Inspection, Maintenance and Repair Program

Like many countries in the world, RIMEX is taking part in best practices that we see throughout the industry worldwide. One of these best practices is the NDT Testing and Refurbishment that companies in Australia are obligated to undertake.

Currently in Canada there is no official standard requiring wheels/rims to undergo regular inspections and refurbishment.  At RIMEX we see the value in this practice, as there are many benefits to proper wheel/rim maintenance, including reduced costs and increased savings.

By bringing the practices we’ve been using in Australia for the past 11 years to Canada, RIMEX is taking a proactive step towards better wheel/rim maintenance.

The Existing Standard
Benefits of Inspection
Why RIMEX?
The Process

Australia has been very proactive with regards to tires and wheels and the inherent dangers of these pressure vessels. Industry in Australia has created a standard. The Australian standard is very clear. It has been implemented to protect those in the industry by setting a guideline for wheel inspection, repair and mounting/demounting procedures.

Standard Details (As taken from The Australian Standard AS4457.1-2007 Earth Moving machinery – Off Highway rims and wheels – Maintenance and Repair.)

Preface
On a number of occasions wheels have suffered failures both in Australia and overseas. In many cases, where the wheel or rim has disintegrated, pieces of the rim have been thrown for considerable distances. The release of large quantities of energy in an uncontrolled manner poses risk to person nearby and in order that this element of risk be minimized, some controls over the repair and inspection of wheels are considered necessary.

Scope
The standard sets out the requirements for the identification, safe dismounting, inspection, maintenance, testing and mounting of off-highway wheels and rims for rubber-tyred earth moving machinery. It applies to wheels and rims of not less than 600 mm (24 inches) in diameter.

Objective
The objective of this standard is to assist manufacturers, suppliers, employers, repairers and users of earth-moving machinery in minimizing the risk to health and safety of employees working with or otherwise near wheels and rims of earth moving vehicles.

Outside of Australia it is common to see wheels remain in service until they fail in the field. Fatigue in wheels is very difficult to predict, but there are indicators that become evident over time. For practices based in Canada, RIMEX uses the Australian standard as a guideline.

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Benefits of Inspection

Safety
All stakeholders benefit from a comprehensive testing and rim-tracking program. Tire fitters can perform their jobs with confidence knowing that every possible step is being taken to ensure their safety. The goal and sole purpose of this program is to ensure the well being of employees working with and along side this type of equipment. Safety is the primary reason behind our repair program.

Track Life Expectancy and Associated Costs
A very clear and important result of implementing such a program is increased understanding and accountability. A comprehensive program of testing and tracking wheels enables companies to follow the long-term costs associated with wheels. If properly tested and tracked, each wheel will show a complete and accurate cost for the life of the wheel. This allows users to accurately gauge the cost of each wheel, clearly demonstrating the best value products. This is something that has been absent at many sites, leaving decisions to opinion as opposed to fact.

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Why RIMEX?

RIMEX is the world leader in designing and manufacturing earthmoving wheels. In terms of design and innovation, RIMEX leads the industry with over 30 years of experience. During this time, any changes to wheel designs and manufacturing methods have originated with RIMEX. What this demonstrates is a willingness to grow and change with our customer, bringing much needed innovation to products that are being asked to do more than ever before. And with 11 years of conducting our inspection, maintenance and repairing practices in Australia, you can have confidence knowing RIMEX is working to keep your wheels/rims safer and lasting longer.

Offsite Testing
Many variables are considered when determining the appropriate time to send wheels and rims off site for testing. Variables such as the type of equipment, the type of wheel/rim, and the mine site conditions. Much of this is site specific. The hours of operation before an inspection will vary depending on the load weights the equipment is hauling, what the road conditions are like, and what type of surface they are hauling on. With over 30 years of experience, RIMEX has done numerous studies with customers, determining the recommended number of hours in service before a wheel/rim should be tested. With the appropriate information we can help customers determining when wheels/rims require a proper inspection, eliminating pre-emptive inspections and unnecessary equipment down time.

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The Process

The inspection and refurbishment process can be broken down into 6 steps:

Remove Paint/Corrosion – Silica Sand vs. Steel Grit
Traditionally, using silica sand as the abrasive for paint/corrosion removal was the method of choice. This is an effective method of cleaning the wheel but silica sand is a ‘single use’ abrasive as it breaks down after only one use. This is not an environmentally friendly material as it is very wasteful and costly. Additionally, once silica sand has been used, it contains free silica which, when inhaled, poses a grave risk to the lungs.

In consideration of all these variables RIMEX’s procedures include using a Mod-u-Blast® Self Contained Blasting Facility. This self-contained system prevents waste from escaping into the environment; both waste (through dust collection) and the abrasive SG-25 (through Media Recovery) are captured and contained. Steel Grit, as opposed to silica sand, provides hundreds of passes as it breaks down very slowly.

The benefits of this system are two fold: it is environmentally friendly and it offers effective surface preparation, which is good for the wheel, enhancing coating performance.

Four Non Destructive Testing (NDT) Methods:
Depending on the many variables specific to the wheel/rim, one of four different NDT methods are used during inspection:

Comprehensive Reporting
A quality report is written up for every wheel/rim we receive for inspection. That report is sent to the customer for review and approval BEFORE any of the necessary repairs take place.

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