Bulk Handling Today May 2019

BULK

HANDLING Endorsed by: CMA l LEEASA l SAIMechE l SAIMH May 2019

THE FUTURE OF CONVEYOR BELT TENSIONING

CRANE DEFIES LAW OF GRAVITY 74-YEAR OLD DRY DOCK GETS AN OVERHAUL

T O D A Y

We drive industry

Quality. Innovation. Efficiency.

Gear units and motors from SEW-EURODRIVE Pty (Ltd) have always set the trend and established new standards in drive technology. For this reason, the quality label “made by SEW” has become a hallmark of quality in the drive industry.

Market-orientated products developed and manufactured in-house, as well as uncompromising quality, are the cornerstones of our success.

SEW-EURODRIVE - Driving the world Cape Town Branch Tel: +27 21 528 7600

Durban Branch Tel: +27 31 902 3815

Nelspruit Branch Tel: +27 13 752 8007

SEW-EURODRIVE (Pty) Ltd Eurodrive House Cnr. Adcock ingram & Aerodrome Roads, Aeroton Ext 2 Johannesburg P.O. Box 90004 Bertsham 2013 Tel: +27 11 248 7000 Fax: +27 11 248 7289

Port Elizabeth Branch Tel : +27 41 372 2244/6

COME VISIT OUR STAND AT THE AFRICA AUTOMATION FAIR STAND NUMBER: H07

4TH-6TH JUNE 2019

BULK

HANDLING

T O D A Y

Endorsed by: CMA l LEEASA l SAIMechE l SAIMH May 2019

THE FUTURE OF CONVEYOR BELT TENSIONING

T O D A Y

HANDLING May 2019

Contents

CRANE DEFIES LAW OF GRAVITY 74-YEAR OLD DRY DOCK GETS AN OVERHAUL

On the cover: Dymot Tel: (011) 970-1920 sales@dymot.co.za www.dymot.co.za

CMA News 4

Company Profile

Conveying

Cover Story 6

28 Staying on Track 31 Premium Belting for SA

Dymot: Future and Feature Rich Products

34

Cranes

Market Forum

8 The Largest of them all 11 Tight Spaces

Endorsing Bodies

Chutes

•

CMA (Conveyor Manufacturers Association)

Beltcon 19

•

LEEASA (Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of South Africa)

•

SAIMechE (SA Institution of Mechanical Engineering)

24 Biggest Dry Dock Doubles Productivity

•

SAIMH (SA Institute of Materials Handling)

Coal Beneficiation Solutions

•

also mailed to members of the RFA (Road Freight Association)

13 Expanding into Canada 14 Conveyor Maintenance-strategies and outsourcing

Mining

23 Complete Conveyor Builds

Shipping

26 Trialling of Dry Sorter

Copyright

All rights reserved. No editorial matter published in “Bulk Handling Today” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

Our e-mail address is bulkhandling@promech.co.za Visit our website on www.bulkhandlingtoday.co.za

The monthly circulation is 3 673

Proprietor and Publisher: PROMECH PUBLISHING Tel: (011) 781-1401 E-mail: bulkhandling@promech.co.za www.promech.co.za Managing Editor: Susan Custers Advertising Sales: Louise Cresswell DTP: Sanette Badenhorst Administration: Netta Janse van Rensburg Subscriptions: Please email us at accounts@promech.co.za if you wish to subscribe to “Bulk Handling Today” at R550,00 (excl postage and VAT) per year; R1 380,00 per year for Africa/Overseas.

Printed by: Typo Colour Printing, Tel: (011) 402-3468 FSC (Forestry Stewardship Accreditation)

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

3

COMPANY PROFILE

Melco

M

elco Conveyor Equipment (Pty) Ltd (Melco) is South Africa’s leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality, conveyor idlers/rollers, motorized pulleys, as well as supporting structure for the bulk materials and unit handling industries. In addition, Melco recently acquired Conveyor Pulley Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd, significantly expanding the companies’ product range and service offering.

In 2006 Melco became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rulmeca group of companies, significantly strengthening its existing operations and enhancing its already formidable technical expertise.

delivering quality products and providing reliable after sales services in both the bulk and unit handling markets.

