Crews Complete Ross Hoist Bushing Change
A team of engineers, operators, mechanics, and technicians at SURF recently completed the changing of the Ross Hoist drum bushings.
One of the cold hard facts of life is that moving parts wear out and break down over time. When the machine you are maintaining is 90 years old, meticulous care of every part is vital.
A team of engineers, operators, mechanics, and technicians at SURF recently completed the changing of the Ross Hoist drum bushings.
The major effort, that is only rarely required, is no small feat. SURF must cease operations for each set of drum bushings because the Ross cage hoist is the primary access to the underground. The big end of the drum is the greatest challenge because the drum bushings can only be accessed inside the drum. This requires employees to work inside the large hoist drum itself. Additionally, the bushings are made up of four pieces which require careful planning to install. After installing the first piece, the crew has to remove the work platform and tools, unlock the hoist, and have the operator rotate the drum. Once the correct position is reached, they lock out the hoist, reinstall the platform, and add the next piece. This process is then repeated until all four pieces are in place.
The crew recently completed this complex job inside SURF’s Ross Hoist Room over two weekends to ensure normal operations could continue during the week. This task was a labor of love, with team members coming in outside their normal work hours to get the job done.
Wendy Straub, the director of hoists and shafts at SURF who is also serving as the interim director of operations, gives praise for the dedication and hard work of the following individuals who made this all happen. They include:
- Kelly Bauer – Hoist Operator
- Brad Buchholz – Hoist Operator
- Blaine Burleson – Ross Shaft Foreman
- Jarred Burleson – Facilities Technician
- Blake Burtzlaff – Ross Shaft Foreman
- Logan Brown – Ross Shaft Lead
- King Brown – Hoist Operator
- Colton Clark – Hoist & Maintenance Superintendent
- Rob Crane – Hoist Operator
- Frank Gabel – Ross Shaft Lead
- Brian Johnson – Facilities Technician Lead
- Ryan Rantapaa – Ross Shaft Infrastructure Technician
- Rick Tinnell – Rope Technician
- Dustin Tucker – Ross Shaft Infrastructure Technician
- Lynn Uhrig – Ross Shaft Infrastructure Technician
Thank you to everyone involved for your hard work and commitment to getting the job done!
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Ross Cage Hoist Big End Drum – inside of the Ross cage hoist drum, working platform built. The bushings have four pieces so after the first was installed, the crew had to remove the work platform and all tools, remove their locks from the hoist, then the hoist operator had to rotate the drum. Once the correct spot was located, the crew had to lock out the hoist, re-install the work platform and install the bushing. This process was repeated three times to install all parts of the bushing.
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