Barloworld Rebuild Centre (BRC) in Boksburg, South Africa is being streamlined to ensure fast replacement of key components to enhance the uptime of a mine’s fleet.
BRC handles all work related to rebuilding major components Southern African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Angola and others where Barloworld Equipment has a presence.
Willie Coetzee BRC General Manager said the facility undertakes rebuild work for major equipment components, such as hydraulics, engines and drive-trains.
“These components offer the customer an off-the-shelf option for their components exchange programme,” Coetzee said.
Coetzee explains that the BRC can undertake work ranging from small Caterpillar engines to the biggest engine on offer in Southern Africa, which are 16- and 20-cylinder units for large mining trucks.
A key component of the BRC is its testing facilities, which include several test benches for hydraulic equipment, drivetrain components and a dyno, capable of operating all Caterpillar engines under various loads.
To ensure that the BRC can repair critical equipment quickly, it uses a forecasting system to determine wear on core components of equipment while they are still in use. “As the machine operates, the running hours are uploaded onto our system, thereby enabling us to forecast the typical life of that component and schedule its replacement before it fails,” says Coetzee.
A while before the predicted replacement of the specific part, the BRC will order the required parts, ensuring that the replacement components are stocked and ready for the client.
The BRC is also supported by field technicians who investigate component issues and facilitate their rapid removal and replacement at a mine site, thereby eliminating a lot of downtime.
