2 minutes read 07 Dec 2021Chepstow Plant International has its sights firmly focused on driving real change for those companies striving towards meeting the Government’s net zero targets by 2050. Here, Iain Ormrod, General Manager at CPI, explains how Chepstow Plant International has recently helped one client working in the Kaolin (china clay) sector to reduce its carbon footprint, optimise the fleet and ultimately reduce site operating costs.
“At Chepstow Plant International, we’re acutely aware of the need to help companies achieve net zero in line with the Government’s 2050 targets. As such, over the last couple of years we have worked hard to make meaningful changes to the way that we operate and in turn help clients meet their own objectives.
“Put simply, decarbonisation is so much more than simply buying new machinery or trying to invest in all-electric machinery. It’s about making conscious decisions throughout an entire business to create a cleaner and more environmentally future. With a clear focus on helping clients make positive changes in the quarrying and aggregates industry, we believe it’s important to share inspiring stories of clients that are well and truly on the journey towards net zero and have real, tangible results to show for it as a result.
“For example, over the last couple of years we’ve worked closely with one of our major clients in the UK that focuses on the extraction and processing of Kaolin. To help the client meet its decarbonisation objectives, we first set about looking at asset optimisation and downsized excavators from 95T to 75T, whilst providing a better bucket fill factor and delivering the same productivity with a lower cost base. This increased site flexibility.
“We then introduced zero-carbon training on-site. Our analytics department identified an overuse of the brake pedal rather than the retarder. This information was then translated to our operators through our L&D department by familiarisation training across our Volvo A40G’s, resulting in reducing the fuel burn by nine per cent. Similarly, our analysts identified an overuse of the power function on the excavators, which burns 102% more fuel than the general dig function. Further re-training for the operators, with a focus on optimal engine mode selection, could see a further 135,000 litres saved per year across the 3 75T excavators.
“The results speak for themselves; not only did we achieve 26 per cent fuel reduction per ADT from 2014 – 2019 (6.1 litres/hour) on Tier IIIB – V vehicles, but we also delivered a further 9% reduction through operator upskilling and coaching over retarder use, per Volvo A40G, saving approximately a further 100,000 litres per annum.
“We are just at the starting stages too in monitoring our newest additions to the fleet: two hydrostatic 25T wheel loaders, so we will keep a close eye on the performance of these and report back, how these are contributing to both customers and our own fuel and on-site pollutant reduction targets.”
Chepstow Plant International is here to help companies looking to drive forward their own decarbonisation agenda in the quarrying and aggregates sector, so get in touch to find out more.
By Iain Ormrod
Share this story
