Steve Davis has spent more than 40 years in the bulk handling industry but is always surprised at how sparse the available training materials are.
Bulk materials handling installations are often large and complex multidisciplined systems that include many different machines connected to achieve safe and continuous operation.
Our industry is truly global and employs hundreds of thousands of people in Australia and around the world. Bulk materials handling will continue to grow, as almost everything that contributes to current day existence relies on moving minerals and other products in bulk at some stage in production.
There are few tertiary education facilities that provide guidance in Australia and around the world, but the general level of engineering education barely touches on our discipline, if at all.
The current courses available include a three-month online Professional certificate of competency in plant design, conveyors, chutes, dust control and energy efficiency in mining from the Australian Engineering Institute of Technology; Bulk materials handling and transportation, offered as part of the Graduate certificate engineering science and Master of engineering science degree from the University of Newcastle; and Mechanical design and bulk materials handling offered as a component of Mmechanical engineering by James Cook University.
Engineering Institutions mostly align with the traditional disciplines. The Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling is active, arranging for seminars and presentations. Globally there is the UK’s Materials Handling Engineers’ Association (MHEA), the European Materials Handling Federation, Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association in the USA, and CKit in South Africa. All offer online learning.
I learned the basics of conveyor mechanical design from the Dunlop conveyor handbook. If I had not previously gained hands-on operating experience on a mine, I feel that my integration of the mechanical design with civil, structural, electrical, control, process and maintenance into a complete system would likely have been far less successful.
My first few materials handling courses were courtesy of the laboratory for advanced engineering in Pretoria. Next was the excellent Practical belt conveying course presented by David Beckley in Perth. This four-day course is still offered in Perth by BMH training, and from Brisbane by Tech Training Australia Pty Ltd.
I have attended various TUNRA and Jenike and Johanson courses that focus on the science of material testing and movement of bulk material through chutes and in storages and cover some more practical aspects.
I have attended courses that cover the use of various software systems that provide designs for conveyors and for direct element method modelling of chutes and the like. I have generally tried to attend the courses and webinars that are available. Many are now advertised online.
Dust management is well covered by the US, with many practical short courses that relate to National Fire Protection Association expectations. Safe Work Australia offers online training in safety aspects.
We lack publications that address the practicalities of bulk materials handling. There are some excellent focussed books. Martin Engineering Foundations in its 4th edition is good and is available to download for free. CEMA handbooks offer guidance on conveyor practicalities. Gulf conveyor systems offer the Transfer Chute Design manual, which is full of value. Greg Mehos offers a free download of an abridged Storage and Flow of Bulk Solids, or the complete book for a nominal sum. Perry’s chemical engineering handbook has some good information.
We have good Australian Standards that look at the practicalities of safety and safe design. AS 4324.1, which has just been revised, looks in detail at design of mobile equipment for materials handling. AS 4024, which wraps the older AS 1755, covers safe design of material handling equipment. There are equivalents from other countries, but I believe the Australian versions are the best.
We have several conferences where knowledge is transferred. The 15th International Conference on Bulk Materials Storage, Handling & Transportation (ICBMH 2026) will be held in Fremantle. The Bulk Handling Technical Conference and Expo (BULK2026) will be held in Melbourne later in 2026. The International Powder and Bulk Solids Conference will take place in Texas in 2027. The 12th International Conference on Conveying and Handling of Particulate Solids (CHoPS2027) will be held in Delft, the Netherlands in July 2027. The International Materials Handling Conference will hold Beltcon 23 in Johannesburg. Other useful sources are at AIMEX and similar exhibitions.
There are many documents on the internet that evaluate common issues with bulk material handling systems. Belt tracking issues are well understood, but I find that those who need the information are often not aware this exists. Similar information is available for conveyor belting damage, bearing failure, idler roll and pulley failure, electric motor failure, and more. Again, those who would benefit from this information generally do not know where to find it. A web search for “conveyor belt tracking troubleshooting”, “conveyor belt failure troubleshooting”, brings a wealth of guidance. Most bearing supplier websites reference bearing failure modes. Information is readily available.
There also appear to be fewer face to face courses available for materials handling and other engineering subjects than I remember. There is a reasonable amount of web-based training available. Martin Engineering offer several courses, Flexco offer six online modules. Others offer a range of operation, maintenance and safety training. Has web learning superseded face to face training? Is there less interest in training? Has the cost of training become prohibitive? Are the decision makers for training making the wrong choices? In a recent example, we had a specific course lined up and signed off by engineering only to be quashed by HR, who stated that they could learn as they worked.
Could AI be the future of learning? I asked Chat GPT to “tell me about conveyor belt tracking” and received a reasonable very high-level summary that lacks substance. It offered a step-by-step guide to tracking as a bonus. This was relatively good, but does not go into sufficient detail and does not offer any depth or context and misses many aspects.
I learn some of the best guidance from discussing and interpreting issues with others. On any site, the collective and specific experience of the site always exceeds mine. In any design office, everyone has something to add to discussion. On any course we benefit from shared experiences.
Discussion with many often leads to new knowledge, and a shared solution. I have learned a lot, however there is always something new to add.
