This innovative tool allows operators to make incremental adjustments to a frame online, reducing the amount of live works. Components which contribute to the problems with belt drift include: rope, risk, isolation and maintenance. Together they contribute to safety risks as well as the high cost of down time. Manipulating tracking frames online puts lives at risk, and the downtime associated with conveyor tracking problems is often underestimated. Tying up tracking frames should be done during isolation, but the resulting downtime can be a costly process. Furthermore, it is currently common practice for many sites to tie up frames as a temporary fix to belt drift.
Unfortunately, these are generally forgotten about, causing a repeat of belt drift in the future. The elimination of live works and increasing productivity are the key goals of the Track Straight product. Our patented solutions provide safe online tracking of a conveyor belt through the manipulation of tracking frames through trough and return. Our mechanical units remove the need for isolation, whilst our automatic systems can correct conveyor tracking without the conveyor having to shut down. The result is improved safety and increased productivity.
Benefits
- Retrofits onto existing tracking frames
- Reduced clean-up cost
- No requirements to isolate
- Elimination of live works
- Reduced loss of production
- Proximity switch log (optional)
- Safe online incremental conveyor belt tracking
- Positive culture change
Mechanical Tracking Unit (MTU) Operation overview
“The Track Straight product proposed the elimination of live works as well as a positive change in workplace culture, showing the business was serious about reducing risk, implementing the Track Straight mechanical trackers was an easy decision. We have trailed the patented Track Straight mechanical units on one of our conveyors without any issues. These systems allow safe online incremental tracking of the conveyor and have been very well received by our team.”
Fixed Plant Supervisor – Pilbara Mine Site, Western Australia
Mechanical Tracking Unit (MTU) Operation overview
The tool allows the operator to make online incremental adjustments to a tracking frame, either trough or return by rotating a hand wheel that is outside of the conveyor pull wire. The unique design of the system means that force cannot be applied from the tracking frame back through the hand wheel, always keeping the operator safe. A torque limiting device means the tracking frame cannot be overloaded and a proximity switch logs each time the adjustment tool is used. The elimination of live works is the key goal of our Track Straight systems. Tying up tracking frames can be done during isolation, but the resulted down time can be a costly process – our mechanical units remove the need for isolation or operators making poor and unsafe behavior choices.