TL;DR: A shutdown survey in Moranbah is precision alignment, fit-check and as-built measurement delivered inside the fixed window when a Bowen Basin coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP), longwall face or rotating asset is taken offline for maintenance. Because every hour a Moranbah operation stays down carries real lost-production cost against metallurgical coal bound for Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay, the work has to be planned to the hour and held to sub-millimetre tolerances. Industrial Spatial Solutions delivers outage surveys to Anglo American, BMA and surrounding operators on a FIFO basis, scoped around the shut — not the other way round.
Key takeaways
- A shutdown survey in Moranbah is an outage survey scoped to a defined coal-plant maintenance window — a CHPP overhaul, a longwall move, or a crusher, screen or conveyor change-out — where the asset earns nothing until it restarts.
- ISS holds ±0.3–1.0 mm rotating-equipment alignment, ±0.02–0.05 mm coaxiality with a FARO tracker, and 2–6 mm at 50 m as-built scanning using Leica MS60 MultiStation, TS16 total stations and RTC360 scanners, all calibrated to ISO 17025.
- The Moranbah district hosts 31 active coal mines feeding the Goonyella rail system; CHPP and longwall shuts here typically run 48–72 hour cycles, so survey is planned to land before equipment is stripped and again before reassembly.
- Field staff hold current Queensland coal mine inductions, including self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR) and gas-testing competencies for underground entry, and work under each site's safety and health management system.
- Deliverables are tied to MGA2020 and AHD and issued in DWG, DXF, 12d, Surpac, Deswik, LandXML or registered point-cloud formats your planning and asset teams already use.
Table of contents
- Outage surveys in the Bowen Basin coal heartland
- Where shutdown surveys happen around Moranbah
- The Moranbah outage survey workflow
- Methods and equipment for coal-plant shuts
- Accuracy and standards in Queensland
- Why operators choose ISS for Moranbah shuts
- Frequently asked questions
- Request a quote
Outage surveys in the Bowen Basin coal heartland
Moranbah is the town at the coalface of the Bowen Basin — built in 1971 for the Goonyella workforce and ringed today by some of the largest metallurgical coal operations on earth. Around it sit Anglo American's Moranbah North and Grosvenor underground longwall mines, and BMA's Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji, Broadmeadow and Caval Ridge complexes. Every one of these operations runs coal handling and preparation plants, draglines, longwall systems and overland conveyors that have to be stripped, rebuilt and recommissioned during planned maintenance shuts. That is where a shutdown survey in Moranbah earns its place.
An outage survey is the dimensional control, alignment and as-built measurement carried out while a coal asset is offline. The term "outage" comes from power generation, but the constraint is identical in a Bowen Basin CHPP: the moment the plant stops, the maintenance team must remove worn components, install or rebuild equipment, and put everything back within tolerance — and they need independent measurement to prove each step is correct before the next begins. Without it, alignment is checked by feeler gauge and tape, fit-up problems surface when a crane is already holding a forty-tonne assembly, and as-built records are reconstructed from memory after restart.
The financial logic is unforgiving. Coal from this district is railed via the Goonyella system to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay terminals south of Mackay — the world's largest metallurgical coal export complex, above 180 million tonnes per annum of combined capacity. A CHPP that stays down because survey scope was discovered on the run does not just lose plant hours; it backs up the entire coal chain behind it. The outage survey is one of the few activities that can either protect that window or quietly blow it, depending entirely on how it is planned.
Key point: A shutdown survey is not a routine alignment job that happens to fall during a shut. The defining constraint is the window. Methodology, crew size, instrument selection and reporting cadence are all chosen to fit the schedule. A method that is "more accurate" but two hours slower can cost more on a Moranbah shut than it saves.
Where shutdown surveys happen around Moranbah
The shutdown work around Moranbah splits across underground longwall operations and large-scale open-cut processing infrastructure. Each carries a distinct outage profile.
Coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) overhauls
The CHPP is the densest concentration of survey-dependent rotating and fixed equipment on any coal site — crushers, sizers, screens, dense medium cyclones, centrifuges, flotation cells and the conveyor network that links them, all packed into a confined footprint. During a planned shut, ISS holds crusher and mill centrelines, levels screen decks to design slope, aligns conveyor head and tail pulleys to eliminate belt drift, and verifies vessel and chute positions against feed and discharge points before reassembly. This is the core outage workload at Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji and Caval Ridge.
Longwall moves at Moranbah North and Grosvenor
A longwall move is one of the most schedule-critical events in underground coal. ISS supports equipment set-out and as-built capture so the shearer, armoured face conveyor and roof supports are recovered from the old face and reinstalled to plan, minimising the time the face is offline. Grosvenor's return to longwall production after its 2024 rebuild placed an even sharper focus on as-built verification and ventilation infrastructure capture during shut windows.
