797B Mine Truck Chassis delivered to customer fully assembled.
6/3/10
It was an awesome sight in early June approaching the Eaton Range on the Peak Downs Highway, west of Mackay. A huge truck trailer combination, with 120 wheels, hauling a 156 tonne chassis and components for a Caterpillar 797B Mine Truck, the biggest truck in the world. 
Two Caterpillar® 797B Mine Trucks were delivered
in mid 2009 to the BMA Saraji Mine in central Queensland from Hastings
Deering Mackay, where they were fully assembled.
In a sight that drew onlookers from both
the Mackay branch through to passing motorists en route to the Saraji Mine,
the two 797B trucks were each moved by three prime movers to their final
destination in Queensland’s coal rich Bowen Basin.
Hastings Deering mining account manager Tony
Liddelow said as a branch first, the results of the project were very pleasing,
with the scheduled three months of on-site work reduced to just twenty
days.
“It was a fairly big and onerous task to
complete the entire job on-site,” said Tony, “It saw us having to double
up on the facilities we already had.”
“By taking care of most of the work at the
branch, we used the resources we had on hand, and delivered a superb result
to the client.”
The two trucks slowly took shape on the concrete
pad outside the main buildings at the branch, being too being to fit inside,
providing plenty to see for passers-by in Paget.
“They are the ultimate truck at the moment
with the latest technology and they’re the biggest and best, so the project
has been very well received by everyone at the branch.”
This was the first time a chassis of a 797B
mine truck, the largest mechanical drive truck in the world, had been fully
assembled at a Caterpillar dealer’s branch due to the difficulties in
the past delivering the huge 797B by public road. They have always
been assembled on site at the customer’s mine and this has meant that
many Hastings Deering employees had not had the opportunity to see the
machines for themselves.
“Many of our workers have now had the chance
for the first time to see a machine of this size allowing them to fully
appreciate what is needed to maintain these goliaths!.”
A significant amount of planning was undertaken
by the group mining and assembly teams in both Brisbane and Mackay. Led
by Group Equipment Assembly and Services Manager Brent Diflo, supported
by the engineering department in Brisbane and implemented by Mackay Service
Supervisor Gary Mountney, the team ensured the project met the required
time line set by the client and the strict internal assembly guidelines
on which Hastings Deering prides itself.
“Our priority was to ensure we assembled
a top quality product safely and on time,” said Tony, “One of the many
challenges that we were faced with was the transport of the massive units
from Mackay through the Eaton Ranges along a 230km route to BMA Saraji
Mine.”
“It was an awesome sight when the first
unit rolled up to site,” says Liddelow. “North Queensland Heavy Haulage
did a top job, particularly considering the challenges hauling such a huge
load on public roads, as well as navigating the rugged Eaton range.
Watching the prime movers roll up on site
with the 797Bs was a good feeling according to Tony. Even more impressive
was the praise received from Saraji Mine management.
“The mines are looking for their suppliers
to encompass risk management in their internal dealings,” said Tony, “And
what we’ve done is manage the risk very well and contained it in a comfortable
environment for all our valued staff members whilst ensuring the safety
of all concerned.”
“We’ve lessened the time, and sped up the
process in an efficient manner.”
“Both BMA and Hastings Deering worked together
to ensure we were successful with this project and the results spoke for
themselves when both machines were successfully commissioned on site ready
for work on the 1st of July,” said Tony, “This job ticked all the boxes.”
797B Chassis delivery