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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
AUGUST 2017
10
WHEEL LOADERS
T
he economics of equipment is one of
the most important considerations
in the selection of equipment. When
selecting the most efficient wheel loader
for the job at hand, the key is to hit your
desired production goals for the lowest to-
tal cost of ownership. But, how best is this
achievable? A panel of experts unpacks the
fundamentals.
Todd Tuntland, Product Application Spe-
cialist – Large Wheel Loaders at Caterpil-
lar, tells
Capital Equipment News
that
this achievable by “right sizing” the wheel
loader. “A loader is most efficient at its
maximum productivity, not too big, not too
small, but just right,” he says.
Frank Schmitt, GPPE Wheel Loader Product
Manager at Volvo CE, Sales Region EMEA,
says to strike the desired production goals
with a wheel loader, one needs to know their
production targets and the bottlenecks in
their current production process. “Experience,
along with tools such as Volvo SiteSimulation,
will help you to match the right loader to
the hauling units or your production process.
The right machine size with the proper
specification will help you keep your costs
under control,” he says. Schmitt, however,
cautions that the initial purchasing price will
not automatically lead to the lowest cost per
tonne. “Factors such as machine availability
(uptime), fuel efficiency and productivity will
have a big influence on your cost per tonne as
well,” he says.
Dominik Brandauer, area sales manager
at Liebherr Construction GmbH, shares
the same view with Schmitt, saying
that one can only reach the lowest cost
of ownership when they know all their
workflows in their production process.
“The important thing is to know where
your bottlenecks are through an informed
job site analysis. After the job site analysis
there are few more key facts that you have
to observe. These include, low downtime
– coordinated size of equipment; regular
and organised service and maintenance;
as well as your project timeline on the job
site,” says Brandauer.
Stephen McNeill, product marketing
manager at Bell Equipment, says key to
hitting production goals for the lowest total
ownership cost is correctly determining the
smallest machine capable of doing the job
without overloading it, and this effectively
maximises efficiency. “It is also key to use
the correct linkage system and a bucket
that has been correctly designed for the
application as this reduces the vehicle power
and traction needed to get into the material
pile, which results in less tyre wear and less
fuel consumption,” says McNeill. “This also
HITTING
DESIRED PRODUCTION
GOALS
For speedy and economic execution of projects, proper choice of equipment is of primary
importance. A wheel loader is one such crucial piece of equipment on any earthmoving
site, and spec’ing the right unit for the right job is of principal significance. There are
various issues to consider when looking at acquiring a wheel loader for a jobsite, ranging
from suitability for job conditions, size of matching units, all the way to driveline options,
bucket selection, electronic features, payload systems and more, writes
Munesu Shoko
.
reduces unnecessary exertion on the wheel
loader in general, which has a positive
knock-on impact in terms of maintenance
and vehicle longevity.”
Miguel Angel Torres, business director at
CASE Construction Equipment Africa, says
either for feeding a plant or for loading trucks,
wheel loader uptime on site is the key to
controlling costs. “Optimising productivity at
lower total cost of ownership is best achieved
through a combination of factors such as
dealer backup, proper sizing, configuration of
the machine, fuel efficiency and maintenance
cost optimisation,” says Torres.
Job conditions
Job conditions play a big role in the choice