Overland conveyors, rail loadout and stockpile reclaim
The infrastructure that moves coal from plant to train is itself shut periodically for structural and mechanical work. Conveyor structure alignment, transfer-chute fit-check and loadout bin geometry all become accessible only when the line is stopped — and only the outage window allows it to be measured cleanly.
| Asset | Typical shut event | Primary survey task | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHPP crushing and screening | Planned overhaul | Crusher/screen alignment, deck levelling | 48–72 hr |
| Dense medium / flotation circuit | Vessel change-out | Tank and chute positioning, tie-in fit-check | 24–48 hr |
| Longwall face | Longwall move | Equipment set-out, as-built verification | Multi-day |
| Overland conveyor | Structural / drive work | Pulley alignment, structure geometry | 24–48 hr |
| Rail loadout / bin | Liner or structural work | As-built scan, bin geometry | 24 hr |
The Moranbah outage survey workflow
ISS runs Moranbah shuts to the same five-phase protocol used across power, refining and mineral-processing turnarounds, compressed or expanded to the coal-plant window.
Scope and methodology (4–6 weeks out). ISS reviews the shut work list, isolates every survey-dependent activity, and maps a measurement methodology against the outage schedule. A pre-shut site visit confirms access, hazards, control requirements and line of sight through congested plant. This is where critical-path survey tasks are identified and resourced rather than discovered.
Control establishment (1–2 weeks out). A stable 3D control network is set around the work area with monumented or semi-permanent reference points positioned to survive scaffolding, crane movements and demolition. Establishing control before the area is congested is the single biggest time-saver during the shut itself, and it is tied to MGA2020 so deliverables drop straight into mine planning.
Pre-shut baseline. As-found geometry is captured while the plant is still running or immediately after stop — rotating-equipment centrelines, bearing elevations, removal clearances and structural references for reassembly. This baseline is the reference against which all post-work measurement is judged.
In-shut execution. The core of the work: dimensional verification after removal, alignment setting during rebuild, fit-check and clearance survey before installation, and level and flatness on cleaned foundations. Reflectorless and tracker measurement keep technicians clear of live lifting in a tight plant. Critical results are reported on the spot so the next activity is never held up.
Post-shut verification. A final pass confirms every adjusted component is in tolerance and captures the as-built condition. A short-form recommissioning compliance summary is issued before restart; the full report — deviation tables, fit-check confirmations, as-built plans and registered scan data — follows within five to ten business days.
Watch out: The most common cause of survey-driven shut overrun at Moranbah is not measurement error — it is scope discovered too late. Treating the surveyor as a day-of call-out rather than a planned, scheduled resource almost guarantees lost hours waiting for control, access or line of sight while the plant sits idle.
Methods and equipment for coal-plant shuts
Outage equipment in the Bowen Basin has to be accurate, portable, fast to deploy and tolerant of summer heat above 40°C, fine coal dust and live-plant vibration. ISS selects the instrument to the task and the schedule, not by default.
The Leica TS16 robotic total station (±1 mm + 1.5 ppm, 1″ angle) and the Leica MS60 MultiStation are the workhorses for control, alignment and set-out; the MS60 combines angle, distance and scanning in one instrument, which matters when setup time is the constraint. Automatic Target Recognition allows remote operation, keeping the surveyor out of exclusion zones around active lifts. The Leica RTC360 scanner captures dense point clouds at 2–6 mm at 50 m with a full setup in under two minutes — the fastest route to comprehensive as-built capture of CHPP internals, structural steel and clearance envelopes in hours rather than days. For the tightest alignment work — large bearing bores, machined seating faces, drive-train coaxiality — a FARO laser tracker delivers ±0.015–0.025 mm at typical working ranges.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Establish a tied control network before the shut so deliverables reach engineering accuracy | Rely on standalone scans without ground control and call it a survey-grade result |
| Schedule survey to land before equipment is stripped and again before reassembly | Assume a crew can be mobilised mid-shut with no inductions or access approvals in place |
| Use scanner for whole-condition as-built and total station/tracker for the alignment numbers | Use one method where the other belongs and either waste window time or undershoot tolerance |
| Calibrate and shade instruments for 40°C heat shimmer over dark coal surfaces | Apply standard calibration assumptions in Bowen Basin summer heat and dust |
Key point: Scanning and total-station work are complementary on a coal shut. The scanner captures the whole condition for as-built and fit-check; the total station and tracker deliver the sub-millimetre alignment numbers the mechanical team signs against. ISS provides both the control and the capture technology, not imagery alone.