Melco is a level 2 BBBEE contributor, with black ownership of 51%.

Operating from its factories in Germiston and Elandsfontein, Gauteng, Melco, founded in 1970, supplies the entire sub-Saharan African market as well as world markets.

Conforming to SANS 1313, UNI-DIN, ISO, AFNOR, CEMA and BS standards, the extensive range of Melco products are used in a multitude of sectors, such as mining, cement, steel works, glass, chemicals, power generation and the fertiliser industry.

Using state-of-the-art techniques in design and manufacturing equipment, Melco products achieve outstanding sustained performance levels in even the harshest of operating conditions.

Melco supplies a large range of superior products and assists clients to optimise conveyor systems and operations.

Rulmeca is the largest supplier of conveyor rollers globally, with manufacturing facilities in Italy, Germany, Canada, Venezuela, Thailand, as well as the UK, China and South Africa.

Melco has a Research and Development laboratory and Engineering department to continually improve product performance and adapt to customer requirements.

As an ISO 9001:2015 rated manufacturer together with SANS 1313 accreditation, the company has a well established reputation for

Melco, Tel: (011) 255-1600, www.melco.co.za

Extreme conditions?

Melco Conveyor equipment!

We are the answer to all your bulk and unit handling issues.

Proven time and again for over 40 years under the toughest operating environments, Melco supplies the very best.

Contact us today on +27 11 255 1600 to see how we can help.

C

Moving ahead M

A

Member

4

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

www.melco.co.za | www.rulmeca.com

CONVEYOR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION

From The Chairman’s Desk

Jay Pillay

Bryanston Country Club reported that they had had over 300 ml of rain in April, so it was no surprise that the Annual Golf Day on Friday 12 April was rained off in spectacular fashion and play was abandoned. A few lucky fourballs managed to complete nine holes, but the unlucky end of the field players only finished three. All was not lost, however, and the players had a lot of fun networking at the “rained-off” party.

Instead of the prizegiving, we conducted a lucky draw from the cards, and had a lot of fun in the process. A big thank you to everyone who supported the raffle and auction of some of the prizes. All proceeds will be donated to our favourite animal charities.

Jay Pillay Chairman

Membership at May 2019 All members subscribe to the CMA Code of Ethics Acrow Limited Actom Afripp Projects Altra Industrial Motion South Africa (Pty) Ltd Bauer Bearings International Belt Brokers Belting Supply Services BMG Bonfiglioli Power Transmissions Bosworth Brelko Conveyor Products CedoTech cc Closeal Manufacturing Collisen Engineering ContiTech South Africa (Pty) Ltd Conveyor Watch (Pty) Ltd Conveyor & Engineering Equipment CT Systems David Brown Gear Industries DRA Projects SA (Pty) Ltd Dunlop Belting Products

Dymot Engineering Company ELB Engineering Services Fenner Conveyor Belting (South Africa) Flexco SA (Pty) Ltd FLSmidth Roymec Giza Technologies (Pty) Ltd Habasit South Africa (Pty) Ltd Hägglunds Drives South Africa Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd HMA South Africa (Pty) Ltd Hosch - Fördertechnik (SA) International Belting & Marketing (Pty) Ltd KevConBelt (Pty) Ltd Lesa Mining Equipment and Conveyor Belt Lorbrand Martin Engineering Megaroller Melco Conveyor Equipment Merlin consulting (Pty) Ltd Moret Mining Nautilus Projects (Pty) Ltd

Nepean Conveyors OE Bearings Oriental Rubber Industries SA Osborn Engineered Products Pegasus Industrial Services cc Regal Beloit South Africa Rema Tip Top South Africa Ringspann South Africa Rossi Gearmotors (Pty) Ltd Rula Bulk Materials Handling SENET SEW Eurodrive Shaft Engineering (Pty) Ltd SKF South Africa Tenova Takraf ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa (Pty) Ltd Timken South Africa (Pty) Ltd Transvaal Rubber Company Voith Turbo Weba South Africa (Pty) Ltd WorleyParsons RSA Zest Electric Motors

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

5

COVER STORY

Dymot: Future And Feature Rich Products The fact that Dymot products are delivered to over 50 countries internationally, is positive proof that the company’s products are not only competitively priced but are worthy of being used for high-end mining and industry projects.

