The Canadian mining industry loses about $940 million every year because it habitually ignores proper maintenance procedures that could reduce wear and friction in equipment components. That rather staggering sum, which represents the cost of downtime and repairs, comes from the National Research Council’s Associate Committee on Tribology. (Tribology is the study of friction, lubrication and wear.)
Much of that $940 million could end up on the bottom line of income statements if mining companies took advantage of existing technology and paid more attention to preventive maintenance techniques. Instead, “the current level of friction and wear tends to be accepted erroneously as normal,” the organization’s study states.
The problem lies not only with mining companies that tend to underplay the role of maintenance, but also with Canada’s engineers and technicians who are taught how to design, build and repair equipment and yet have little understanding of friction, wear and lubrication. The study recommends that tradespeople, technologists and engineers be given a thorough grounding in tribology.
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