Accuracy and standards in Queensland
Outage survey accuracy is matched to the engineering tolerance of the task, then verified against the relevant standard. All instruments are calibrated to ISO 17025 and measurements are traceable to national standards, with uncertainty statements provided alongside alignment deliverables.
| Parameter | ISS specification | Typical method |
|---|---|---|
| Rotating-equipment alignment | ±0.3–1.0 mm | Total station / tracker |
| Coupling coaxiality / concentricity | ±0.02–0.05 mm | Laser tracker |
| Foundation / baseplate flatness | ±0.2–0.5 mm | MultiStation / level |
| Clearance / fit-check | ±1–2 mm | Laser scanner |
| As-built point cloud | 2–6 mm at 50 m | RTC360 scanner |
| Crane runway / structural geometry | ±1–2 mm | Total station |
Mining and survey work around Moranbah is governed by Queensland's resources safety and survey framework, and ISS deliverables are produced to be accepted by operators and the regulator without reprocessing:
- Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and Regulation 2017 — establish the safety and health framework for coal mines, including the obligations surrounding accurate plans, ground control and monitoring that outage as-built work supports.
- Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation — requires accurate plans, regular survey pickup and certified completion records; statutory mine plans must be maintained by competent mine survey personnel.
- AS 1418.18 (crane runways) and AS 4100 (steel structures) — applied where shut work touches crane or structural geometry, alongside OEM tolerances where they are tighter than the code.
- GDA2020 / MGA2020 and AHD — the datums ISS ties all deliverables to, ensuring compatibility with mine planning systems and statutory plans.
- CASA Part 101 and Remote Operator Certificate — any UAV work during a shut is conducted under current CASA authority by licensed remote pilots.
Why operators choose ISS for Moranbah shuts
ISS services Moranbah through FIFO and drive-in mobilisation coordinated from Mackay and Brisbane, structured around the operational rhythm of Bowen Basin coal. Crews are mobilised to align with maintenance shuts and longwall moves, with inductions and travel arranged ahead of the window. For a CHPP shut we plan survey to capture as-built and alignment data before equipment is stripped and verify positioning before reassembly, because every hour of shut downtime carries real cost against the coal chain to port.
Field staff hold current Queensland underground coal certifications — including SCSR and gas-testing competencies — and site-specific inductions for the major Moranbah operations. We carry redundant instrumentation so a single equipment failure never stops the line, and because we are independent of any OEM, we align and verify equipment from any manufacturer using consistent methodology. Survey is delivered in DWG, DXF, 12d Model, Surpac, Deswik, LandXML or registered point-cloud formats compatible with your mine planning and asset management systems.
Queensland faces Australia's most severe surveyor shortage, and the state's resources pipeline and infrastructure programme — through to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics — are all competing for the same shrinking pool of professionals. For Moranbah operators that means longer lead times and higher project risk when relying on generalist firms. ISS provides specialist outage survey capacity built specifically for coal. For broader site work beyond the shut, see our Moranbah surveying services.
Frequently asked questions
Can ISS survey a Moranbah CHPP shut without extending the window?
Yes — that is the whole point. Well-planned shutdown survey work runs parallel to mechanical activity and stays off the critical path. The surveyor measures when an area is ready and reports before the next activity needs the result. Overruns come from late scope and missing control, both of which planning eliminates. We lock scope four to six weeks out and establish control before the plant is congested with scaffold and cranes.
What accuracy do you achieve during a Moranbah outage?
Rotating-equipment alignment is typically ±0.3–1.0 mm with total station and MultiStation, and ±0.02–0.05 mm for coaxiality and concentricity using a FARO laser tracker. As-built scanning is 2–6 mm at 50 m. All instruments are ISO 17025 calibrated, work is tied to MGA2020 and AHD, and uncertainty statements accompany alignment deliverables.
Is ISS certified to work on Moranbah underground coal shuts?
Yes. ISS field staff hold current Queensland coal mine inductions, including self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR) and gas-testing competencies required for underground entry, and work under each site's safety and health management system. We hold or obtain site-specific inductions for the major Moranbah operations before mobilising for a longwall move or underground shut.
How quickly can ISS mobilise for an unplanned Moranbah shut?
ISS mobilises to Moranbah on a FIFO and drive-in basis from Mackay and Brisbane. For planned shuts we lock crews, inductions and travel ahead of the window; for urgent requirements during a breakdown we move as fast as site induction and access approvals allow. Where inductions are already current, mobilisation is substantially faster — which is why operators with recurring shuts hold a service agreement with us.
Request a quote
If you have a CHPP overhaul, longwall move or coal-plant shut coming up around Moranbah, talk to a surveyor who understands Bowen Basin outages.
- Call ISS on 0407 057 015 — speak directly with a surveyor about your shut scope and schedule.
- Receive a scoped proposal — methodology, attendance pattern, safety requirements and deliverables mapped against your outage window.
- Mobilise to site — we coordinate inductions, FIFO travel and redundant equipment to align with your shut.
For recurring shuts across multiple Isaac-region sites, ISS offers service agreements with preferential scheduling and consolidated reporting. Call 0407 057 015 to request a quote for your next shutdown survey in Moranbah.
Industrial Spatial Solutions — Bowen Basin experienced, underground certified, window-driven.
Related reading: Outage survey services, Surveyors Moranbah