5

OPERATOR

TRAINING

The

people

side

cannot

be

ignored.

An

operator

training

programme

was

implemented

to

improve

vigilance

and

foster

behaviour

change

amongst

the

operators.

This

should

be

an

ongoing

project

as

new

operators

are

employed

from

time

to

time.

CONTINUOUS

IMPROVEMENT

OF

PROCEDURES

Operator

procedures

are

continuously

reviewed

in

response

to

current

chal

lenges.

Operators

to

cal

l

for

assistance

once

stuck

in

the

felds

and

avoid

spinning

the

axles

in

slippery

conditions.

MINIMISE

IMPACT

1.

Drain

oil

to

curb

the

risk

of

further

abrasive

w

e

a

r.

2.

Take

further

action

to

address

the

root

cause

of

the

problem.

This

strategy

resulted

in

savings

amounting

to

ZMK363

984

(US$37

100)

in

cost

avoidance

(component

replacement

cost)

of

potential

differential

and

fnal

drive

failures.

Savings

in

reality

are

more,

considering

the

cost

of

averted

potential

downtime

which

would

result

in

huge

loss

of

tonnage

of

cane

deliveries.

Draining

oil

is

often

done

to

minimise

the

impact

of

abrasive

wear,

thus

giving

a

lifeline

to

components.

It

must

be

noted

that

this

does

not

solve

the

root

cause

of

the

problem

–

further

action

required.

Draining

oil

must

be

careful

ly

considered

and

balanced

with

the

need

to

minimise

oil

usage

and

save

the

environment

.

There

should

be

a

balance

between

the

need

to

change

oil

versus

the

need

to

reduce

oil

usage.

From

a

cost

perspective,

it

is

argued

that

draining

two

litres

of

oil

change

is

better

than

the

potential

cost

inficted

by

abrasive

wear.

It

is

important

to

actual

ly

consider

the

real

cost

of

oil

change,

including

the

cost

of

labour,

administrative

costs,

supervision,

oil

disposal,

warehouse

overheads,

inventory

overheads,

safety

risks,

environmental

risks

and

so

on.

PLANNED

CHANGE

VERSUS

CATASTROPHIC

FAILURE

The

oil

analysis

programme

is

used

to

closely

monitor

equipment

health

and

make

timely

and

informed

decisions.

Planned

component

changes

for

example

have

resulted

in

huge

cost

savings

mainly

accruing

from

minimised

catastrophic

failures

which

are

normal

ly

associated

with

losses

as

a

result

of

unplanned

downtime

and

lost

production.

This

is

il

lustrated

in

the

fol

lowing

graph: