On the 12th Day of Christmas, my Operation Gave to me...

With Christmas just around the corner, the holiday songs are inescapable. Don't get me wrong, I have a few favorites but I don't listen to festive tunes all month long...they tend to get stuck in my head! Just having sat through my sons' school Christmas program and band concert, the traditional carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" is on repeat in my head. So, instead of fighting it, I will use it as inspiration.  🎼

Without further ado, let me present "Martin^® Total Transfer Point Solution Reduces Dust and Spillage" to the tune of "the 12 Days of Christmas."

Problem

On the first day of Christmas, my operation (a silver and lead mine in Northern Mexico) gave to me...

Excessive downtime. The main conveyor transporting raw ore was experiencing downtime. 

On the second day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

Spillage and dust emissions. This fugitive material made access for maintenance and cleanup difficult and unsafe in the loading and discharge zones. 

On the third day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

Dust and its negative consequences. Dust was causing rolling components to seize and spillage quickly accumulated around the structure, causing damage to both the belt and rollers.

--- Don't worry...good, positive gifts will soon be brought. 🎁 ---

On the fourth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

Maintenance inefficiency and safety risks. Santa's helpers attempted to fabricate in-house solutions as temporary fixes, which in some cases made the problem worse and resulted in even more safety issues and downtime. 

To address the reduced production and increased operating costs, managers [Santa Claus 🎅] sought a more reliable long-term solution. They didn't need any elves getting hurt or wasting time!

Solution

Reaching out to Martin Engineering, technicians performed a thorough inspection and proposed a Martin^® Total Transfer Point Solution, taking a holistic approach to the system from loading to discharge.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

An Impact Cradle MD (medium duty) to absorb the force of falling material, promote belt health, eliminate spillage, and help keep the load centered,

On the sixth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

Slider Cradles and ApronSeal™ Skirting to eliminate belt sag, stabilize the belt's path, and ensure a tight belt seal to reduce spillage.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

A longer modular chute structure in the settling zone to control dust emissions using a dust bag and curtain system.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

A Martin Tracker™ to keep the belt aligned when entering the chute and along the belt path,

On the ninth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

A VPlow to protect the tail pulley from damage.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

A Martin^® QC1+™ Cleaner HD to remove carryback in the discharge zone. 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

A Martin^® SQC2S™ Secondary Belt Cleaner to help prevent carryback and spillage.

Results

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my operation gave to me...

Significant improvements! Operators report that spillage has been nearly eliminated, dust emissions have been mitigated, and equipment life has been extended.

By improving air quality and reducing the amount of maintenance and cleanup labor, safety around the area has improved dramatically. "We are very happy with the service and equipment provided by the Martin team," said a manager close to the project. Operators are now making next year's Christmas list and reviewing additional conveyors that would benefit from similar solutions to reduce downtime and improve production for an overall lower cost of operation.