Roller replacements are an essential part of a mining conveyor maintenance schedule and requires heavy conveyor belts to be lifted and lowered at frequent intervals to allow access to rollers.
This process can require up to five maintenance team members and involves many risks that need to be managed with the correct equipment, components, training and planning.
Given these challenges, it is critical for companies to look at ways to streamline the roller replacement process, reduce safety risks and limit damage to the conveyor belt
PROK have worked with our key clients globally to design a heavy-duty belt lifter solution that directly addresses some common issues in roller changeouts.
Safety
When replacing a roller, the difficult task of lifting a high tensioned conveyor belt can pose serious safety risks to maintenance crew.
PROK’s HD Belt Lifter lifts and lowers the belt using a battery powered driver, which reduces the risk of back strains and injuries caused by manual belt lifters. The PROK HD lifter is also weight optimised to reduce manual handling risk.
The lifter is comprised of a two-part A frame, which can lift the belt up to 500ms in the air, allowing ample space for rollers to be replaced.
In addition to lightweight belt lifters, PROK is also a leader in lightweight idler technology, further reducing the overall risk in roller changeouts. These rollers can be approximately half the mass of traditional steel rollers and are a great option to improve safety.
Efficiency
The HD belt lifter has a total of 25 kg carry per person and can be disassembled into two parts, creating an easily relocatable mechanical aid. This allows the maintenance crew to move the lifter around the conveyor system safely and efficiently and action more changeouts per shutdown.
Time
When conducting a roller change out, time is precious.
Roller replacements require the conveyor to be shutdown for the duration of the change out. Inefficient changeouts and slow processes can increase downtime and have a significant impact on production.
The PROK HD Belt Lifter can be lifted and lowered in under 15 seconds, reducing the amount of time it takes to change the roller. This allows the conveyor system to return to full operation much quicker.
PROK Engineering Manager, Ray Anderson, said the PROK HD Belt Lifter will assist to streamline the roller replacement process.
“We recognise that conveyor maintenance crew need a quick, safe and efficient solution for roller replacements, and we feel the new PROK HD Belt Lifter does just that. The new HD lifters are very versatile and are suitable for use on all conveyor applications.”
