Creates opportunities for people
Our mission is to ignite human potential and positively impact the lives of others, and this project does just that by providing opportunities and experiences for our associates to grow and learn.
Stone is just the start of…
Our curiosity and commitment to continuous improvement have fueled many advancements in the industry for over 100 years. We encourage our associates to bring new ideas and find opportunities to stretch and learn—as individuals—and as a company.
When Caterpillar approached Luck Stone about validating Cat® 777 autonomous haulage solution at our Bull Run Plant in Chantilly, Virginia, there was only one possible answer—absolutely!
“Our collaboration has been grounded in shared values for many years,” said Charlie Luck, Chairman and CEO of Luck Companies. “Together, we believe that safety, innovation, and a commitment to our people is critical, not only to propelling important projects like this but to ensuring our focus on the future and all the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry.”
We have worked with Caterpillar for several decades and we have built a relationship grounded in trust and learned from each other along the way.
“Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we are working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of enhanced safety and increased productivity to the quarry industry,” said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar Group President. “We are getting in the dirt together to scale our already proven mining solution for this industry.”
and we are working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry.”
Every single associate is aware of the project and what we are trying to achieve. It creates a very positive environment.”
“We believe that by working alongside Caterpillar and staying on the leading edge, we are providing opportunities for associates to learn and grow,” said Travis Chewning, Vice President, Engineering and Operational Support. “It’s also about sophisticating our business so that it’s attractive and exciting for the next generation of associates to be here.”
Senior Project Manager Rusty Minix was one of the first to raise his hand to work on this project. From his standpoint, it’s exciting not only for the Bull Run team but also for associates across the company.
“Associates are curious about the work,” he said. “I get questions from people all over the company in a wide range of roles. The one question I always get from associates is, ‘Is this really going to work?’ That’s one of the easiest to answer—I have 100% faith in it.”
Tom Smith, Senior Manager of Technology Operations at Caterpillar, moved to Virginia to work out of Bull Run and support the team to customize and implement the autonomous fleet for Luck Stone’s needs. He enjoys the work as well as learning about Luck Stone’s culture.
“I have enjoyed the communication and transparency at Luck Stone,” Tom said. “Every single associate is aware of the project and what we are trying to achieve. It creates a very positive environment. I spend a lot of time in the pit, and everyone in the control room and out on the machines asks questions and talks openly.”
Luck Stone and Caterpillar agreed that our Bull Run Plant offered an ideal setting to implement haul truck automation. Caterpillar has run automated fleets in mine sites across the globe for more than 11 years with Cat® MineStarTM Command for hauling. While this autonomous system is already proven in a mining environment, an aggregates quarry is a much smaller environment that requires adjustments.
“Caterpillar has already moved 9.5 billion tons of material using autonomous trucks with no reported injuries but the business dynamics and quarry environment are very different,” Travis said. “Our goal is to help them scale their proven success within our industry while delivering all the same benefits.”
The autonomous truck fleet at Bull Run features 4 100-ton-class Cat 777 trucks, which will be equipped with Cat® MineStarTM Command for hauling, the backbone of its autonomous system. Bull Run also uses 3 light vehicles, which trained associates use to enter the secure pit for inspections or other necessary activities. When associates are in the light vehicle, the autonomous fleet knows who they are and where they are going and can interact with them safely.
“You might think this would just be a plug-and-play for Caterpillar since they have done it on a larger scale,” Rusty said. “But it is a multifaceted process to scale it for Bull Run. The Caterpillar team has also been very open when we have ideas for doing it differently for our location. It’s a great working relationship.”
“It’s a complete shift in mindset when you move the solution from mining to aggregates,” Tom added. “You have to be a bit nimbler because it’s a smaller operation with an intense level of collaboration.”
After over 2 years of preparing, the team is ready to operationalize the first autonomous fleet in our industry.
Johnny Palmer, Bull Run’s Plant Manager, is the first to admit that when he first heard about the idea of doing this at Bull Run, it was daunting and exciting at the same time.
“It’s an honor that they picked Bull Run to be the pilot,” Johnny said. “The more I learn, the more I see the trucks in action, I just think, wow, I am looking at the future. We are playing a role in the future of our industry.”
As the site prepares to go live, it’s also preparing for the attention the autonomous fleet will bring.
“We have spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to share this work with associates, customers, and other partners,” Johnny said. “We’ve been preparing our site so we can encourage people to visit and take a look at the future with us.”
Our mission is to ignite human potential and positively impact the lives of others, and this project does just that by providing opportunities and experiences for our associates to grow and learn.
The safety of an autonomous quarry pit is unprecedented. Caterpillar’s autonomous mining trucks have driven over 325 million kilometers without any reported injuries, and its operations are highly predictable to prevent interactions by slowing down or stopping in the event of an obstacle in the truck’s path.
An autonomous truck can deliver consistent and predictable elevated productivity. This is achieved through dependable delivery of the mine plan without the variable impact of human operators or environmental conditions.
An automated fleet minimizes labor challenges in the industry. Luck Stone quarries typically have 3 to 5 trucks in a fleet. When plants are short of just 1 operator, they can lose 20-35 percent of their capacity in a day. In the long term, it alleviates some of the increasing challenges of finding labor for these types of roles.
Autonomy allows plants to improve fuel efficiencies, minimize idle time, and opens the doors to add future technologies that can help from an environmental standpoint.