CAT MineStar

Cat MineStar Integrates MineStar, Other Vendor Data Into Single, Unified Interface

Every piece of mining equipment constantly generates critical operating and production data that is used by Cat MineStar products to enable miners to make better decisions. Historically, each MineStar capability — fleet, terrain, health and others — has different reporting tools for this captured data.

Caterpillar’s new MineStar Reporting platform for MineStar Solutions is a powerful reporting and analytics product that can consolidate information from MineStar products. Currently, MineStar Reporting supports information from MineStar fleet, terrain, health and command for hauling. Support for MineStar Edge currently is under way, and all other products will soon be supported.

The easy-to-use reports and dashboards generated by MineStar Reporting are suitable for single or multiple mine sites and can efficiently work with other sources that aren’t MineStar. Plus, it provides a single data layer for presentation and analysis regardless of MineStar version. A comprehensive set of reports and dashboards come standard with system installation.

Data collected from MineStar and other vendor technologies is unified by new MineStar Reporting into a comprehensive database that can be accessed simply and securely via a web browser. The flexible system allows users to create customized reports, so each person is equipped with the appropriate information, while automated email reports within the system ensures that the data is received at the right time.

Providing more graphical content for users, MineStar Reporting expands the breadth of reporting capabilities at the

mine. The solution offers upgrades to connect to other mining data sources for more comprehensive analysis and summary of the whole picture, including spatial intelligence, process plant data and reconciliations. It provides product tracking with genesis tracing, stockpile management and reconciliations. The core reports and dashboards included with the new Currently, MineStar Reporting supports information from MineStar fleet, terrain, health and command for hauling. Support for reporting platform allow users to quickly view and analyze mine MineStar Edge currently is under way, and all site data. Standard production other products will soon be supported. reporting encompasses management and movement summaries, benches mined, cycle details, truck production and grade movement and summary. Equipment performance, time stats and delay overview, activity calendar, fleet timeline and event details are covered in the time report. Users can quickly see drilling accuracy, hole list and drilling information using the standard drill report. A wide variety of maintenance reports are included with an expanded set using machine health data. Growing with the mine site’s use of automation, MineStar Reporting is scalable and future-proof. Using Connected Mine technology in partnership with Information Alignment, it simplifies reporting of currently gathered data while leaving space for future solutions when the mine is ready to adopt new technologies. With all data housed in a single location independent of one solution, valuable historical data is secure when updating or changing technology systems, according to the company. For more information, visit www.cat.com/ minestar-reporting.  The easy-to-use reports and dashboards generated by MineStar Reporting are suitable for single or multiple mine sites and can efficiently work with other sources that aren't MineStar. Plus, it provides a single data layer for presentation and analysis regardless of MineStar version. A comprehensive set of reports and dashboards come standard with system installation.

All Island Equipment 39 Jersey St. • West Babylon, NY 11704 631-643-2605 www.allislandequipment.com

ATS Equipment, Inc. 33 Locust Street • Boston, MA 02125 617-825-3600 487 Washington Street, Route 20 • Auburn, MA 01501 508-832-8500 51 Fall River Avenue • Rehoboth, MA 02769 508-379-6200 ww.atsequipment.com

Baschmann Services Inc. 1101 Maple Road • Elma, NY 14509 888-655-1101 www.baschmann.com

Chappell Tractor 454 Route 13 South • Milford, NH 03055 800-698-2640 251 Route 125 • Brentwood, NH 03833 800-616-5666 391 Loudon Rd. • Concord, NH 03301 800-358-6007 www.chappelltractor.com

Highway Equipment Company 615 State Route 33 • Millstone Township, NJ 08535 732-446-7600 www.highway-equipment.com

Westchester Tractor 60 International Blvd. • Brewster, NY 10509 845-278-7766 www.wtractor.com

PRECASTEEL from page 96

“The conventional alternative to using bridge brackets,” he continued, “is fraught with wasted money and materials.”

Dinmore spent 20 years working on highprofile infrastructure projects in Metropolitan New York, the last 6 years as chief engineer for a Fortune 500 heavy civil contractor. He saw money wasted on transportation, unnecessary tasks, and the disposal of plywood after bridge brackets were disassembled.

Most contractors don’t own bridge brackets that conform to the requirements of today’s construction and those that do often spend time digging them up in the yard for the next project only to find that they have fallen into disrepair.

“Every time I would find an area where we were losing money, it traced back to these bridge brackets,” Dinmore said. “The money was going everywhere except into the structural deck where it belonged.”

The closer spacing of these costly brackets has exacerbated the problem, according to Dinmore. Contractors used to set them around 36 to 48 in. apart.

“They are now putting them much closer and that gets very, very expensive,” he said. “Precasteel eliminates the need for brackets altogether.”

Bridge brackets also can impact paving quality. The proximity of the bridge paver screed rail to the brackets causes them to deflect during paving and creates a wave, or a washboard affect, in the concrete deck along the barrier that often collects water and eventually scales. The damage is often discovered after the project is completed but the warranty has not expired, leaving the contractor with the unexpected cost of diamond grinding or deck replacement depending upon available concrete cover over the deck reinforcing steel.

