Bulk Materials Handling Maintenance

A comprehensive guide to the maintenance of bulk materials handling systems, focused on maximizing equipment reliability and operational safety. Designed to move teams from "firefighting" maintenance to effective predictive and planned maintenance strategies.

1. Introduction

• Course objectives, venue safety

2. Instructor and Attendee Backgrounds

3. Maintenance Health and Safety

• General risks — manual handling, suspended loads, working at heights, electricity, isolation

• Specific risks — combustible dust, fires, flash fire, explosion hazards

• Housekeeping

4. Equipment Reliability Definitions

• Predictive, planned, firefighting maintenance

• Maintenance management systems and failure identification

5. Dust Mitigation Maintenance

• Suppression — methods, water supply, filters, sprays

• Collection — methods, explosive/flammable dust, baghouse filters, compressors, air receivers

6. Conveying Maintenance

• Components and operation

• Common issues, failures, monitoring

• Drives, pulleys/lagging, belts, idlers, take-ups

• Latest maintenance and monitoring methods

• Managing faulty operation — belt drift, rip, temperature, vibration, idler failure

7. Drive Types

• Electric, hydraulic, gearboxes, couplings, fluid couplings

8. Belt Tracking and Splicing

• Causes of tracking and management

• Splice types, strength and design calculation

• Provisions for belt pulling and splicing

9. Conveyor Electrical and Control Maintenance

• Motor management — DOL, soft start, VFD, variable resistance

• Control set-up

10. Conveyor Ancillaries Maintenance

• Cleaners, ploughs, weighers, magnets, samplers, impact beds

11. Major Component Maintenance

• Gearbox and mechanical couplings

• Fluid couplings and electronic drives

• Drive and take-up

12. Chute Design Maintenance Impacts

• Chutes and transfer points

• Load zones, liner types, fixing, wear monitoring

• Position, adjustment and flow management

13. Coal/Ore Storage Maintenance

• Bins, bunkers, hoppers, silos

• Short-term and long-term storage

• Coal pile management

14. Stackers and Reclaimers

• Hydraulics, winches and ropes, structure, bushes and bearings

• Bogies, brakes, bearings and rails

15. Maintenance Practices for Transfer Towers and Other Structures

16. Lubrication Considerations and Storage

17. Typical Pitfalls and Errors

18. Other Issues

• Component life and spares holding

• Design for maintenance

• Special tools

• Monitoring and predicting component life

Maintenance Supervisors, Conveyor Maintenance Personnel, Rotating Equipment Engineers, Condition Monitoring Specialists, Shutdown / Turnaround Teams, Inspection Engineers, Materials Handling Supervisors, Port and Terminal Engineers, Mining Engineers, Storage and Silo System Personnel, Logistics and Transport Engineers