OREANDA-NEWS. This is the first excavator to undergo a complete overhaul of its electrical system this year. Mining machines have been under modernization at the open-pit site since 2007. Over this time electrical systems were completely replaced on eight excavators EKG-8us, EKG-10 and EKG-12,5.

The new electrical system for the walking dragline was made by the Joint Power Co. based in Moscow. Borodino miners have been closely cooperating with this entity for six plus years already — Muscovites have helped both with installation operations and with personnel training. While the new equipment is stored in boxes, the employees of the Borodino section of NGMNU are preparing a site for its installation.

On completion of the overhaul, the cumbersome and outdated high-voltage cells and low-voltage package units will be replaced by compact, modern, state-of-the-art units.

Substantial changes are to take place in the excavator's cabin, too. It will accommodate an upgraded dashboard, an automatic control package and an adjustable seat combined with a console. It is under preparation for further installation by Sergei Travnikov, the operator of ESH-10/70 No. 51. He says that comparison with the earlier one is like "heaven vs earth".

"Here the controls are much like in an aircraft," Sergei shows the new seat combined with a console. "Previously, swinging had a foot control, now everything is easily done by hand."

The electrical system replacement is done in parallel with the scheduled annual repair of the excavator: The crew inspects and adjusts the machine's mechanical portion. Later, the crew members will join the service technicians. Taking part in the upgrading will help them to competently operate the new equipment in future.

According to specialists, installation of the new electrical system paves the way for achieving several critical objectives at one go, viz., reduce the failures count, improve the machine's performance reliability and consequently increase productivity.

All repairs on ESH – 10/70 will end in 1.5 month — by the end of May the upgraded machine will be installed at the working face. As soon as the next week, upgrading will be launched for another excavator — EKG-8us No. 28.

Increasing production efficiency and safety. This program is under way at all SUEK operations. As part of it, Borodino hosted a 2 day workshop run by officers of Chelyabinsk centre for research and development in coal industry open-cast mining (NTC NIIOGR).

The workshop was attended by section supervisors, their deputies, foremen, overmen. People from Borodino Colliery know the specialists from Chelyabinsk well — this was their third workshop already.

"This time we focused on risk management strategies, since industrial safety issues and challenges are currently very high priority. This applies to all Russia based mining operations," says Alexei Makarov, the executive officer, JSC NTC NIIOGR.

The attendees were busy discussing methods of decreasing injury risks, developing specific measures. The so called bottlenecks were also touched upon. They did not just talk about causes hampering the productivity increase and labor safety, but also proposed solutions.

For the workshop all production sections prepared presentations including analysis of production operations, calculated economic efficiency of measures in progress, plans for further development of the sections. The miners shared their experience in improving production processes and process management, in streamlining maintenance and logistics support costs.

After the presentations evaluation the best sections were determined, and the winners received diplomas and monetary rewards. In the Work Efficiency nomination the diploma was awarded to the stripping section for a package of measures improving the mining equipment productivity. The project to reduce emergency count and improve workplace health and safety developed and currently implemented by the electrical networks and substations section was favored in the Workplace Safety nomination. The automobile and tractor facility employees were awarded for the ingenuity of solutions in the same-name nomination. On their own they developed and introduced tools for repairing tyres and gear boxes of trucks. The participation was not limited to engineering and technical personnel only.

The head of the automobile and tractor facility Semyon Kozlov explains, "When the program took shape, the fitters, electrogas welders and other employees whom we engaged to implement the target activities put in many worthwhile proposals — most of them were taken into account and carried out. For involving the personnel into implementation of the activities improving production efficiency the diploma was awarded to the Production Section."

For active participation in the workshop activities it also received a special prize from the R&D centre. The same type of prize was awarded to the employees of the Gorny Track Section.

"Worshops give impetus to further improvements," believes Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the chief engineer at Borodino open pit mine. "Here a great deal of ideas and suggestions are voiced to be elaborated afterwards with many of them destined to be successfully implemented. Watching the energy the section employees put into their workshop activities I rejoice, feeling that the surface mine employees are people who care, people who are anxious about their colliery."

The work to improve production efficiency and safety in cooperation with Chelyabinsk centre for research and development keeps going.