Increasing Truck Uptime Through Automated Fuel Dispatching in the Alberta Oil Sands

Fuel presents one of the biggest costs in mining, running millions of dollars each month. In addition to the cost of fuel, slower production due to fueling procedures contributes to millions more dollars in lost revenue each year. Since January 2015, a key operator in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, has experimented with an automated fuel dispatching service that has extended the time between fueling sessions over 30% on average. At the same time, the mine has experienced improved production numbers by reducing the attention to fueling required by dispatchers and operators. This paper discusses how implementation of the Wenco Fuel Dispatch service has increased production time and contributed to optimized operator performance at this operation in the Canadian oil sands.