Skip to main content

Remote control crushing

Following a trial of Metso Minerals' Nordberg Plant Management System at Hanson Aggregates' Ystrad Meurig Quarry, UK, the software has now been installed on a further six mobile machines at Lithalun Quarry. Metso installed the remote control system on the Lokotrack LT300HP for Hanson last year to allow the company to test the advantages of the wireless communication capabilities. The system has now been extended to the LT110 primary crusher, another LT300HP and its two ST358 and ST620 mobile screens.
July 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSFollowing a trial of Metso Minerals' Nordberg Plant Management System at 2644 Hanson Aggregates' Ystrad Meurig Quarry, UK, the software has now been installed on a further six mobile machines at Lithalun Quarry.

Metso installed the remote control system on the Lokotrack LT300HP for Hanson last year to allow the company to test the advantages of the wireless communication capabilities. The system has now been extended to the LT110 primary crusher, another LT300HP and its two ST358 and ST620 mobile screens.

"We've seen how easy it is to get process information into our office computers," said Hanson unit manager Simon Swinford. "Just by logging into the Metso extranet I have access to all our machines. I can now view production tonnes, fuel consumption and effective crushing reports from all of the Metso machines in our quarry. It's a great help in monitoring how the machines are being used."

The LT110 and two LT300HP's also have the belt-way system for reporting production tonnage, and all of them are connected to the Metso PM reporting system. Tonnes per hour and cumulative tonnes are all now reported via the web interface.
The Nordberg Plant Management System collects data from the machines' control systems and transmits it wirelessly via GSM/GPRS. The heart of the system is the ACN C65 Metso data collection unit, a robust, industrial IP65-certified computer developed by Metso to operate in tough production environments. The reports produced can be opened on any computer connected to the Internet, usernames and passwords guarantee security of access for all registered users.

Hanson Aggregates' Lithalun Quarry also has a service agreement with Metso and the plant management system helps service personnel to monitor data such as the running hours completed by each machine. According to Paul Allen, Metso's field service manager, it allows contractual service obligations to be scheduled well in advance.

The Nordberg Plant Management System can be installed on most Lokotrack LT mobile crushing plants and ST mobile screens equipped with IC series automation control systems. Installation can be carried out on site.

RSS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hitachi EX1900-6 increases productivity at Swinden, UK quarry
    January 26, 2017
    Materials supplier Tarmac has invested in a Hitachi EX1900-6 ultra-large excavator for its Swinden Quarry in North Yorkshire, England. The EX1900-6 is used to load up to 1,200 tonnes of carboniferous limestone per hour directly into a 200tonne mobile crusher. A field conveyor takes the material to a secondary crusher at an average rate of 1,000tonnes/hour. The Hitachi model was supplied with a longer boom and arm, and a smaller 8m³ bucket, customary on a machine of this size. “This is because it needs
  • Advances in asphalt plant production
    November 27, 2012
    Leading asphalt plant manufacturers have recently unveiled their latest products aimed at customers looking for significant efficiency gains through the use of durable and lasting technology. Guy Woodford looks at some of the new batch Benninghoven showcased a wide variety of its new and innovative asphalt plants and individual plant components during its week-long Open Days event last month at the German firm’s HQ in Mülheim. Launched earlier this year, the MMX80 Continuous Asphalt Plant is capable of prod
  • Cleaner quarrying
    June 10, 2019
    A project to reduce carbon emissions from quarrying operations is underway in Sweden.
  • Caterpillar has a Vision that includes total project site overview
    April 5, 2016
    Caterpillar may be on its financial back foot, but a recent event showed the company has a vision far beyond this or the next financial year – David Arminas reports. Many construction machinery manufacturers have some data collection and analysis systems for their heavy equipment. For a good decade, manufacturers have been moving in this direction, first as retrofit packages on machines in the field and increasingly as standard on newer models. Caterpillar is no exception among manufacturers that are movin