Capital Equipment News August 2017

WHEEL LOADERS

HITTING DESIRED PRODUCTION GOALS

For speedy and economic execution of projects, proper choice of equipment is of primary importance. A wheel loader is one such crucial piece of equipment on any earthmoving site, and spec’ing the right unit for the right job is of principal significance. There are various issues to consider when looking at acquiring a wheel loader for a jobsite, ranging from suitability for job conditions, size of matching units, all the way to driveline options, bucket selection, electronic features, payload systems and more, writes Munesu Shoko .

T he economics of equipment is one of the most important considerations in the selection of equipment. When selecting the most efficient wheel loader for the job at hand, the key is to hit your desired production goals for the lowest to- tal cost of ownership. But, how best is this achievable? A panel of experts unpacks the fundamentals. Todd Tuntland, Product Application Spe- cialist – Large Wheel Loaders at Caterpil- lar, tells Capital Equipment News that this achievable by “right sizing” the wheel loader. “A loader is most efficient at its maximum productivity, not too big, not too small, but just right,” he says. Frank Schmitt, GPPE Wheel Loader Product Manager at Volvo CE, Sales Region EMEA, says to strike the desired production goals with a wheel loader, one needs to know their production targets and the bottlenecks in their current production process. “Experience, along with tools such as Volvo SiteSimulation, will help you to match the right loader to the hauling units or your production process. The right machine size with the proper specification will help you keep your costs under control,” he says. Schmitt, however, cautions that the initial purchasing price will not automatically lead to the lowest cost per tonne. “Factors such as machine availability

(uptime), fuel efficiency and productivity will have a big influence on your cost per tonne as well,” he says. Dominik Brandauer, area sales manager at Liebherr Construction GmbH, shares the same view with Schmitt, saying that one can only reach the lowest cost of ownership when they know all their workflows in their production process. “The important thing is to know where your bottlenecks are through an informed job site analysis. After the job site analysis there are few more key facts that you have to observe. These include, low downtime – coordinated size of equipment; regular and organised service and maintenance; as well as your project timeline on the job site,” says Brandauer. Stephen McNeill, product marketing manager at Bell Equipment, says key to hitting production goals for the lowest total ownership cost is correctly determining the smallest machine capable of doing the job without overloading it, and this effectively maximises efficiency. “It is also key to use the correct linkage system and a bucket that has been correctly designed for the application as this reduces the vehicle power and traction needed to get into the material pile, which results in less tyre wear and less fuel consumption,” says McNeill. “This also

reduces unnecessary exertion on the wheel loader in general, which has a positive knock-on impact in terms of maintenance and vehicle longevity.” Miguel Angel Torres, business director at CASE Construction Equipment Africa, says either for feeding a plant or for loading trucks, wheel loader uptime on site is the key to controlling costs. “Optimising productivity at lower total cost of ownership is best achieved through a combination of factors such as dealer backup, proper sizing, configuration of the machine, fuel efficiency and maintenance cost optimisation,” says Torres. Job conditions Job conditions play a big role in the choice

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