Smarter maintenance at Port Waratah
Each of the four reclaimers at Kooragang has a bucket wheel with 10 buckets, a total of 40 buckets to manage – each taking more than six months to order, manufacture, and deliver.
Traditionally, replacements were scheduled when steel thickness reached half its original size, but through a collaboration between our IT services and Maintenance teams, we developed an AI model that predicts when each bucket will need replacing. This enables more effective long-term planning up to two years in advance, ensuring we have the stock on hand to complete expected replacements.
The model uses historical data including bucket measurements, operational tonnages, and forecast coal throughput. These predictive insights are integrated into a custom dashboard that connects with our maintenance and inventory systems for planning and ordering. We are working smarter, reducing downtime and keeping our operations running efficiently.
