Quarry spoke to Position Partners’ civil business executive manager, Josh Allan, about how a suite of digital platforms can help quarries achieve accurate reporting.
Past legislation, such as the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws, have highlighted the importance of accurate reporting across the hauling cycle.
These changes have seen Australian quarries, once a place of manual checks and balances, embrace technology, including telematics and digital scale solutions.
Position Partners is Topcon’s exclusive Australian distributor that can provide quarries with access to platforms like the Loadmaster Alpha 100, the Sitelink 3D v2 and the Topcon Haul App.
These three platforms can help quarry managers monitor their products and ensure every load is optimised and as profitable and efficient as possible with accurate digital reporting.
Allan said advanced systems like the Loadmaster Alpha 100 could help quarries to safely load trucks, mitigate chain of responsibility risk, reduce machine wear and fuel consumption, and eliminate over- or under-loading.
Truck operators can use the Topcon Haul app on their smartphones or tablets to eliminate paper-based records and manual clickers. The digital platform allows operators to conduct in-cabin payload logging in a hands-free way with easy-to-track digital records that are instantly linked to the Sitelink 3D v2 program.
Quarry managers can set up sites and zones on the Sitelink platform. Utilising geofenced sites, operators can access tasks and load zones for projects hands-free.
Allan said the system meant the material was managed efficiently, including collection and dump information for every cycle with Global navigation satellite systems location recording and warnings when a driver is in the wrong designated area.
This information allows managers to make data-backed decisions, including changing truck routes, optimising cycles, minimising delays, and reducing bottlenecks.
“Topcon’s Haul Truck app and web-based Sitelink3D solution makes keeping track of material and trucks simple and easy to manage,” Allan said.
“When combined with data from Loadmaster loader and excavator scales, Sitelink3D v2 and the Haul Truck app give quarry managers a complete overview of load, haul and dump cycles to make informed decisions and increase productivity.”
Allan said the company listened to customer feedback to shape upgrades to ensure the platforms suit the needs of the Australian quarrying industry.
This includes reporting tools to compare real-time data against tendered costs and expected quantities of materials. It may seem a small change, but it provides quarry managers with live data to erase the need to quantify work completed days earlier.
“We listened to customer feedback on how we could enhance the benefits of the Sitelink platform even further,” Allan said.
“The dashboard gives managers real-time information in easy-to-read dashboards that are part of our single sign-on web platform, enabling them to make informed decisions.”
For quarries using other brands of loader scales, Sitelink3D v2 and the Haul Truck app can be used with the Topcon Loader app to deliver the same material management benefits, regardless of technology brand. Using the ‘as measured’ weights of loaded material from the on-board loader scale system, the operator simply enters the data for the truck he’s loaded, and the system will keep track of the material from there.
Allan said Position Partners’ nationwide presence means they’re well-positioned to help the quarry industry.
“Topcon and Position Partners recognise that most sites have a mix of machines and technology, which makes open architecture solutions so important to deliver meaningful results for our customers,” he said.
“With this new material management platform and upcoming releases such as our new belt scale solution, Position Partners is here to support the industry with reliable systems that are tried and tested nationally.”•
For more information, visit positionpartners.com.au
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