Precasteel is not subject to this issue since the paver screed rail is located along the centerline of the fascia beam as opposed to the panel itself. Precasting, Installing Precasteel

J&R Slaw produced the panels at its Lehighton plant with Precasteel performing periodic quality inspections for quality assurance, especially on the first bridge known as the Frontage Road Structure (FRS). No plant inspectors were present from PANYNJ; although the authority did station an inspector at the plant for ramp L29, the second of the structures. All Precasteel sections were 5 ft. long and 1,000 lbs. on average.

“It was shown in the design that soffit widths varied requiring each panel to be custom,” Dinmore recalled. “At the end of the day Slaw did a really good job, especially on the geometry, because everything fit like a glove.”

There was no specification for Precasteel so guidelines from the Architectural Precast Association (APA) were adopted early on. The recommended slender ratio dictated an increase in thickness from 2 ½ to 3 in. and a minimum concrete compression strength of 6,500 psi to avoid shrinkage and stress cracks.

All Precasteel sections were palletized, stacked on a flatbed trailer and shipped off to LaGuardia. Upon arrival, Skanska-Walsh crews offloaded and moved the sections to a staging area where workers installed the hardware before hoisting them to the bridge deck one by one with a small crane.

“They had to have all the hardware on before they flew the panels up,” said Dinmore. “That was the only way to achieve the production rate of one minute per linear foot.”

The hardware on each panel includes swivel hoist rings (aka swivel lifts), and two eye bolts, primary ties, and secondary ties. Skanska-Walsh workers waited on the bridge deck as sections were floated into place like puzzle pieces. The panels featured a notch slightly greater than 90-degrees along the bottom longitudinal edge that rested directly upon the top outboard flange of the fascia beam.

Once the connection was engaged, a worker bolted the ties onto a threaded stud shot on the beam and tightened it. The swivel lifts were disconnected from the panel and flown back down with the rigging on the crane hook and the process was repeated on the next section. Another set of swivel lifts were used on the next section to save time.

The plus 90-degree angle of the notch, better known as the bird’s beak, allows a panel to be set at almost any angle without any chipping or breakage. And it fits nearly any member that might be used for a bridge fascia beam. The only requirement is a 90degree edge along the beam, whether curved, straight, concrete, or steel. No positive connection is made between the notch and the beam’s flange.

“The notch is the secret sauce,” said Dinmore. “It’s what makes Precasteel work.”

Dinmore was approached by several insurance agents at the 2018 Utility & Transportation Contractors Convention of New Jersey (UTCA NJ) in Atlantic City. All were seeing frequent safety claims associated with the improper installation of bridge brackets or the vulnerability to wind uplift causing damage prior to concrete placement. The bracket and plywood are often unsecured before concrete is poured, acting like a kite that can get blown upward by moderate to heavy winds.

“This is a typical scenario for a lot of contractors,” Dinmore said. “It has probably happened to most of them at least once.”

Many owners now specify that a cable needs to be threaded through the brackets to prevent the brackets from falling into the roadway below after uplifting winds rip the entire forming system off the bridge.

Skanska-Walsh crews were able to work safely from the bridge deck at LaGuardia, focusing on connecting the hardware properly. Each Precasteel section is equipped with two ties, one of which is redundant. Even in a worst-case scenario where a heavy load bangs into a panel, it would break rather than fall. This was proven on the last barrier pour on a section installed more than 6 months before barrier concrete placement.

Precasteel panels at LaGuardia were designed to withstand all anticipated construction and OSHA loads with up to six times the factor of safety on deck pours and two times on barrier pours; the current standards have increased safety factors even more to facilitate the usage of pick brackets attached to the panels on the inside to allow workers to move freely up and down the line of panels and to account for reverse stresses that could be implied on the panels during slip forming operations. At 42 inc. tall from the soffit top, the installed Precasteel panels eliminated the need for fall protection, which is required when using bridge brackets. This not only prevented tripping and other nuisances that arise when connecting self-retracting lifelines, but also improved productivity for the trades waiting behind Skanska-Walsh’s panel installation crew. The time savings gained by not having to tie off were incremental at the end of the project but the real schedule booster was not having to come back after the panels were installed; hence the Precasteel motto, “Set ‘em & Forget ‘em!.” Skanska-Walsh finished successfully installing all Precasteel panels on the Central Terminal project in September 2019, and Delta Airlines had designed approximately 1,700 linear ft. of Precasteel panels into the project at its neighboring terminal. DeFoe Construction Inc. had been slated to perform the work in early 2020; however, the pandemic caused precast plant closures that resulted in the need for conventional construction. The fact that Delta Airlines incorporated the panels into its design after witnessing the ease of construction and aesthetically pleasing finish is a testament to Precasteel.

Dinmore was proud to see Precasteel reaching the tipping point after more than 20 years of seeking a solution and six years researching and developing the concept.

“My goal is to see Precasteel on bridges in every state across this great nation and eventually the world,” he said. “I’m thankful to Skanska-Walsh for recognizing the simplicity and potential of my idea and putting it to the ultimate test at LaGuardia.”

But Dinmore does not consider himself a sales person or a politician, nor does he have the distribution or manufacturing facilities in place that are needed to launch his product on the grand scale it deserves. Now that proof of concept is behind him and the Infrastructure Bill is imminent, he’s looking for a helping hand to reach his goal of getting SIPFF’s on bridges across the United States.

For more information, visit www.precasteel.com. 

Precasteel photo Precasteel was originally designed with a 90-degree angle. The architect at LaGuardia wanted to achieve a different aesthetic so the vertical axis tilts back as a result.