Testimonial by Mike Maguire, 6/97
In today's competitive forest industry, sometimes mechanical life is sacrificed for higher speeds, and even if a chain wears out more quickly, the cost can be offset by higher production. There are times, however, when increased speeds which are in excess of engineering recommendations, will cause more dowtime. At Webster, we build a product which gives you the best of both worlds.
As you well know, chains tend to cause more downtim the closer they get to the end of their life. Our goal is to increase the running time of chain and decrease the downtime factor, even if it costs more to build. The question we needed to address, is whether or not there was a financial benefit to our customers when all costs were considered.
About four years ago, we walked into Pop and Talbot, Castlegar, with a sample of our WH132 welded steel chain. We went over the materials and the precision fits we engineered into our chain. Dale Clayton decided to try some on his log deck. His application was running in excess of 450 feet per minute, and the average life before replacement was about three months. Given the sprocket size, the recommended speed for our WH132 chain was about 240 feet per minute. The initial instalation of our chain lasted about one year. Below, we have listed what this means in terms of dollars saved. The comparison is based on the following criteria and downtime is not included in the comparison.
| The chain is replaced when it has elongated by five percent. |
| The sprockets are replaced every second time the chain is replaced. |
| The attachments on the chain are not reused. |
| Labor rate at the mill is approximately $40 per hour. |
| Shortening of the chain takes two men one hour. |
| Initial cost of Webster chain is approximately fifty-seven percent more than that of the competition. (Buying through distribution, P&M, used at $22.90 per foot) |
| 300 feet of Webster WH132 C/W 3/4 X 4 X 18" flatbar every fourth pitch. |
COST ANALYSIS
FIRST THREE MONTHS
| Chain Cost | 6870.00 | 5600.00 |
| Remove Old Chain | 120.00 | 120.00 |
| Attachments | 2300.00 | 2300.00 |
| Install New Chain | 480.00 | 480.00 |
| Shorten Chain | 75.00 | 280.00 |
| TOTAL | 9845.00 | 8780.00 |
AFTER SIX MONTHS
Chain Cost |
0.00 | 5600.00 |
| Remove Old Chain | 0.00 | 120.00 |
| Attachments | 0.00 | 2300.00 |
| Install New Chain | 0.00 | 480.00 |
| Shorten Chain | 75.00 | 280.00 |
| Change Headsprocket | 0.00 | 950.00 |
| TOTAL | 75.00 | 9730.00 |
AFTER NINE MONTHS
Chain Cost |
0.00 | 5600.00 |
| Remove Old Chain | 0.00 | 120.00 |
| Attachments | 0.00 | 2300.00 |
| Install New Chain | 0.00 | 480.00 |
| Shorten Chain | 75.00 | 280.00 |
| TOTAL | 75.00 | 8780.00 |
AFTER ONE YEAR
Chain Cost |
0.00 | 5600.00 |
| Remove Old Chain | 0.00 | 120.00 |
| Attachments | 0.00 | 2300.00 |
| Install New Chain | 0.00 | 480.00 |
| Shorten Chain | 75.00 | 280.00 |
| Change Headsprocket | 0.00 | 950.00 |
| TOTAL | 75.00 | 9730.00 |
TOTAL AFTER ONE YEAR: 10,070.00 37,020.00
The above numbers are for two infeed conveyors on the log deck, which have approximately 150 feet of WH132 chain on eeach run. Even with the high initial cost of chain, the payback using Webster in this application is within the first three months. The interesting thing to note, is the savings in regards to attachments which go on the chain. It is not cost effective to reuse chain attachments when changing a chain, so this only adds to the savings. Normally, the result would be 25,000 pounds of chain and attachments to dispose of prior to the new installation. Maybe Webster should start painting its chain green---just like money in the bank!