PMO Project at the BHP Billiton Mt Arthur Coal mining operation located in the Hunter Valley region, New South Wales, Australia.  While an “excavator” may not sound as if it should be placed in the “extreme machine” category, well all I got to say is; Think Again Amigo! … this is one serious machine and a complicated machine at that ! Great project, good folk to work with !

With an operating weight of more than 650 tonnes, the R 996 Litronic crawler excavator is the flagship of the Liebherr hydraulic excavator fleet. With its enormous force for direct excavation, its reliability and its long service life, it guarantees high performance at low operating costs. The R 996 Litronic is modular in design. All its modules can be transported by by flatbed truck or ship and easily assembled in the mine. The modular design also minimises downtime for maintenance work or the replacement of components.

R996 Specifications:

Operating Weight:   650,600 - 655,800 kg

Engine Output:   2,240 kW/3000 

Bucket Capacity: 33.00 m³ @ 1.8 t/m³

Shovel Capacity: 34.00 m³ @ 1.8 t/m³

The Pump Brain

All new Liebherr machines now include a pump brain, which enables the 655t R996 to achieve a 33-second cycle time … the pump brain comprises a set of pumps that each deliver 840 l of oil to the valve bank every minute.

Liebherr has carefully synchronised the individual pumps so that they also monitor the flow of oil in order to speed up the system … the pump brain measures exactly where the oil has to go in order to give maximum output …

It includes eight pumps – delivering 840 l of oil a minute – four independent swing pumps – delivering 413 l of oil a minute – and ancillary pumps that drive the cooling fans … this pump brain has been combined with two (1,120 kW / 1,500HP) Cummins diesel engines so that the R996 is actually driven by two power packs … 

Planned Maintenance Optimization Defined:

The activity of defining and reviewing a maintenance program is one that is generally very poorly done. Not surprisingly, done properly, this process alone can be the most effective means of generating company profits through greater output from the same assets. It is a fact that no amount of clever planning and scheduling can account for a low value-adding maintenance program. In reality completing 100% of a poor program can drive a company backwards particularly if it contains the wrong type of maintenance.

The problems usually start in the design or acquisition phase where the definition or consideration of maintenance programs is poorly funded. Equipment is often delivered and commissioned without a formal maintenance program at all. In some cases one is provided, but it has been done in an inappropriate fashion and is worthless. During the following years of operation, the maintenance program develops. This often happens in an “ad hoc” manner and results in a program that lacks focus and is inefficient. Without some means of reviewing this situation, organisations can find themselves uncompetitive either because maintenance costs are too high, or the plant is unreliable.

The review of maintenance programs and failure history is an activity that most organisations undertake and no doubt have undertaken since formal maintenance was first performed. Some organisations do this continuously whilst others do so in large chunks as needs arise. Unfortunately, some organisations do not perform any reviews whatsoever. The problems of most attempts at review are that the review is done in an informal manner with little or no set procedure and an absence of useful decision logic.

Until now, the only accepted means of defining a maintenance program was to use RCM. However, there is now a realisation that RCM is a tool designed for use in the design phase of the equipment life cycle (Ref RCM II Moubray 1997 2nd edition page 19) and not for use where equipment is already in use. OMCS’s pmOPTIMISATION methodology (PMO2000™) is specifically designed for reviewing maintenance programs and failure history for equipment that is in use and has a formal or informal system of maintenance albeit misdirected. For this reason PMO2000™ is also very effective at defining the initial maintenance program for new equipment where similar equipment is in use somewhere.

If you have any further questions on the Planned Maintenance Optimization Process, please drop me an email … or visit our corporate web site:

 WWW.OMCSINTERNATIONAL.COM

Videos:

I did not have a video camera with me, and the R996 are far and few out there … but was able to get some videos on the 974B and R994B, both just as extreme and the videos will give you a good feel as to what these Liebherr Hydraulic Excavators are all about … MOVING DIRT and allot of it at one time!

Liebherr 974B and Caterpillar 769D from 974B Cab

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CxLJo9mKZg

Liebherr R994B at Work, doing what it does best … MOVING DIRT !

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZxvmmL2ns

PMO Workshop: