Uptime That Pays.

Vigo Coal Company Mining Case Study.

Uptime For The Most
Critical Jobs.
The Vigo Coal Company in Indiana supplies high-grade coal to most of Central and Southern Indianas
power plants including the city of Indianapolis. The demand for electricity never ceases and neither
does the demand for coal. That creates an immense amount of pressure to deliver the highest possible
availability from the companys mining engines and equipment.

Where: Vigo Coal Company, Indiana, U.S.A.

Application: Excavator, haul trucks and drill rigs
Project: QSK60 teardown and evaluation
Results: 70% longer life-to-overhaul, with 97% availability
Vigo Coal has relied on Cummins engines for over
17years. It currently operates 19 pieces of large mining
equipment with Cummins High-Horsepower engines,
none more important than the Hitachi EX3600
Excavator powered by a Cummins QSK60.
Vigos fleet of haul trucks all depend on the excavator
to constantly fill their beds with overburden or coal
ore. If the excavator stops working, the haul trucks and
drivers operating in that part of the mine are forced to
remain idle, and productivity grinds to a halt.
Uptime for the Cummins-powered excavator has
been running at 97 percent or better, helping Vigo
keep the mine operating at full capacity, reducing
its cost per hour and increasing profitability.
Smoother, Longer, Better.
The QSK60 that powers the Hitachi excavator
demonstrates the value of Cummins advanced
technology. The QSK60 features our Modular
Common Rail Fuel System (MCRS), which
delivers more precise fuel metering to the
cylinders. This results in smoother operation with
fewer vibrations felt through the machine and the
engine itself, for better reliability and durability.
Joe Reising,
Mine Superintendent, Vigo Coal
Our biggest enemy is downtime.
The QSK60 has really cut downtime
on our excavator, greatly impacting
our productivity. I would recommend
partnering with Cummins in looking
for new equipment because they have
continuously provided us with excellent
service and an excellent product.
Lights-Out Performance.
If a warning light comes on in a piece of
equipment at the Vigo Coal mine, that equipment
gets shut down immediately. This prevents
accelerated failures, minimizing downstream
damage and the cost of repairs. But taking
equipment out of service also puts tremendous
pressure on the service team for speedy
response, diagnosis and repair. The fleet of
Cummins-powered haul trucks enables the
mines to achieve high productivity at a very
low cost of operation. They deliver fuel-efficient
performance and a long engine life-to-overhaul,
even under the challenging working conditions at
the mines.
Timely Support.
One of the primary reasons that Cummins continues to be the engine supplier of choice for Vigo Coal over
the past two decades is the round-the-clock support that is provided by their local distributor, Cummins
Crosspoint. While many competitors promise next-day service, Cummins service representatives are on
call at any hour of the day or night to answer questions or address performance issues.
Second-Shift Maintenance Supervisor Del Powell noted, They know the severity of the key pieces that have
to stay running. They are prompt about coming out and fixing any need we have. I can call in the wee hours
of the morning with an issue, and our Cummins distributor responds with exceptional turnaround.
Joe Reising, Mine Superintendent, added: Anytime we have a problem, we can expect the Cummins
service team to be here within two hours. Their technicians stay here until the work is done, even staying
extra hours to make sure the problem is fixed for good.

Brian Klump, Dakota Ricker,

Hitachi EX3600 Shovel Operator,
Vigo Coal
The Hitachi EX3600 shovel is real reliable,
has good response time and the power is
definitely there. If someone asked me what
kind of engine to put in their excavator, Id
tell them to go with Cummins.
Technician,
Cummins Crosspoint
Were here at all hours of the day and
night. At Cummins, our philosophy is that
our customers can always depend on us to
take care of the machines that they use to
make their living.

Results From A Running Takeout.
Vigo Coal believes strongly in proactive
management of its assets. So even though
the QSK60 was still working well in the Hitachi
excavator, after 26,000 hours and 1.7 million
gallons of fuel burned (70 percent longer
than the industry standard), the company
sent it to the Cummins Master Rebuild Center
in West Virginia for a teardown, inspection
and rebuild. The results amazed everyone.
Steve Orlin,
Director, High-Horsepower
Business, Cummins Crosspoint
A typical amount of fuel burned life-to-
overhaul would be approximately 1 million
gallons. The QSK60 MCRS engine from
Vigo Coal was removed after 26,000 hours
of operation, having burned 1.7 million
gallons of fuel. What causes an engine to
live this long is fantastic maintenance and
an excellent product.

Randy Canter of the Cummins High-

Horsepower Engine Rebuild Center reported,
For the high fuel burn and the hours that
are on this engine, theres hardly any wear
beyond what we normally see. We looked at
the gears, and they looked to be good. The
cams didnt have any scarring on the loads,
and the bearings looked fantastic.
Kenneth Hurst,
Branch Manager,
He went on to note, Anyone wanting to get
Cummins Crosspoint
the most out of an engine could learn a lot
from this. If you maintain it right, with the right The only way this engine could have
brand of oil and pay attention to maintenance, been in this good of shape was because
you can expect to get a long life out of it. of disciplined maintenance. Vigo has
some very experienced maintenance
Seeing Is Believing. managers here, and they enforce
disciplined procedures. It shows in
A video on the Vigo Coal Mine and the amount of productivity and uptime,
QSK60 teardown can be viewed and how long their engines exceed
on the Cummins YouTube channel
expectations for life-to-overhaul.
(youtube.com/cumminsengines).
Cummins Inc.
Box 3005
Columbus, IN47202-3005
U.S.A.
Phone: 1-800-DIESELS (1-800-343-7357)
Internet: cumminsengines.com
Twitter.com/CumminsEngines
YouTube.com/CumminsEngines

Bulletin 4087422 Printed in U.S.A. 8/15

2015 Cummins Inc.