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Site evaluation customer success story
Site evaluation customer success story

Cat® Site Evaluation
Success Story

When a Cat® customer needed fuel management help on their quarry site, a Cat Site Evaluation helped them use less fuel and increase productivity, saving more than $230,000 per year.

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Fuel expense represents about 30%-50% of total machine operating costs in the quarry business, making it a key target for cost reduction — but because many factors influence fuel consumption, reducing it can be a real challenge for customers. These factors include six key "fuel influencers."

  1. Idling management
  2. Operator technique
  3. Jobsite setup and maintenance
  4. Equipment selection and configuration
  5. Fuel monitoring and fuel saving technology
  6. Fuel quality

One large quarry customer wanted help evaluating the impact of these influencers on their fuel efficiency and costs, so they reached out to their local Cat dealer. With their dealer's help, they kicked off a Level 3 Site Evaluation. The team from Caterpillar measured, recorded and documented operating data to determine fuel consumption impacts, as well as fuel efficiency for the payload fleets, production support fleets and ranch fleets.

After the initial evaluation, the customer implemented fuel-focused recommendations, such as enabling on-board features like auto-idle, utilizing Engine Idle Management Systems and diligent production management best practices. They also right-sized their fleet, adding 11 machines to better match their production targets. The result? One year later, the customer reported 6% less idle time and more than $92,000 in fuel savings, a total savings of more than $230,000.

Here's a deeper look at their results — from baseline to the savings they reported a year later.

 

KEY METRICS - PAYLOAD PRODUCTION FLEET

 

  Hours Gallon/Hour Tons Ton/Hour Tons/Gallon Dollars
Baseline 2,714 8.0 508,547 187 24 $32,611
Mid Year 2,278 10.1 848,521 372 37 $34,680
Year End 2,682 9.5 925,624 245 40 $38,645

Payload Production Summary

 

METRIC BASELINE MID-YEAR YEAR END DELTA %
Fuel Consumption (gallons per month) 21,597 22,967 25,593 19%
Operating Hours (hours per month) 2,714 2,278 2,682 -1%
Fuel Consumption (gallons per hour) 8.0 10.1 9.5 19%
Production (tons per month) 508,547 848,521 925,624 82%
Production (tons per hour) 187 372 346 85%
Fuel Efficiency (tons per gallon) 24 37 40 67%
Idle Time (hours per month) 488 249 329 -33%
Idle Time (%) 18 11 12 -33%
Fuel Expense ($ per month) $32,611 $34,680 $38,645 19%
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (CO2 Tons) 243 217 288 19%

Fuel Savings Summary

 
CHANGE IMPACT FACTOR PER UNIT AVE. MID-YEAR AVE. YEAR END
Eco Mode – Wheel Loader (gallon per hour) 1.0 GPH $15,656 $43,150
Tire Pressures – Articulated Trucks & Wheel Loaders (gallon per hour) 0.9 GPH $9,031 $27,838
System Training – Excavator & Articulated Trucks (gallon per hour) 0.5 GPH $4,587 $21,637
TOTAL FUEL SAVINGS   $29,274 $92,625

 

Looking for deep insights on your operation? Contact your dealer and request a Site Evaluation today.

EVALUATE YOUR SITE WITH AN EXPERT

Gain technical insights about your operation’s needs with a certified expert. Talk to your dealer about how a Site Evaluation can help you reach goals and lower your cost per ton.

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