Dingo Maintenance Systems selected by Wesfarmers for Curragh mine

Dingo Maintenance Systems is recognized worldwide for its ability to help mining operations reduce maintenance costs of mobile equipment assets while increasing equipment availability. Dingo recently announced commencement of implementation activities for its latest Condition-Based Asset Management (CBAM) program with Wesfarmers Resources, a leading metallurgical coal producer in Australia.

Dingo was chosen to serve Wesfarmers Curragh mine, one of Australia's largest independent coal producers, with site production levels of 7 million tons per annum (MTPA) of export coal and 2.5 MTPA of domestic coal.

"We selected Dingo after a thorough review," said Greg Sheppard, manager, Maintenance and Asset Management, Wesfarmers. "Our objective is to achieve or exceed our availability targets with a whole-of-business approach to cost control. Dingo's structure and systems have a good fit with our objective, including risk-sharing mechanisms for meeting well-defined deliverables. Some early returns already have been realized, and that has given us some confidence with our decision to appoint Dingo."

One of the initial achievements was an engine save on a D11 crawler; the dozer was shut down following reports of the engine's showing signs of fuel dilution. In conjunction with Dingo's Condition Intelligence service and make-and-model-specific Trouble Shooting Guides, Wesfarmers' site maintenance crew was able to identify and correct the problem on the first pass through the workshop. "Dingo's processes helped us avoid component failure and reduced the downtime required to identify the cause of the problem, so that repairs could be made quickly," added Sheppard.

Dingo's CBAM program is designed to offer mining companies online machinery maintenance and replacement practices to avoid unbudgeted expense and in-service failures. CBAM systems extend the useful life of customers' assets and help customers avoid catastrophic in-service failures that risk life, limb or the environment.

"The implementation phase of the program at Curragh is going really well," said Dingo National Operations Manager Col Donnelly. "The financial benefits to Wesfarmers, as a result of breakdown avoidance activities, will be significant."