Moderately large author Daniel B England

is dwarfed by a Komatsu truck – in turn

dwarfed by the environment in which
it operates (top right).

16 RIO TINTO REVIEW

 It’s as high as a two storey house,
it can carry 218 tonnes of rock in a
single load and it costs northward
of US$2.5m. But, discovers
Daniel B England, rather than just
being an incredible piece of hardware,
Rio Tinto’s “truck in a box” also
represents a highly innovative
approach to partnership in corporate
procurement.

SOME
KIND
OF
TRUCK Perhaps the last thing you think of when
standing beneath a Komatsu 830E haul truck is
corporate procurement. That would be like seeing
the Grand Canyon for the first time and thinking
about the initial stream that must have started it.
But it turns out that as arresting as it is to
experience first hand one of the world’s largest
trucks, the story behind its latest iteration, which
started as mere corporate procurement, has
resulted in a new, and larger reality that is poised
to change the way Rio Tinto does business.
To all of that in a moment. First, to the truck
itself simply because it cannot be ignored. Take
the case of Sarah Lungren, an industrial engineer
by training, who first operated a haul truck at Rio
Tinto’s Antelope coal mine in Wyoming in the
heart of the US. During her time there, someone
offered her the opportunity to operate a Komatsu
830E, a truck with a cab some 18ft above ground.
So, after training, she did. “It was awesome!”
she told me on a recent tour of the Bingham
Canyon copper mine in Utah where she now
works. “I fell in love.” Now she knows every inch
of the thing, extolling its virtue as though she is
telling you about her Toyota 4 x 4 pick-up. “The
seat just floats and it is so comfortable and quiet.
The retard speed control really gives you command
and the thermostatic fan clutch is amazing.”
Then she really lights up. “But when you can
swing one of those 830s into place under the
shovel so that the operator doesn’t have to miss a
beat, then you know you really know what you’re

RIO TINTO REVIEW 17

Some kind of truck

doing,” she said with justifiable pride. You’d better.

At a site exercise in which 830E drivers were given
permission to reverse over the wreck of a pick-up
truck so they could see how it felt, one described it as
“like hitting a rabbit”.
The hauler she so ably mastered in Wyoming –
the 830E – is but one variation on a design. Like
most advanced operators, Rio Tinto specifies electric
motors in the wheels that control forward motion
and braking. But a DC (direct current electric drive)
configuration is not appropriate for the steep
gradients of Bingham Canyon Copper Mine in Utah.
An AC (alternating current electric drive) truck, on
the other hand, has a more robust system that makes
it faster uphill and less stressed downhill. And there
Ben Avern
is a lot of uphill and downhill for these monsters: if gets up
the truck is coming from the bottom of the Bingham
Copper Mine, it has to trudge up the equivalent of close and
two Sears Tower buildings stacked on top of one
another (say 3,000ft), and then a bit more, to the top. personal
Komatsu also manufacture a 930E (also an AC)
that is larger and can haul bigger loads. But trucks with one of
are limited in size by their tyres. The 830 series
takes 57 inch tyres and the 930 63 inch. No matter Komatsu’s
what the size, there is limited supply – and tyre
manufacturers are struggling to meet demand (see giant haul
page 22). So, for the moment, mine operators will
simply have to be content with these “you’ve-got-to- trucks in
be-kidding” sized creations as they are.
Not so long ago, individual Rio Tinto business Diavik.
units would make their own arrangements with a
supplier such as Komatsu or Caterpillar or Hitachi “...when you can swing
for haul trucks, even ordering from different sources
within those companies: Komatsu, for example, has
one of those 830s into
Japanese, German and North American divisions place under the shovel
with an array of dealer subsidiaries.
This led to a tangled web of ordering procedures,
so that the operator
fulfilment and relationships that developed like the doesn’t have to miss a
wires behind your computer desk: it was hard to
make sense of them and harder yet to follow any
beat, then you know you
given connection. Nevertheless, at some point really know what you’re
Komatsu would supply a truck, like the 830E, but
only in its most basic form.
doing,”
The manufacturer would ship it, in pieces, to the Sarah Lungren
business that ordered it, where it would be assembled Over the past ten years or so, a number of factors
and accessorized with the ladders, lights and other have been converging to make both efficient
bells and whistles the business unit deemed desirable. procurement and the standard haul truck a
These additional pieces would often come from local possibility, verging towards a necessity. First, mine
sources. But sometimes, unassembled trucks would operators started pushing for greater safety measures
arrive and sit on the ground longer than it took and procedures. At the same time, pressure started
Komatsu to build them at the factory, waiting for all flowing down from on high for the same thing.
the assemblers and accessories to show up. Today at the mine, everyone – yes, you – wears a
This may have been comfortable for some hard hat. And goggles. And boots. Everyone – hey,
business units, but no one thought it very you – puts down tyre blocks under a pick-up truck,
efficient. And the inevitable question followed. even at the site offices. You look up and down the
What if the procedures could improve and – stop road – several times, every time – like you’re picking
the presses – what if a manufacturer could produce your moment to cross the track at the Indianapolis
a complete haul truck that conformed to all the 500. But it’s more than these day to day injury saving
standards, safety and otherwise, that Rio Tinto was practices that are driving record safety statistics.
developing out of their experience? The Rio Tinto safety mandates, which have now

