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13 D11's pushing side by side in slots

OzDozer

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Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
2,207
Location
Perth, Western Australia.
Occupation
Semi-Retired ..
Deas is right about the blade-to-blade pushing .. it's an extremely effective way to move dirt .. and I've shifted many hundreds of thousands of yards, over many years, working blade to blade .. it adds about 20% to pushing productivity ..

Dozerboy has nailed it .. to work effectively, requires great co-ordination, and good operators that can work with each other. I doubt whether you'd get 13 guys that could work together and co-ordinate blade-to-blade pushing, for any length of time.
One of the problems with B-2-B pushing, is it requires a higher level of concentration, as compared to working alone .. and just switching off, and letting the dirt roll, while you turn up the favorite song on the radio .. :D

Three tractors is the most you could effectively co-ordinate on a B-2-B push. Any more, and you have great problems with machine to machine accidental contact .. and resultant possible damage to blades, guards, etc., ..

My nephew has a pic of my three D-375 Komatsu's pushing blade to blade .. an impressive pic, to say the least. I'll have to see if I can get it off him.
 

greywynd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
Messages
225
Location
Peterborough, Ontario
We've done B2B pushes with snow, loader in the middle with a 20' blade, and two tractors on either side with 14' blades. In light snow it's not worth the effort, you can windrow it quicker then trying to do the B2B. Once you hav a windrow though, or a heavy snow, it's possible to move a much bigger pile in the one push than you ever could with the three machines. (Even if they had box blades.)

Mark
 

mntman552

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
35
Location
wyoming
reply

I work at a large coal mine here in wyoming. The excavators cut the highwall down and dump it into piles for the dozers to push down to grade. All I was saying was that the photo was staged because the hoes would be dumping the spoil dirt behind the dozers and they wouldnt beable to get up on the hoe pad. They could very well have 13 dozers pushing in the same pit but they wouldnt be working in the formation that they are in the pic in such proximity to the hoes and you can see from the push marks going accross the slope they moved the dozers over for the pic
 
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Scrub Puller

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Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
3,481
Location
Gladstone Queensland Australia
Yair...spot on Deas Plant. I'm new on these pages but somewhere I saw some piccys of some nice little LGP sixes on along drift I think in the Netherlands. Why the hell didn't they team up and REALY move some dirt?

We had a nominated middle man with extensions welded onto the corner tips, the two outside tractors would tuck their blades in behind these and it made it easier to keep everything in line.
 

diggerop

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Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
159
Location
QLD , Australia
Occupation
Plant operator, coal mining/ 25 years
That is a staged photo for sure, I count 7 slots that have been recently worked, the rest have snow on them, some of the dozers are not even in slots, ok you have to push the rills every so often, so it is the first push first push in that area for some of the dozers. Those 3 excavators would not clean up enough wall to keep 13 dozers productive, plus all the other reasons already mentioned. Still it's a good photo and I take my hat off to the bloke who organised it, he would have had the hardest job.:yup
 

Gavin84w

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
554
Location
Australia
Try these for size just for the doubters, i think it is North Antelope Rochelle mine and i was told there were 5 more D11,s to the left that did not get in that pic
 

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mntman552

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
35
Location
wyoming
Depending on when those were taken I could have been in one of the hoe's or dozers. Been grounding for dragline lately and havent been in the production push for quite a while
 

Gavin84w

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
554
Location
Australia
Good stuff mntman552, so can you confirm if the topic title picture was actualy 13 dozers together with more out of the pic?

I guess it would have to be also the mine you work at if that is not the case but from what i know the PRB mines have made this method an art and i am sure it is done at more than one property.

Any ideas what D11 population vs D475 is in the PRB?
 

mntman552

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
35
Location
wyoming
dozer numbers

The first pictures of the thirteen dozers pushing side by side was taken at I believe Black Thunder Mine and I think they were Washington Groups dozers. The second group of pics were definately taken at NARM. As for the 475 to d11 ratio I know that a North Rochell mine used to run a few Komatsu's but when Black Thunder bought them out I think most of them got junked out. For dozers its definately CAT county out here.
 

AtlasRob

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,982
Location
West Sussex UK
Occupation
owner operator
Just saw this video

Not as many but same idea.

I believe that is the party piece as staged by C@t at thier Malaga training/demonstration ground.

I expect other venues are available :D


I was told by an Australian engineer a couple of years ago how the mine he had worked in back home would set a blast to throw the overburden, then the dozers would go in and push a quantity, then they would dig and throw with draglines.

He maintained that the push length and amount of material moved by the dozers was carefully monitored / controlled and the powers that be knew at what point it was no longer productive to use the dozers in such a manner.
 

Gavin84w

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
554
Location
Australia
Atlas Rob,

I have heard Thiess use the "cast blast and dozer push" method in some Queensland mines and the idea is you get free dirt moved from the cast blast so this is how it becomes a cheaper way to move dirt. You have to blow it up any way so why not move it where you need it when you do, then the dozers come in and move more while setting it up to a level for a dragline and so on and so on.
 

Cam85

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
275
Location
Roma
That's not staged it actually happens note the 2 dozers on the left pushing off the rill getting ready to link.
A dragline is the cheapest way of moving dirt bar none but it needs healp the next cheapest is the dozer Each dozer will work a slot individually untill a point then they will link in push to clean off then start again hard to get a crew that can do it well impressive to watch.
 
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