When I started at Riccall Mine in 1988 the mine had a system of maintenance which was relatively new in the industry called the Routine Condition Monitoring or R.C.M. The team consisted of mechanical staff initially who carried out weekly monitoring of all equipment throughout the mine. Fans, machine gearboxes, motors, compressors, conveyor gear heads and rollers were all monitored. The system was based on testing an item of equipment, when brand new to set a baseline for the vibration profile for the item. The equipment was then analysed for vibration on a regular basis using a machine called a shock pulse monitor or S.P.M. Any irregular vibrations were picked up, investigated and monitored to ensure catastrophic failure didn’t occur during production. S.P.M. was the electronic device used in the development of this type of maintenance and it worked well in the early years of this technologies. The other major part of the system was gearbox oil debris analysis. Oil samples were taken on a regular basis from all gearcases. The oil was mixed with a solvent solution to remove the oil. The sample was then passed through a filter to gather any debris. The solvent was evaporated leaving a debris sample. This was analysed for types of metal particles or dirt. All the gathered information was inputted into the data monitoring system so that deterioration of internal bearings, rotating parts and oil deterioration due to ingress of dirt were picked up at an early stage.
As the system progressed extremely advanced, intrinsically safe, electronic equipment became available.This machine was called a Vibration Spectrum Analyser. At this point an electrical section of the R.C.M. department was created due to the extra workload.
All machinery had a list of specifications when manufactured. These included number and bearing types within the machine. All the specifications were inputted into the Spectrum Analyser software and all new machines such as fans, motors and gearboxes were tested for vibration oscillations and harmonics when brand new. This data was used as the baseline for future monitoring. Any faults in a machine were quickly found and investigated. This sophisticated system, along with oil debris analysis ensured almost no catastrophic failures of equipment and loss of production.
As automation progressed widely in the industry, all ventilation fans, compressors and conveyors were monitored constantly as part of the control and operating system, MINOS, to ensure safe operations.
Selby Superpit 