18 RIO TINTO REVIEW

 The 830E is big. From it you can look
down on 100 tonne trucks which are big
themselves, and pick-ups look positively
Dinky. There are bigger trucks, for sure, but
the 830E is still big. In fact, it’s still
massive.
I’ve known about trucks like this for
not to look too gormless, I was stumped by
the fact that (a) even the first step was high
enough off the ground to be a climb, and
(b) I couldn’t see the top of the truck.
Have I mentioned yet that it was big? I
didn’t want to look even more clueless and
start to climb the wrong staircase, so it took

It’s, years, and seen them up close, but at the

Diavik Diamond Mine, the 830E was so big
that it threw me. I’d known since I was a kid
me a while to tilt my head back enough to
be able to see that I was indeed headed in
the right direction, and was going to take

er, that the stairway to heaven ran at an angle

across the radiator, but standing there trying
the right route there.
There is a direct‚ vertical climb to the
cab, but I took the traditional radiator route‚
for several reasons. I needed time to think,
it was a gentler slope, I am about as lazy as
you can get, and I’m scared of heights.
Anyway, I can now say I was in a truck that
took 16 steps to get up into; if I’d taken the
other route I’d have perhaps only taken ten
steps, and I now have a better story with
which to impress my friends.
At the end of my climb I found the cab
(it’s really very small compared to
everything else around you), and
introduced myself to Mary Ann Angnahiak,
the pilot of truck number 206 at Diavik.

become infused into a culture of safety, are systematic
and serious. Safety audits happen regularly and
irregularly (surprise audits). Benchmarks are set and
reports are made. More importantly, mine operators
know that their bonuses are tied directly to their
safety record. Sheer pride keeps any unit from the
ignominy of being in the bottom quartile of safety.
Something else has happened too. Rio Tinto has
moved from being an international group into
becoming a global group. The difference? An
international group works in countries all over the
world; a global group works the world. And to work
globally, it’s imperative to think globally.
For Rio Tinto, that has meant a gradual increase
over the past ten years in control of their subsidiaries
in matters of safety, training and, now, equipment.
And so, little by little, procurement activities have
become more centralized, into what is now known as
Rio Tinto Procurement (RTP), headed by John
McGagh. The same thinking has been manifest in the
creation of the Operational and Technical Excellence
(OTX) group, which brings together Health, Safety
and Environmental matters, providing world class
technology based service to the product groups and
their businesses.
Now, each business unit has a service level
agreement with Rio Tinto that formally authorizes
Rio Tinto to commit the funds and manage the
contracts in purchasing. Alan Hustwick, vice
president of Global Supply, oversees these contracts
with “Tier 1” suppliers globally. Given the diverse
nature of the business units, this was not an easy

