The
BIG HAUL
108 tons payload per trip - 24 hours a day - 1,2 million kms per year

FleetWatch recently had the opportunity to visit the Richards Bay Minerals off-highway operations in the company of Unitrans and DaimlerChrysler. This is a remarkable road haulage operation that must be unique in Africa and is a real credit to Unitrans in terms of innovation and continuous reduction of fixed overhead costs. Effective transport costs at RBM have remained static for nine years because of trailer innovation. There is a lesson in this for all transport operators writes FleetWatch technical correspondent, Dave Scott.

A major economic force in KwaZulu-Natal, Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) has been operating for 25 years as a world leading producer of titania slag, high purity pig iron, rutile and zircon. RBM produces around a quarter of the world's demand for titanium feedstock - titania slag and rutile - used in the titanium pigment industry. Rutile is also used as a flux in the welding industry. Pig iron is used in ductile foundry industries while zircon is used in ceramics and refractory industries.

Central to all this success is a viable and efficient transport operation and it is here that RBM and Unitrans provide a partnership case study of road transport efficiency, extracting far more work from fewer trucks and people - using almost the same number of trailers.

Continuous upgrades of prime movers (the latest being nine new Actros 3348's) and trailers have kept down average fleet age while part of the productivity improvement equation lies in the incorporation of the latest technology in all equipment. 

Unitrans has won a battle for cost control through regular updates of trailer design and material handling systems. There is a lesson in this for all transport operators - don't just look at prime mover replacements to stay in business. Running the oldest trailers and materials handling equipment may appear to be extracting maximum return from assets on paper but it does not mean it is the most productive way to do the job. The extracts in Table 1 taken from fleet schedules at Unitrans' RBM operation proves this:

TABLE ONE

Year	Trailers per prime mover	GCM Payload	Truck tractors	No of Trailers
1984	One rear-end tipper	23 tons	23	23
1992	Three bottom-dumpers	69 tons	10	32
2001	Three side-tippers	108 tons	9	27

Interesting is that there has also been a continuous reduction in head count over the years. In 1984, Unitrans employed 209 people at RBM. By 1992, this was down to 145 and in 2001, it stands at 114. Unitrans' 114 RBM staff-members are a small jewel of productivity in the sub-saharan African operations of a company that employs more than 8 200 people. 

Operating conditions have also changed over the years. In 1984, there were gravel roads and projected cost reductions through increased loadability provided financial justification for constructing haul roads with tarred surfaces in 1990. This decision paved the roads and a way forward for consistent improvements over the next decade.

Driving at 150 000kg GCM
The kinetic energy of 150 tons gross combination mass (GCM) means that drivers really have to concentrate, despite the consistency of routes on private tarred surface roads at a current maximum 25 kilometres lead distance. The whole Unitrans fleet is subject to stringent RBM safety regulations within the mine precinct - any road safety incident is reportable and detailed records are kept; right down to breaking a passenger door window at a minor cost of R600. 

Accident damage for the 4,5-year period 1997 to June 2001 stands at R974 130 for 67 incidents, including minor collisions with animals on the road. Two incidents within this time cost a total of R287 000 - both cases due to drivers falling asleep and capsizing the rig. The stress of 24-hour operations is a constant hazard. There are four drivers per vehicle combination for 8-hour shifts so there is some flexibility when a driver is unwell. Nevertheless, they are still screened before going on shift.

The dangerous operational time is in the small hours. Each new Actros is equipped with air-conditioning, an FM radio receiver and two-way radio communications. From 02h00, the controller calls the drivers at random intervals to maintain wakefulness and contact with them.

Modern technology on the Actros models is also helping to reduce stress levels. A full-automated shift 16-speed 'Telligent' transmission, integrated with electronic engine management, cruise control, engine brake and retarder, all combine to minimise driver fatigue.

A safety envelope
Two London-based corporations, Rio Tinto plc and Billiton plc, own RBM in equal proportions and it is group worldwide policy to redress the poor image of mining operations in terms of safety and environmental destruction.

This policy is driven down to management level where Niels Kristensen, general manager of RBM company, Tisand (Pty) Ltd, is judged on personal injury and safety records as a key management performance indicator. It is RBM's policy, for example, not to allow any of their staff or that of contractors on the mine, to travel on the back of a bakkie.

In addition to the 2 000 permanent staff of RBM, there are as many as 1 000 other people on site as service providers. They are all subject to RBM's culture of safety and environmental care. A most striking aspect when traveling on extensive RBM mine property is that there is no distinction between natural fauna and flora and that of mining reclaimed land. Congratulations RBM - we hate unsightly scars and sterile landscapes!

Strong partnership
Lead distances are increasing for hauling heavy metal concentrate and in 25 to 30 years time, mining operations will cease at RBM. In the meantime, Unitrans, RBM, DaimlerChrysler South Africa, and local Mercedes-Benz dealer Inyanga Motors have all created a strong partnership that has managed to contain costs. I do not think they can drive costs down much further but there is more technology just around the bend. Safety, environmental care, technology and supplier partnerships do have a payback.

Having been on the 'road less traveled' with Unitrans, I begin to understand the company's strategic philosophy and management expertise. Unitrans has also taken on a road less traveled in the Namakwa Sands Mining venture on the West Coast. If this is the way it is done, then I may even invest in a few transport-sector shares.

 

NO OVERLOADING:  Unitrans owns and strictly controls loading operations to prevent overloading. The front-end loader is equipped with a load cell that tells the operator he has now lifted 9 tons of heavy metal concentrate (HMC) - four throws of every 9-ton bucket adds up to 36 tons payload per trailer. The HMC has a specific gravity of 2,6 that equals a total cubic capacity on the trailers of 42 m3.

PARTNERSHIP: Jo Grové, chief executive of Unitrans Limited, stresses the partnership concept: "Our operation at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) expresses the competency of one of Unitrans' core values to be a force in the mining industry and to travel the roads less traveled. Our relationship with RBM goes back 17 years so we really understand RBM's culture of safety standards and environmental care - and we fit in with these. It is not just about consistently delivering low cost of transport but operating within the special demands of an RBM culture."

 

RESULTS:  Bringing home results for Unitrans shareholders on roads less travelled, from left to right: Fil Morkel - General Manager of Mining & Forest Products Division, Roger Naisby - Group Managing Director of Freight Division, Jo Grové - Chief Executive of Unitrans Ltd, Kevin Rock, Karl Wellman and Jim Mason.

 

AUSTRALIAN TECHNOLOGY:  Each side-tipping trailer discharges its 36-ton load of heavy metal concentrate in turn into a grid hopper for processing at RBM plants. Afrit Empangeni assembles the Azmeb-Afrit Flexi-Tipper from kits manufactured by Azmeb in Darwin Australia using axles and suspensions from local sources. This Australian road-train technology provides reliable tracking characteristics and straight-line stability, enhanced by 19,5-inch rim and tyre equipment.

STABILITY:  The art of side-tipping operations is to achieve a full discharge of material that can stick in a bin while at the same time, maintain trailer stability without the trailer falling over sideways. Nonetheless, in one incident, wet product caused a trailer to capsize during unloading causing damage totaling R86 500. The fact that the load is discharged into a grid hopper means that this load does not spread under the trailer and bury the wheels - another common problem for side tipping operations.