MAINTAINING CUTTING PERFORMANCE AND THE NEED FOR CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT AND EFFICIENCY

Bit Service is proud to provide numerous services to our clients, including selecting and sourcing the right bits that they need to work for their application. We’ve even written an article offering advice on how best to go about conical bit selection which you can read here.

And while the selection process itself is important, the work doesn’t stop there.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE SELECT A BIT?

After we’ve selected a bit and it’s in use, we go underground and talk to the operators to see how it’s performing and to gather any feedback from them. As we go on these follow-up trips, we bring along what you might call a checklist. The first item is confirming the penetration rate, which tells us if the bit can cut as fast and efficiently as was expected/projected, whether or not the produced cutting pattern is correct based on design… It is also during these visits that we check on the bit life to observe wear rate and wear patterns.

Then, after that, we take all of the gathered information and use it to estimate the overall bit reliability to confirm the initial selection process, which will help for future optimization of the bit. Basically, we’re sitting down and asking ourselves: “Did we pick the right bit here, and is it actually doing everything we thought it would?” If so, it confirms that our selection process is correct and on the right path. If not, we at least then know what needs addressing for continued improvement and efficiency.

After that, there’s maintenance and continued diligence in checking back in on the progress, ensuring that everything continues to flow smoothly and in the most efficient manner. While there may not necessarily be an exact timetable for when one should do a check-in with the process, we specifically and always make it a point to do so immediately after we make any kind of change. This ensures that everything is aligned and the production process continues to be as seamless as possible.

But beyond maintenance, there is a real need for continued improvement in performance and efficiency. Why? When supplying goods to a variety of customers, it can sometimes be challenging to get feedback. We at Bit Service believe in providing the best possible customer service, so we strive to investigate and find out what’s really working and what’s not quite performing at its very best. After all, we don’t want to provide a component that is just “good enough”. This is a competitive industry, and we always want to confidently say that we have the best products available, and the only way we can do that is by getting feedback and constantly improving our product selection.

Simply put: increased efficiency means increased revenue for our clients. But beyond that, we are seeing evolution in machinery. Mechanical cutting machines in underground mining are being developed where they are bigger, more powerful, and are tasked for jobs sometimes out of scope. That means that we have to evolve and make sure that we have the right products for maintenance and repairs, so that mines can continue to operate and achieve their targets. It all boils down to a steady and never-ending search for optimum efficiency.

For more information about Bit Service, and to learn how we can help you in your journey to maximize efficiency and productivity, contact us today.