Tyre management solutions for mines
Transforming Tyre Management from a Burden into a Benefit
Drawing on over 50 years of know-how and technical expertise, Otraco Africa combines digital solutions and tailored services to reduce costs, enhance fleet uptime, and improve safety across Africa’s mining sector.
In mining, every decision counts. It is the fine margins that make the difference between profit and loss.
Currently, as mining companies in Africa ramp up production to meet global demand for commodities, haul truck downtime due to tyre failure can significantly disrupt operations. Thus, sound tyre management should be prioritised devotedly.
This is the expierenced advice from Otraco to mining companies, informed by over 50 years of experience. Otraco is the world-leading provider of tyre management solutions to organisations in diverse sectors.
Impact of poor tyre management
André Bode, Regional Director of Otaco Middle East & Africa, highlights the overlooked impact of poor tyre management: “In mining, tyre management may sometimes be underestimated, yet its impact on truck availability and maintenance costs is substantial. Inferior tyre management can lead to excessive downtime, accelerated wear, and heightened safety risks.”
“When tyres fail, they must be replaced more frequently, resulting in unplanned replacement costs, haul truck downtime, inadequate control over tyre performance data, and heightened safety risks. Remarkably, unplanned truck downtime, which could involve changing tyres in pits, can be severely disruptive to operations and have a significant impact on tonnes moved,” he adds, emphasising Otraco‘s commitment to replicating its tyre management success in projects worldwide in Africa.
Well-Equipped
Otraco is well-equipped to help mining operations transform haul truck tyre management from a burden into a benefit. It taps into over 50 years of accumulated experience and technical know-how in tyre and rim management, which it shares with clients and associates.
Extensive Portfolio of Services
Otraco offers an extensive portfolio of services, including on-site technical teams, real-time digital solutions, training, engineering support, and third-party technical audit programmes. These are tailored to the client’s needs in commissioning, operating, and maintaining cost-effective tyre management solutions worldwide.
Johann Boshoff, the Technical Manager of Otraco Southern Africa, particularly cites on-site technical competency as pivotal: “We provide highly trained tyre technicians and supervisors to safely execute maintenance tasks and identify potential improvements to maintenance and operational practices to make tyres and rims perform better. All our tyre technicians in Africa, certified through our Registered Training Organisation, are trained according to Otraco International (Australia) standards.”
Real-Time Digital Solutions
Worth mentioning is the use of technology, which gives Otraco the edge. The company uses three tried-and-trusted real-time digital solutions to optimise tyre and rim performance: Otracom® (Tyre Management Software System), Temperature Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS), and SmartRoad.
- Otracom®
The Computerised Tyre Management System (Otracom®), a real-time digital solution software system, tracks and manages tyres and rims from manufacture to disposal. It provides essential performance data reporting at key stages, optimising inventory and tyre maintenance practices, and ultimately reducing tyre-related costs.
- Temperature Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS)
Real-time innovative TPMS offers live 24/7 data monitoring services by issuing maintenance alerts and generating performance reports. It assists operations in taking immediate action in cases of high tyre temperatures, excessive TKPH loading of tyres, incorrect truck operator behaviour, and more.
- SmartRoad
SmartRoad is a state-of-the-art cost management system for effective mine haul road condition inspections, monitoring, maintenance, and carbon dioxide management, among other features.
Altogether, these technologies provide innovative, factual, and real-time information that enables mine management to make well-informed present and future decisions.
‘One-Stop Shop’
Another area where Otraco excels is bringing convenience to the client’s doorstep. The company supplies quality, cost-effective tyre and rim related industrial products and in-house engineered specialised workshop equipment and tools to customer operations through a “one-stop shop,” serving customers no matter how remote they are.
Otraco assists present and future mining operations with workshop design, layout, storage, and traffic management to ensure long-term success. “We advise customers to select the correct equipment, such as work platforms, lifting equipment, Tyre Handlers and torque tools, and deploy a computerised system to track the assets, manage life-cycle costs, and flag when equipment requires load testing or calibration for compliance,” Boshoff states.
For instance, in tyre handlers—the primary tool for performing tyre maintenance—Otraco helps clients choose the best product for the job and application. The company also provides expert operator training to ensure safe and efficient use, as well as inspection and maintenance services to keep these critical machines in optimal condition.
Furthermore, Otraco employs advanced solutions such as nitrogen management systems, in-pit re-torque facilities, on-site calibration, and Super Jacks to ensure safe, efficient operations in challenging environments.
On the whole, Otraco’s capability spans the lifecycle of tyre, rim, and tyre protection chain management, including safety, risk control, selection, purchasing, warranty, maintenance, reconditioning, operation, disposal, and recycling.
Distinguishable approach
While there may be several providers serving African mining with the entire lifecyle of tyre management, Bode points out that Otraco’s approach is distinguishable in four core areas:
- Commitment to safety, engineering expertise, and zero-harm principles in delivering actionable insights in real time.
- Partnerships in sustainability initiatives, including tyre recycling projects.
- Continuous investment in its workforce and caring for its people.
- An organisational culture focused on excellent customer service.
The Preferred Provider
The excellence and relevance of Otraco’s tyre and rim management solutions are reflected in earning the trust of clients. The company has a proud history of being the preferred tyre management service provider to some of the world’s largest mining companies, with contracts spanning decades.
Currently, Otraco manages 17 opencast and two underground operations in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. It also supplies OEM-approved tyre/rim-related products and innovative workshop equipment/tooling to mining operations across the continent.
Milestones
By and large, Otracos’s African operations have achieved key milestones. These include implementing tyre life improvement programs, haul truck productivity improvement initiatives, and advanced ergonomics solutions. These programs underline Otraco’s commitment to operational excellence and safety across the continent.
“We believe in transparency and building trustworthy relationships. We have developed mutually respectful relationships with tyre manufacturers. This enables us to solve operational problems faster, and for tyre manufacturers to develop better products for our clients,” Bode affirms.
Massive Benefits
Generally, partnering with Otraco brings massive benefits to mining companies. Through Otraco’s proactive approach to tyre monitoring and maintenance, mining operations see significant reductions in tyre-related expenses, enhanced fleet uptime, and minimised environmental impact.
