Modern Quarrying Q3 2018

Scania tippers, at maximum, are doing about 5 000 km per month. Compared with other truck brands in the fleet, they have, over the past 18 months, returned fuel savings of 10% on average. “To help customers keep productivity high and fuel expenditure low, Scania coninually strives to improve its trucks and services. By constantly refining the three cornerstones of fuel economy – vehicle, driver and services – we help customers thrive,” explains Scheepers. Scheepers says a key contributor to fuel efficiency is that Scania engines offer excellent fuel economy. Coupled with weight optimisation and aerodynamics, Alpha Sand is optimising its fuel consumption. Meanwhile, improved driver performance is helping

HAULAGE

From left: Phillip Botha, mine manager at Roodepoort Crusher; Jan van Waveren, director at Alpha Sand; Niekie van Waveren, director at Alpha Sand; and Hercules Jansen van Vuuren, corporate manager at Alpha Sand.

save up to 10% in fuel consumption. Considering that driver behaviour has a significant impact on both fuel efficiency and truck longevity, Scania Driver Support is another feature that has appealed to Alpha Sand management. Scania smart-analysis tools collect useful data and give drivers feedback that helps them to significantly reduce fuel consumption, wear and tear, while increasing road safety and uptime. Live feedback shows drivers how braking, acceleration and gear-shifting affect fuel consumption and road safety. “Within the Scania truck, there is also what they call Driver Scoring. This constantly rates the driver through a star-rating system. As they are driving, Driver Scoring gives them tips on how to improve on certain areas,” explains Niekie Van Waveren. “Using the available information, we are also able to create a specialised training programme for a particular driver. Instead of going through all the training points, we can focus on areas of improvement to enhance the driver’s capabilities. Our drivers are also able to self-correct while driving, resulting in better fuel efficiency and lower operational costs at large.” More talking points Hercules Jansen van Vuuren, corporate manager at Alpha Sand, is also particularly excited by the OEM’s windscreen cover, which is part of the Scania Insurance package. “This works very well for us, especially in a quarry application where there is a lot of rolling stone on the roads,” he says. Phillip Botha, mine manager at Roodepoort Crusher, says apart from the product, aftersales service from Scania South Africa has been impressive. “The truck has proven itself, but we are also largely impressed by the aftersales service from Scania, particularly the prompt service from their local workshop,” concludes Botha. In future, both directors, Niekie Van Waveren and Jan van Waveren, are open to investing in more Scania units when it’s time to replace some of the units in the fleet or when there is need to expand the fleet. “The truck has performed beyond expectations. We will definitely invest in some more units when there is need to,” concludes Niekie Van Waveren. l

Scania Retarder is a hydraulic system that is inte- grated into the output end of a truck’s gearbox and uses high-pressure oil as a braking medium. Via a gear transmission, the retarder acts on the output shaft of the gearbox and thus directly on the propeller shaft. Once the retarder is applied, it generates a braking force on the propeller shaft corresponding to up to 500 kW, depend- ing on the propeller shaft speed and the applied braking torque. This is about two to three times more braking power than can be delivered by the engine brake. The lever on the steering column controls retarder braking in five steps of increasing brake power. Depending on the position of the automatic exhaust brake switch, the automatic exhaust brake is also activated with increasing brake power to achieve the highest possible performance. “The Scania Retarder distributes the braking power in a vehicle to as many different systems as possible, keeping the brake pads as cool as possible. In an emergency, the pads can then deliver as much braking as possible,” says Niekie Van Waveren. “With a lot of town deliveries, this comes very handy as it reduces the truck’s reliance on primary wheel brakes, thereby reducing maintenance costs related to rake pads.” Coenie Scheepers, Scania Representative in Polokwane, says the Scania Retarder is capable of dealing with 90% of all braking, thereby substantially increasing the service life of wheel brakes. “Within the first seven degrees of the brake pedal, the truck uses the retarder instead of wheel brakes, so it considerably extends the service life of the wheel brakes,” explains Scheepers. Moreover, in such an uptime-conscious application, the saved costs of downtime, wear, time and labour related to changing linings and brake pads translate into substantial gains for Alpha Sand. Fuel economy matters Fuel is a big part of every fleet budget. In an environment where diesel prices have gone up 42%between January 2016 and April 2018, every drop counts. Jan vanWaveren, director at Alpha Sand, says fuel efficiency has been another great benefit offered by the two Scania trucks on site. Due to the short haul nature of the application, the

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 3 - 2018