Kal Tire and Decoda have collaborated to develop KalPRO HaulSight, which builds on the success of KalPRO TireSight autonomous tyre inspections.
“HaulSight’s ability to detect road hazards as they arise means mines can prevent the tyre damage that TireSight detects,” says Christian Erdelyi, technology services director, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group. “We’re excited about how this collaboration with Decoda will further our achievements in the autonomous space to bring customers even greater improvements to tyre life, productivity, and fuel efficiency.”
With Decoda’s LiDAR and camera sensors mounted to the front and rear of haul trucks, and an ‘edge’ computer processing live footage, HaulSight gives fleet teams instant alerts about hazards such as spillage, road undulations, and high G-force events that can cause truck and tyre damage, and slow down operations. Modelling TireSight, HaulSight’s scanning technology integrates with Kal Tire’s TOMS (Tire & Operations Managing System) and allows condition monitoring experts to assess flagged issues and automate priority-based work orders.
“HaulSight gives mine sites unprecedented visibility across the entire haul circuit and turns that insight into action. By making critical data easy to visualise and act on, operations see measurable improvements, like faster circuits and reduced downtime, from day one," says George Spink, executive general manager, Decoda. “Leveraging Kal Tire’s longstanding relationships means we have the chance to bring these benefits to more mines, so we’re pleased to be a part of such a valuable partnership.”
HaulSight enables road crews to react quickly and create optimal road conditions that maximise cycle speed and fuel use. When long-term planning opportunities arise, HaulSight calculates the cost to lost tyre life, productivity, and fuel against the cost of a road improvement.
“The responsiveness of the system means mine sites benefit right away with trucks spending more time hauling, but HaulSight also offers long-range planning insights that enable confident decision-making around tyre maintenance and road upgrade investments,” says Erdelyi.
To ensure HaulSight is just as effective in sub-zero conditions, testing began on Canadian mine sites 18 months ago with strong results. Since no two mines are alike, and no two roads even within a site are alike, HaulSight’s real-time feedback option can guide truck operators into loading or dumping spots to avoid impacts with road hazards.
As more mines move toward autonomous and electric vehicles, the benefits of HaulSight become even more significant. Imagine a 400 t haul truck travelling at speed and impacting an unexpected undulation in the road: the spillage (lost commodity and potential tyre hazard) and the stress to the truck’s struts and frame can occur without a driver perceiving issues and making adjustments. For mining trucks, the slowing down and re-accelerating around soft spots in the road leads to wasted energy and cycle time.