solution to suit their individual requirements.”
Whether it means making adjustments to an existing product or designing something entirely new, the ESS team has the knowledge and experience to make it happen.
With manufacturing and service facilities around Australia, ESS gives its expansive client base confidence that whatever solution they require can be made a reality.
Being equally focused on creative and efficient manufacturing gives ESS well-rounded capabilities when it comes to serving customers of various sizes and industries.
“Our customer focus is what drives us towards being an industry leader,” Reid said. “Every application is different, and we really thrive off meeting customer challenges head-on and delivering solutions they can rely on.
“There are a variety of trackers on the market, but at ESS we go above and beyond, working with our customers to provide products which outperform on a consistent basis.
“Our reputation for superior solutions continues to grow, and we’re eager to grow with it.”
This feature appeared in the July 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
