The IQA, with support from suppliers, offers a number of annual awards at the national conference, including the Bradken Gold Hard Hat Award, the Rocktec Innovation Award, the Volvo Travel Award, the Caterpillar Award and the Atlas Copco Award. The recipients of these awards distinguish themselves through their educational accomplishments or their work in the quarrying industry. The awards also support individuals or organisations to further their knowledge and skills.
What follows are stories from the 2010 recipients of the Volvo Travel and Caterpillar Awards, Stuart Scott and Matthew Wright respectively. They describe how they applied for the awards, what was innovative about their projects and how the awards are assisting their professional development.
If you are interested in applying for an industry-sponsored award, you have until Wednesday 31 August, 2011 to make a submission. Your submission should not exceed five A4 pages and, depending on the requirements of the specific award, should describe how you have made a positive contribution or adopted best practice in your workplace. For further information about the awards and how to apply, see page 37 or contact Robyn Cousins, IQA membership services officer, email admin@quarry.com.au
The IQA’s industry awards will be announced at this year’s IQA national conference at Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley, NSW, from 12 to 15 October, 2011.
VOLVO TRAVEL AWARD: STUART SCOTT
Volvo Construction Equipment sponsors the IQA Volvo Travel Award for the quarrying industry candidate who can demonstrate the most positive contribution to environmental care in the workplace.
Last year, I had the honour of receiving the 2010 Volvo Travel Award for my work with Boral Ltd in reducing the amount of diesel fuel used in Boral’s quarries, concrete, asphalt and transport businesses. In 2010, I identified savings of over five million litres of diesel fuel per annum through implementation of better fuel management practices in Boral Ltd – the equivalent saving of 13 million kg of CO2e or taking over 2500 cars off the road each year. My project identified over $6.4 million per annum in fuel cost savings for Boral through:
• Installation of fuel management systems to track, reconcile and monitor fuel storage and dispensing on sites.
• Installation of a centralised fuel inventory and management system and regular fuel usage reports for site management.
• Development of better standards and procedures for receiving, handling, storage, and dispensing of fuels.
• Implementation of operator fuel efficiency training programmes for heavy mobile equipment.
• Rationalising fuel deliveries into key bulk sites to reduce freight costs.
At the annual IQA conference at Jupiters Gold Coast in October 2010, I was delighted to be recognised by Volvo and the IQA for my efforts in environmental care in my workplace.
In May 2011, I subsequently joined 25 Australian and New Zealand customers of Volvo Construction Equipment, CJD Equipment and Warrin Mining on the 2011 Volvo Days VIP customer trip. This once-in-a-lifetime trip culminated in a visit to Eskilstuna, Sweden, where VIP customers were entertained at the Volvo Days 2011 machine show and had an opportunity to test-drive all machines in the Volvo Construction Equipment range and meet their product specialists.
The trip also involved a visit to Volvo’s world-class wheel loader plant, engine factory, and engine foundry in Sweden and sightseeing around Stockholm, and Oslo, the capital of Norway. We also had the opportunity to visit the Feiring Bruk aggregate quarry in Oslo, one of the world’s largest underground limestone quarrying operations at Norcem in Brevik and Lundh Labrador in Larvik, Norway, one of the largest granite dimension stone operations in the world.
The IQA Volvo Travel Award provided me with a unique opportunity to learn and experience first-hand how Volvo construction equipment is designed, built and operated, and to understand Volvo’s core principles of safety, environment and quality. I was also able to share experiences and knowledge with quarrying industry colleagues from around the world and to understand how Volvo will assist companies around the world to reduce their impact upon the environment reliably, safely and profitably. I am extremely grateful to Volvo Construction Equipment and CJD Equipment for their generosity and commitment to the Australian quarrying industry through the sponsorship of the IQA Volvo Travel Award.
Stuart Scott is the global manager of LAS Global, a fuel management systems manu- facturer for the quarrying, mining and aviation industries. He has seven years’ experience in the quarrying industry, including most recently as the asset and fleet manager (Victoria Concrete), Boral Concrete.
CATERPILLAR AWARD: MATTHEW WRIGHT
In 2010, I was asked to submit a submission to the IQA Caterpillar Award about the Six Sigma project that I had just completed that was related to the load and haul costs at Emu Plains quarry. The project was to reduce fleet costs and increase fleet efficiencies and optimisation. At the end of the project, we managed to reduce costs by under $1 million.
The award ceremony was held at the annual IQA conference at Jupiters Gold Coast in October 2010, and while some people on my table were aware that I had won the award, it was quite a surprise to me. It was a fantastic feeling to be acknowledged for the work done by me and my team and being able to share the moment with my now wife and people who I have worked with for a number of years made it all the more special.
The award was a certificate and a travel voucher to do a study tour within Australia or New Zealand. After discussions with Alex Robinson, quarry industry representative for core industries at Caterpillar of Australia, we worked on an arrangement where I would visit the Caterpillar Factory in Illinois, USA to see new technology being developed, Caterpillar’s lean manufacturing processes and some of its new machines.
Boral and Caterpillar agreed upon this arrangement and planning started for the trip.
In August this year, I am visiting the main Caterpillar factories in Decatur and Aurora in Illinois that supply quarry machines and the facilities will give me the opportunity to look at the manufacturing process and discuss with factory engineers the application of technology in future products. I am also visiting Caterpillar’s training and development centre at its head office in Peoria.
Caterpillar have also organised for me to visit a quarry in North America to review their processes and application of technology. From this study tour, I hope to be able to bring back some new ideas to improve the way we do things here, and to share our ideas with them.
Matthew Wright is the quarry manager at Boral Emu Plains, NSW.
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