RIO TINTO REVIEW 19

Stowing my bag and coat behind the seat, I
began to look around me.
“Hmmm,” I thought, “this isn’t what I
expected at all.” Everything seemed so
normal – a functional cab with power
windows and a CD player, but what’s
special about that? I had a vague sense of
being two or three storeys off the ground,
but all the other equipment around us was
on an equally colossal scale, and it wasn’t
apparent that I was in anything other than a
big piece of equipment.
A look to the left revealed a large
hydraulic shovel loading another large
truck, and an admittedly large wing mirror.
Straight ahead was more hefty equipment
and some rather cool ice covered pit walls;
but turning my head to the right, everything
came back to me in a rush of incredulity.
Where was the passenger side wing
mirror? All I could see was yellow, a mass
of steel and a huge open space between
myself and the other side of the truck.
Finally I spotted what I was looking for –
20ft away. Twenty feet! I was 3ft from the
left hand side of the truck, and you could
park a couple of pick-up trucks end to end
between me and the far side of the vehicle.
Everything became clear. This was a
BIG truck. Not sure whether or not I
mentioned that yet.
As Mary Ann pulled away, the first thing
I wrote down were the words “bucking
bronco”. This thing sways about like – like
something that sways about a great deal,
and on the third line of my notes I wrote the
words motion sickness‚ just after so damn
wide. The engine is fairly loud, but it
sounds like the engine in an 18 wheel road
hauler; in fact, this Cummins lump puts out
2,375hp: most big rigs are between 400
and 500hp.
Simplicity
The controls are very simple – more so
than in your family car.
The gear selector has only forward,
neutral, and backwards, and there are only
three pedals. Two of them are brakes – on
the left the service brake pedal for use at
speeds under 5kph. In the middle is the
dynamics pedal.
Here is where a fellow could become
confused. Let’s look at the facts: there is a
big diesel engine, and when you push
down on the go pedal, the truck moves.
The further you push the pedal toward the
floor, the faster the truck goes. So, the
engine drives the truck, right? Wrong. The
engine drives an electric motor in each
wheel, and these General Electric motors
drive the truck. The dynamics pedal retards
the electric motors, thereby slowing the
truck. No brake wear, no brake failure.
As we backed in beside the shovel, I
was surprised at how close we were to it. I
would have thought that a machine this
size would need an area the size of
Liechtenstein in which to turn around, but
in fact it has a very tight turning circle.
Well, 46ft may not be tight if you drive a
Mazda, but it is when you’re riding a 23ft
tall, 23ft wide monster like this. Your
Mazda may be 12ft long: try turning it
around in 24.
There is no excessive movement as the
gigantic shovel loads the truck, and it
usually takes somewhere between nine and
12 passes to fill. The on board payload
meter told us that our first load weighed
248 tonnes, and that’s just the load, not
including the truck itself which is a further
150 tonnes.
Then it’s foot to the floor all the way
climbing out of the pit, but the speed only
picks up a little as the ground levels out.
As with being loaded, tipping the box up
won’t be a new experience to anyone who
has driven a dump truck before, and before
I knew it we were on our way back down
into the pit.
Here is where the dynamics come in
handy. Just pull the yellow knob to turn
them on, press on the middle pedal, and
use the dial beside the on/off switch to vary
the amount of braking power you receive,
so that you don’t have to constantly adjust
your foot on the pedal. It takes 45 minutes
to do a round trip.
Later I met shop maintenance

place to get to. But it was a big step in the right
direction.
However, the idea, let alone the reality, of a
standard haul truck was still elusive because of an
historical standoff between original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) and the companies they
supply. OEMs and Rio Tinto played their traditional
roles in this expensive little drama, regarding each
other with a suspicion usually reserved for
competing suitors after the same sweetheart.
Part of the uneasiness was legal: OEMs, especially
when it comes to vehicles, were uncomfortable about
installing safety equipment as part of the package lest
they get drawn into a liability situation should
something go wrong. But more than that, OEMs are
used to fulfilling the contract to the buyer, not in
. . . original equipment
manufacturers were
uncomfortable about installing
safety equipment as part of the
package lest they get drawn
into a liability situation should
something go wrong.
engaging in a lot of back and forth about concepts and
design, certainly not at a time when OEMs can’t make
haulers fast enough. Working together with a buyer with
the end user in mind? What a strange idea.
But Rio Tinto was getting to the point of having to
end its piecemeal approach to ordering and delivery
and to have in place a more efficient system. The
safety imperative was ever more pressing and the
squeeze on vehicle availability was suggesting that
Rio Tinto needed a preferred supplier that would get
a lot of business if it played ball.
But in this case, playing ball meant coming to
understand the significant changes that had taken
place at Rio Tinto. In short, Rio Tinto was looking for
a new partner, based on a willingness to make a
simultaneous change of culture.

