Producers discuss the future of autonomy in aggregates

Says Chris Williams of Capital Aggregates: “[With] most technologies, as they become established, the price point for entry tends to come down as they emerge.” Photo: Neorodan/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Autonomous hauling has been a trendy topic of late.

With big-name producers like CRH and Luck Stone exploring the feasibility of autonomous haulers in aggregates, the conversation surrounding autonomy has picked up in recent months. Autonomous hauling was a talking point at last month’s Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference, where four aggregate producers who made up a panel discussed the opportunity and what’s ahead.

At least at this early stage, it’s clear producers have more questions than answers.

“Even as a slightly larger producer, we still have incredible challenges with emerging technology at that scale,” says Chris Williams, vice president of operations at Capital Aggregates. “One thing we’re interested in is keeping our eye on those major evolutions. [With] most technologies, as they become established, the price point for entry tends to come down as they emerge. That’s where we sit, looking to see them proven and become affordable.”

Cody Ladd, president and COO of Kraemer Mining & Materials, agrees technology must first be proven before producers dive in.

“There’s always a boss, no matter what position you’re in, and that boss might say: ‘That sounds really great, but no,’” Ladd says. “If we see it work somewhere else, now we have a great argument. Unfortunately, smaller companies in that scenario that are leveraged cannot really be innovators. If we see it and it works well, we’d be one of the first to capitalize on it.”

Other points of view

Thomas Haun, president of Turner Staffing Group, believes autonomy will eventually make its way into aggregates. It’s just a matter of when, he says.

“When you think about a firm like Tesla and what they’re able to do from an automated self-driving perspective, that’s actually a lot harder of a challenge than automating haulage,” Haun says. “So, I think there could be potential for disruption where you’re going to get somebody who’s not historically in this industry, and [they] might come up with a better or more holistic solution.”

Autonomy isn’t the only tech avenue that piques the interest of Anderson Columbia’s Ronaldo Dos Santos, who’s eager to see the extent to which automation can be incorporated into the industry.

“There’s a [big] difference between fully automated systems and systems that can be used for specific tasks,” says Dos Santos, operations manager at Anderson Columbia. “Night shifts, moving from point A to point B, or if you want to expedite the transition between shifts. It doesn’t need to be fully automated for all possible activities you can carry out in a quarry.”

As Dos Santos describes, it’s important to be aware of the ways technology can benefit an operation – even if the benefits aren’t immediately apparent.

“Even self-guidance for improving safety can be a benefit you can take advantage of,” Dos Santos says. “As of right now, we’re just monitoring it. We don’t have any pilot [program], but we’re looking pretty closely. We already have a request from the owner of the company to explore ideas that will be changing or disrupting.”

Related: Which truck size is best for autonomous hauling?