Things are rapidly changing in the rock crushing business, so it is important that people in the industry stay abreast of what’s happening. That was the aim of the seminar recently held at the Fitchburg, Mass., facilities of Whitney and Son.

Approximately 40 people participated in two separate workshops (Feb. 19 to 20 and 21 to 22) on rock crushing, sponsored by Metso, one of the primary manufacturers of crushers in the world.

“There is always turnaround in personnel and an evolution in the machinery, so there is always a need for training,” explained Billy Dickerson, one of the Metso trainers.

He and Seth Wheeler conduct approximately 30 of these training sessions every year throughout North America and Scandinavia. Metso is a Finnish company with manufacturing plants located on every continent. This is the second time Metso has joined forces with Whitney and Son at its Fitchburg facilities.

Installation, jaw die removal and adjusting engine speed were just some of the topics discussed on the first morning of the session.

There are certain procedures that must be followed when operating crushers. For example, the crusher must be kept in a level position while the operator drives the machine (five degrees from side to side and 15 degrees from front to back).

Safety, Dickerson said, also was something that was especially important for people operating the machinery, even though many people tend to simply gloss over that part of the training. For example, workers should never walk onto the conveyor belt, nor should they crawl into the crushing bin if the machinery is still running.

“We want to use preventative maintenance rather than reactionary maintenance,” Wheeler explained. “You’ve got to take that extra step to be safe.”

Addressing the people in attendance, Dickerson said, “It isn’t you that causes accidents, it’s the others who haven’t had this training. It if doesn’t look right, don’t do it.”

Much of the meeting room was filled with two LT-105s sitting next to each other. It’s not surprising considering that the machines sport pretty impressive dimensions. From end to end, one of them measures 46-ft. 7-in. (14.1 m) long by 11-ft. 2-in. (3.4 m) high and weighs 82,200 lbs. (36,990 kg). Used in 30 different countries, it can crush as much as 400 tons (360 t) per hour. It is currently the best-selling crusher in the world.

Everyone seemed pleased with the event, according to Jason Whitney of Whitney and Son. “We had some pretty positive comments about it and we had a good turnout,” he said.

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