CONVEYOR MAINTENANCE
Common causes for conveyor maintenance Troy Skippings, All Rubber’s Bunbury Area Manager, tells ABHR about some of the common problems plaguing conveyor systems, and what can be done to stop them. TROY SKIPPINGS HAS BEEN SPLICING belts for around 15 years. During that time, he’s seen how the bulk handling industry, particularly in Western Australia’s south has developed. One of the biggest problems he has seen companies deal with is mistracking and belt slippage. “Mistracking can cause serious damage to the belt and the surrounding
plant. I’ve seen conveyors that have cut through the metal structure around it – the belt being under tension whilst running, can slice through steel,” he says. “As far as damage to the belt goes, it can delaminate the belt carcass and covers or tear or damage the splice, which can lead to total belt failure.” Skippings is the Area Manager for conveyor belting specialist, All Rubber. For the past 10 years, he’s been in a
A conveyor belt can cut through steel if not properly maintained.
36 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2021
managerial role at the company, helping to manage branches, support fly-in fly-out crew and runs the Bunbury, WA branch. He says another major problem that has been appearing recently is a lack of upkeep of the overall conveyor system, including components such as rollers and scrapers. “It’s hard to pinpoint the exact causes, but in the areas I work around, a lot can be attributed to a focus on more production as well as a lack of routine maintenance,” he says. “There’s a lot more demand for higher outputs, but many systems aren’t being upgraded to sustain this. I’ve seen 200 tonne/hr systems now handling 400 tonnes/hr without anything but the motor speed changing. “With COVID, there’s now also been issues with a lack of personnel in the industry, which makes it harder to source people to schedule shutdowns and prioritise maintenance.” Worn down equipment can have devastating flow on effects for the rest of a system. If a roller seizes, it can act almost like a knife edge for the belt running on top of it, significantly damaging one of the most expensive parts of the system. Additionally, if scrapers aren’t performing as intended, they can put additional pressure on the drive, as more carryback is experienced. The point where a small problem can escalate into a major one is also highly variable. Skippings says there have been some belts that have had larger cracks in them that have lasted half a year and others that have had a small nick that grew rapidly in just half a day. Catching these problems early is critical, and is part of All Rubber’s service offering. The company has a team of
