SIMPLE, SAFE AND EFFECTIVE

Sleipner E Series Dollies Boosts Efficiency & Productivity at Breedon Quarry

The working day at Breedon’s limestone quarry in the Hope Valley in Derbyshire, home to the largest cement manufacturing operation in the UK, has become even more efficient and productive, thanks to the introduction of a set of Sleipner E Series dollies being utilised to transport a new tracked Cat 395 excavator from one working location to another at the quarry.

Much like having a giant set of roller skates under the excavator, the rubber wheeled Sleipner E Series dollies have replaced what was slow and shaky tramming at the quarry with a fast and smooth ride. Not only have they saved considerable time moving the excavator from one area of the mile long quarry to another part, boosting efficiency and productivity, the Sleipner dollies also save fuel, reduce emissions and cut down on wear and tear on the excavator tracks.

UK Plant Operator of the Year 2024 finalist Gemma Barber, who has been working at the quarry as an operator for almost six years, says the combination of the new CAT 395, supplied and serviced by Finning UK & Ireland, and the use of the Sleipner E90 dollies has been amazing.

Gemma, a long time fan of the Caterpillar brand, says: “I had never seen anything like the Sleipners. I never knew such technology even existed. Being trained and learning how to use the dollies has certainly improved my working day.”

Today, Sleipner dollies which can be seen at Bauma 2025 (Booth C6.209) are used by customers in 60 countries and on six continents, but their origins can be traced back to ancient times. In Norse mythology, the god Odin rode an eight-legged horse called Sleipnir. Being able to carry twice the weight at twice the speed, Sleipnir was said to be “the best horse amongst gods and men.” Sleipner dollies and trailers are a modern-day version of that miraculous horse, their wheels able to carry heavy machinery with great speed and agility.

The first Sleipner products were built in Finland in 1996 – and most of them still perform perfectly. What started as an idea for extremely robust yet easy-to-use dollies for heavy excavators has since grown into a full family of different sized heavy-duty Sleipner dollies designed for excavators weighing 23 to 570 metric tonnes. It is estimated that a typical excavator spends anywhere between 7 to 30% of its working time tramming – time that could be reduced up to 85% by using the Sleipner dollies.

Sleipner E90 dollies have proven to be a perfect fit for the CAT 395 which with its 540 horsepower CAT C18 engine, has been described as ’a groundbreaking rockstar’ with fast cycle times and a powerful digging force, making it an ideal workhorse at the Hope Cement Works which has been operated by the Breedon Group since 2016 although the site has been mined and quarried since Roman times. The first Sleipner dollies were delivered together with their first CAT 390 excavator in 2011 and the second set in 2014 when they purchased the second excavator.

“I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THE SLEIPNERS. I NEVER KNEW SUCH TECHNOLOGY EVEN EXISTED. LEARNING HOW TO USE THE E SERIES DOLLIES HAS CERTAINLY IMPROVED MY WORKING DAY.”

Hope Cement Works, a major contributor to the local economy of the Peak District National Park, has the capacity to make around 1.5 million tonnes of cement each year, most of which is transported by rail to depots in the South East, West Midlands, and the North of England, so Gemma and her colleagues are kept busy and anything that can save time, energy and resources is to be welcomed.

Time Saving

It takes Gemma less than two minutes to drive the tracks of the excavator onto the Sleipner dollies. After that, she simply turns the upper carriage around and places the bucket on the bed of a dump truck partially loaded with excavated rock. Then, by lifting the tracks up by pushing the bucket down, she is good to go.

“We do a lot of movements in the quarry, so it saves a lot of time,” says Gemma. “We have 13 benches here and can move between two or three of them a day. Using the Sleipners makes the process a lot smoother and more efficient. Working without them would make the day to day operation a lot longer so it is more effective and productive.”

Excavators, of course, require regular service and maintenance, and the best place to work on excavators – in terms of access to the right tools and spares, as well as a safer working environment – is a designated workshop rather than on site. The safe and easy relocation of excavators makes it economical to transport them to a workshop for maintenance, using Sleipner dollies, which is said to be at least 20% faster than on-site repairs. This reduces excavator downtime and maintenance hours.

Utilising the Sleipner dollies is simple and safe. It is all done mechanically with no need for human interaction, so Gemma can stay inside the cab. The transport can be interrupted at any time by lowering the excavator tracks, which are only around 40 cm (1.3 feet) off the ground. The maximum transportation speed is up to 15 km/h (9 mph). An automatic parking brake mechanism keeps the Sleipner dollies in place when not in use. The same dollies, by the way, can be used for multiple excavators as long as the track width and pattern are identical and you do not exceed the operational weight.

Reducing Stress

Another bonus, as Gemma pointed out, is that by transporting the excavator using the dollies it considerably reduces stress on the undercarriage. Indeed, depending on the operating conditions and the size of the excavator, it is said this can double or even triple the undercarriage’s service life. That can translate to life cycle cost savings of between 10% and 18%.

By its very nature, of course, tramming is stressful not only for machinery but also for personnel. The vibrations can cause back problems, and shaky tramming on undulating terrain exposes the operator to other injuries as well. Furthermore, extended periods spent in the cab just to move the machine can be frustrating. Less vibrations not only means less undercarriage repairs, but also improved working health for the operator.

Gemma Barber UK Plant Operator of the Year 2024 Finalist Breedon Quarry

A study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that the exposure of operators to whole-body vibration and the resulting health risks when moving excavators can be significantly reduced by using Sleipner dollies instead of driving on the excavator’s own tracks.

“According to our research results, reducing vibration also improves work comfort, as does a lower sensory noise level in the excavator cab,” says Ville Hyvärinen, Specialised Occupational Hygienist from the Oulu office of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, who conducted the study.

Since being trained on how to safely utilise the Sleipner E Series dollies, Gemma’s daily tasks at the Hope quarry in the driving seat of the CAT 395 has been a lot smoother, more effective and efficient and considerably less stressful. As she says, it has been a game-changer.