b'WINTER/SPRING MAINTENANCETIPS OF THE TRADEAddsAndrewRenia,aggregates operations manager at Tomlinson Group: [While]maintenanceisa12-month concern that includes daily, monthly and annualinspectionsandrepairs,winter/springworkispartofalargerannual strategy that looks at the entire year. MOVING PARTSPartssupplyisakeyaspectofthe maintenanceprocess,giventhatlarger machineryhaspartsthatneedplenty of lead time to sourceas much as six months.Socriticalpartsneedtobe flagged when inspections are conducted andhistorylogsreviewed.Theseparts should be inventoried, with the costs of inventoryweighedagainstthecostsof downtime and increased costs of emer-gency supply. Facility operators can work with vendors to ensure key parts (typi-callywearparts)arereadilyavailable during the working season. Apropermaintenanceapproach informsoperatorswheretheproblem CRUSHERS areas are, and this in turn allows them to Key maintenance issues during operation: (1) check air filters ensuring theinvest in corrective action. By monitoring crusher is vented properly and unwanted contaminants are not enteringkey high-wear areas, operators get early the breather, (2) check the strainer basket on cone crushers for excessivewarnings of wear issues and can determine wear or damage to internal components and (3) regularly grease allsolutions to reduce or eliminate problems bearings to ensure proper operation and cooling of these parts. fromresurfacingthefollowingyear.As ShawnWarkholdt,manageratNelson Wear parts will last longer by proper fastening, avoiding loose linersAggregate Co., notes: Ten to 20 per cent when installed and, during operation, checking for holes, cracks andof a plants machinery creates 90 per cent flat spots that could cause damage and tracking throughput tonnages toof the maintenance problems. Operators determine liner wear.needtokeepaconstanteyeonhigh-wearareas.Replace liners that are not in good working order to maintain crusherefficiency. Anotherreasonforplannedmainte-nanceistoeliminateinconsistentcostsAnnually pull crushers completely apart, inspect all parts for wear andpertonneforoutputfromthefacility.take the appropriate action to correct problems. Inconsistent output can result in unsellable Replace damaged wear parts. Continued use will increase wear on theaggregate that does not meet the specs of entire machine and lead to expensive failures. customers. Climatic conditions in Ontario in the fall and winter can further exacer-bateaggregateproductionandsupply, andplannedmaintenanceaddressesthe SCREENING freeze/thaw issues to help reduce costs. Maintenance planning should be part ofMost production bottlenecks occur at the screen box. Therefore, aa bigger plan based on forecasting the costquality inspection and repair program is needed during production and atper tonne output from the plant. With the winter/spring downtime. short season in Canada, downtime simply cannot be caught up, says Eric Rennie, Regularly inspect the screen box and deck frames for broken welds andproductmanager,crushingandpaving, worn structure. Continual shaking during operations will break down theatToromont. structure that holds these parts together. Screen box life can be improved by using rubber or urethane lining options. AddsDarrinRousselle,corporate Check screen media daily. Excessive wear can change the aggregate sizeaccount manager/regional sales manager output and reflect poorly on your operation. at Kal Tire: It is pretty simple. Scheduled maintenanceallowsoperatorsto know what their costs are and provides preventionofunforeseenbreakdowns meaning [unforeseen] downtime. 22 AVENUESWINTER 2021'