Capital Equipment News January-February 2024

LETS shine the spotlight on conveyor belt maintenance

Payouts to serve mining industry Correctly maintaining conveyor belts at manufacturing and mining facilities can take time and effort. Still, a new decision making tool can help facilitate the correct lubrication to keep these critical assets performing optimally. The LETS strategy, established by Lubri cation Engineers (LE) South Africa, refers to load, environment, temperature and speed. It includes questions that maintenance teams can use to find the best lubrication solution from the original equipment man ufacturer’s recommended range for their particular operating conditions. LE South Africa developed a comprehen sive LETS lubrication strategy to help its customers proactively maintain conveyor belts and prevent the risks of wear with suitable grease and gear oil selection by facilitating correct grease application, con tamination exclusion, and visual monitoring and contamination removal. Through its partnerships with clients and the use of the LETS tool, LE has identi fied several common challenges. Across conveyor belt applications, these include problems with grease application and incorrect selection of gear oil and greases Despite ongoing challenges such as low consumer confidence and high inflation, adumo Payouts saw robust growth in 2023. “We had a remarkably good year with some positive growth,” says CEO Steve Mallaby, adding that diversification has been a key factor in the company’s ongoing success. “We reduce the risk on our side as there are a broad range of sectors we are involved with,” explains Mallaby. The company serves industries ranging from FMCG to mining and motor manufactur ing, strategically positioning itself to weather economic downturns. The company underwent a strategic rebranding 18 months ago, shifting from being perceived solely as a rewards and incentives business to positioning itself as a holistic payout solutions provider. This move allowed it to craft specific use cases for different industries, significantly expanding its scope and opportunities. In terms of specific plans for 2024, adumo Payouts aims to further expand its engagement in the mining industry, tapping into opportunities with mining houses, unions, and other stakehold ers. The company plans to address the downstream supply industry in mining

for different components. Other challenges that conveyor belts regularly face are extreme temperatures, water, vibration and heavy loads, all of which can be exacerbated when the equip ment is outdoors. Using the incorrect grease on a piece of equipment can harm its reliability and lifespan. In most cases, for conveyor belts, an extreme pressure grease that can with stand heavy loads, maintain performance in a broad range of operating temperatures, seal out water, protect from corrosion and wear, and will not emulsify when water is present is the ideal solution. However, even with the proper grease, performance can be hampered by incorrect grease application. Ford says that issues LE often helps customers resolve include under- and over-greasing, both of which can cause issues. Many technicians manually grease lu brication points in hard-to-reach or unsafe areas, which can be neglected because of these difficulties. However, several functional single- or multi-point lubrication systems are available to help automate lubrication applications so that the right

An optimally performing conveyor system.

amount of grease is applied to the right place at suitable intervals. These automatic systems are precision lubrication tools that can also improve the accuracy of greasing applications, reduce labour time, enhance safety, reduce equip ment failures, and keep out contaminants. As with grease, using inferior or incorrect gear oil can lead to equipment problems and unplanned downtime. b

The adumo Payouts team.

and explore solutions for greater trans parency in fund flow for ESG initiatives. In addition, it will focus on junior miners, who are also faced with the need to drive safety and productivity incentives. “Traditionally, mines tended to hand out grocery vouchers as an incentive. But what if it is the middle of the month and you need to pay school fees, or in fact you want to try and save money for the end of the year for other needs?” questions Mallaby. “It is always about making the employee feel appreciated and giving them a choice. They become much more engaged at the

end of the day, and it has a knock-on effect. Mineworkers are more empowered as we have increased their spending power. Increased production means the mining industry contributes more to economic growth. If the mining industry is doing well, as a result, service providers such as adumo Payouts benefit as well,” says Mallaby. With a customer-centric approach, a focus on diversification, and an eye on emerging trends, the company looks set to navigate the dynamic business environ ment and continue its upward trajectory in 2024 and beyond. b

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JAN - FEB 2024