The Power of Undercarriage Data

There are several ways in which undercarriage data is collected. On its own, the data points will not mean a lot, but all together and once analysed, this data forms a powerful roadmap for end users, suppliers and manufacturers alike.

The more data that is collected, the greater the power of this data. There is no substitute for touching the iron to get a feel for for the story behind what is really happening. Let’s look at a few examples of some of the data that can be collected: –

Stage 1. Performing an Undercarriage Inspection

There is no substitute for touching the iron and understanding the story it has to tell. A picture can be painted of how the machine is used, the environment in which it operates, where the machine is located, and the average daily usage. Once the components and frame has been inspected, the picture then includes the current condition of the undercarriage components. The remaining life left in the components and more importantly, what maintenance tasks need to be prioritised and scheduled. Scheduling for potential component replacements either immediately or at some future point will provide a goldmine of potential revenue for the supplier or cost management for the end user.

Successive inspections consolidate the wear rates over the life of the components helping to build benchmarks against which future component performance and comparisons can be measured.

From a supplier’s viewpoint, stock availability can be managed along with the required labour resources to support the customer’s needs. Manufacturing can be provided with a forecast roadmap based on current market conditions

Stage 2. Recording Undercarriage Replacements

Recording components changeouts closes the circle of life for each undercarriage component. The data will now reflect the average wear percentage achieved, and hours lived for each grouping of components: Rolling Stock, Chain components and sprockets/segments. Cost per hour or cost per distance can be calculated with accuracy. All this data is gold to any mining operation or where many tracked machines are operating and is just the start to gaining value from this undercarriage data.

These are just 2 examples of many to demonstrate how gathering and analyzing undercarriage data provides powerful insights to the end users, suppliers and manufacturers, helping to provide competitive advantage.