Booyco Engineering – a South African company specialising in the design, development and manufacturing of custom designed heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems – has implemented procedures to reduce the lead time it takes to supply its HVAC systems, in line with trends in the mining industry for quick delivery.

HVAC systems are key to ensuring mining vehicles, operating in harsh African conditions, can be operated comfortably by their operators.

In this regard, Booyco Engineering will also maintain a stockholding of fast-moving spare parts, enabling ready access to such parts, which is especially relevant for customers with larger earthmoving fleets, and will, in turn, reduce the lead times.

“The market has shifted, and mines can no longer afford any downtime on the HVAC units in their mining trucks and other earthmoving equipment,” says Booyco Engineering executive director Grant Miller.

“Our strategy has kept pace with a standard HVAC range that is available at short notice.”

He highlights the strict health and safety environment in the mining industry, where it is compulsory to provide a comfortable work environment for operators.

Miller notes that in openpit operations in hotter areas of South Africa, it is not unusual for temperatures to rise above 40 ºC.

He points out that if an HVAC system, highly-dependent on by machine operators, fails, then the impact can be significant, as it could take the entire vehicle out of the operation cycle.

“The negative effect on production, perhaps even triggering penalties for contractors, invariably has financial consequences much more serious than the cost of cooling the operator’s cab,” states Miller.

“Unlike many imported products, our units are designed and manufactured to facilitate regular and ongoing maintenance, which makes them reliable,” Miller highlights.