Tshwane plant
Pretoria Night Shift Photos
Night photo log that saved the day crew a bad surprise.
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Unexpected wear on the night shift
A quarry outside Pretoria runs a double shift to keep up with demand, with a night crew pushing hard through the Highveld evenings. The maintenance team had grown concerned about the jaw crusher’s performance, especially after a run of oversized feed and a few Eskom power cuts. The day crew was getting irregular product but could not pinpoint the issue during daylight checks. To get ahead of a possible breakdown, the plant manager asked for a night photo log to capture conditions that don’t show up when the plant is still and cold.
Photos taken during the graveyard shift revealed uneven wear on the fixed jaw plate and a loose cheek plate bolt backing off. The nip angle was compromised, causing poor feed grip and material spillage down onto the belt. The night staff had been improvising with feed shovel work, but this patchwork would not survive to the weekend.
Emergency parts drop and on-the-fly change
After reviewing the night photos, we loaded up our bakkie with the correct OEM-profile jaw plate, new cheek plate, replacement liner bolts and washers from our Sunnyrock yard. The team arrived on site before dawn, using torches and high-vis kits to work safely. Old plates were replaced, mating surfaces cleaned and bolts torqued to spec, with backing compound applied for a snug fit. Our field rep worked alongside the plant fitters, checking nip angle and closed side setting to restore the original chamber geometry.
We also advised the team to inspect the toggle plate as a safety fuse to ensure it would still protect the machine from tramp metal. Once the plant was restarted, a feed test confirmed the jaw’s bite was back and fines were reduced.
- Replaced jaw and cheek plates overnight
- Supplied liner bolts, washers and backing compound
- Checked nip angle and chamber profile
- Advised toggle plate inspection
Lessons for night crews and planning ahead
Since that intervention, the plant team has built a night inspection log as a standing routine, with photos of liners, bolts, and feed hoppers after every shift. They’ve also included screen deck checks for tension and aperture wear. Stock of common wear parts is now kept on hand at the site store to avoid late-night runs across Gauteng.
If we had it over, we’d also bring more lighting stands and maybe a set of polyurethane screen panels to trial on the next changeout, as the wire mesh had shown rapid pegging with damp night feed. Night work will always bring surprises, but good photo logs and campaign planning make the difference before the next power cut.
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