20 RIO TINTO REVIEW

 Some kind of truck

changing from his side of the equation. “We really

listened to what they were saying and began to come
to a different idea about our relationship. I can say that
Rio Tinto really taught us a different culture, one in
which if we were going to share in the profits, we had
to share in the risks, too.”
“It was a real education for both of us,” McGowan
said. “We get the trucks we want and they become
our premier supplier.” Rio Tinto will order 40-50 of
them in the next year at US$2.8 million a pop. Or so.
supervisor Darcy Sinclair, who raves about The strength of the partnership is reflected in the
“I can say that Rio Tinto fact that with the current demand, Komatsu can sell
these trucks. The electric drive is vastly
superior to mechanical drive. The Diavik really taught us a every truck they can make right now and then some,
fleet of eleven 830Es and eight Caterpillar with or without the modifications and all the work
different culture, one in that goes into designing and manufacturing them.
785s (100 tonners) is serviced at 500 hour
intervals. which if we were going “But we knew over the long term, this would help us,
The fuel tank holds about 4,500 litres, not only with Rio Tinto, but with all our customers,”
to share in the profits, Tripp said.
fuel for about 24 hours. Working on the
truck is not hard, and the engine and we had to share in the There were three key areas agreed: egress from the
generator are all one unit for easier trucks both normally and in an emergency; working
risks, too.”
replacement. An engine will last up to at heights, which meant addressing fall prevention,
25,000 hours. Doug Tripp, Komatsu not just fall protection; and isolation of certain
But it's winter in Diavik about eight systems, such as batteries and the steering
months of the year and it gets cold, really accumulator, from other related systems so they
cold. Even these big haulers need a winter could be worked on safely without triggering some
blanket, and until recently they have been other problem. That was phase I. Phase II in this
kept idling to stay warm. design and implementation process will include
However, Diavik maintenance planner electrical and fire protection. There could be as many
Nick Strus decided to study 830E idling as five phases all together.
times in relation to cold temperatures. He Komatsu has now come up with a prototype
concluded that engine mounted diesel called the 860E which is an 830E with all the design
coolant heaters would reduce main engine and safety changes incorporated into it. Komatsu
idling at certain temperatures. Like the showed it to Rio Tinto engineers recently and they
truck itself, the results are impressive. declared it good. It’s not clear if the trucks that roll
Diavik is now saving a significant amount out of Komatsu’s plant in Peoria, Illinois, will be 860s
of fuel and has won a local energy – “more likely they will be 830s,” said Tripp, “with
conservation award for its efforts. all the standards on them.”
The last thing I did was to get photos of But no matter the decal number, Rio Tinto and
myself standing between the wheels for an Komatsu are now on the edge of producing a truck
idea of the scale. If asked which word best that will be the same, whether it is delivered to
describes the beast, I favour big. Bengalla, Australia or Salt Lake City, Utah or Rössing
Uranium in Namibia. Those around when the first
one arrives somewhere (probably Spring Creek,
Montana, where the first eight will be delivered later
Stephen McGowan, principal adviser, Load and this year), will do well to consider what they are
Haul, OTX, said, “It took a good five years for us to looking at. Safety rails will be the same height and
work through with Komatsu the issues we had about specification, plates, gaps and kickplates will
building a partnership. There had to be incentives on conform to the same standard and all the gates will
both sides. swing the same way. And it will come complete, a
“For us, we needed a steady supply of more “truck in a box”.
complete trucks delivered around the world. By To behold the new standard, safety equipped
having the safety equipment installed at the factory, it Komatsu hauler that can pull up a ten per cent grade
would save us time and money at the point of fully loaded would be quite enough. But to know
delivery. And we had to get them to see just how that in the process of its becoming, it has forged a
serious we were about safety, how we needed to unique partnership between two companies that has
standardize some of those safety features – and how changed the way people think about the phrase
they could actually make and ship better trucks if “corporate procurement” – well, that must be some
they understood what we were trying to do.” kind of truck.
Doug Tripp, product support area manager for Daniel B England is a writer and journalist, based in
Komatsu in Salt Lake City, Utah, could see things Fairfield, Connecticut.

RIO TINTO REVIEW 21