S

ays MD Graeme Skeen, ”We stand for durability, efficiency and ultimately peace of mind. High quality products are standard but our wealth of expertise in the areas of bulk material handling and conveying system take-up products, sets us apart.”

The company’s main expertise lies in conveyor tensioning system applications. “Controlling your conveyor tension might be one of the most crucial components to ensure life, reliability and productivity of your complete conveyor system,” adds Billie Christie, Dymot's Engineering manager.

Dymot designs and manufactures winches for every winching application, supporting the mining, construction, marine, agriculture, forestry, offshore and alternative energy industries.

Dymot has developed an advanced conveyor belt tensioning system and has successfully implemented this technology in some of the largest mines in the world The system, known as our BTS system (Belt Tensioning System), is developed to assist with modern high speed, large capacity, long length conveyors and offers an alternative to gravity Take Up Systems for tensioning “Our decision to work towards ISO9001:2015 accreditation has ensured that we have developed and implemented a quality management system in order to demonstrate our commitment to providing a high-quality and superior product and service to our clients and highlights our ongoing investment in technology and development.

The ISO 9001:2015 certification is the assurance that we have robust clearly-defined procedures in place in all our business areas such as R&D, production, supply chain management, risk management, handling of documents, data and strong business continuity processes. The quality system ensures that we have 100% traceability on all our products,” says Graeme.

“The ISO 9001:2015 standard demands a high degree of leadership commitment which is underpinned by risk-based thinking. Our successful certification is testament to our commitment by all our employees at all levels, and demonstrates a clear desire to embrace

6

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

the standard as a fundamental element of our growth and customer focus strategies,” he concludes.

"Dymot Engineering Company (Pty) Ltd can proudly say that we incorporate the attitude of quality in our daily work and continuously challenge ourselves to improve the quality management system to provide products that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of our customers, always complying with the specifications and regulations.”

Tel: (011) 970-1920 sales@dymot.co.za

“With an industry leading conveyor tensioning system, we have put together three critical factors when selecting a tension control system, Billie advises.

1 Suitability and design

The selection of Conveyor Tensioning Devices is critical to the daily operation and life of any conveyor system.

It is a vital component to prevent drive slip, run production and ensure safety.

As your Take-Up system supplier we can offer you a turnkey tensioning system which may include a Counterweight Maintenance, Automatic Tensioning or Locked Take-Up Solution.

2 Engineered solutions

Dymot employs four Qualified Engineers who have all passed the CMA’s Conveyor Design Diploma.

We can offer you assistance with a Take-Up System solution and Conveyor Data Analysis to verify your selection.

Free training is offered at our offices which entails System Integration, Parameter Setup and Fault Finding.

3 Reliability and availability

Our proven system offers reliability and availability. Spares are available off the shelf.

We have commissioning teams available for your on site assistance.

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

7

CRANES

The Largest of Them All Defying the laws of gravity is all in a day’s work for Babcock’s plant hire business. Most recently, Babcock put a 600-ton Liebherr LG 1550 lattice boom crane to the test in a project involving the precise placement of 10 gantries within a live and confined working space.

M

ichael Hawkins, Heavy Lift Manager at Babcock, says that despite external setbacks, the three month project went very well with Babcock achieving what many thought impossible with a mobile crane. “Our competitors believed the project required a high capacity crawler crane, however, by building the mobile crane and boom on the ground we were able to drive it into position, lifting the boom along the way and stabilising it with a 100-ton crawler crane,” says Michael.

Heavy lifting

Ten gantries, some exceeding 70 tons, were then lifted 35 metres into the air over a live working plant to be strategically placed between A-frames for the carrying of conveyor belts for a new wood chipping plant in Umkomaas, south of Durban.

Ten gantries, some exceeding 70 tons, were lifted 35 metres into the air over a live working plant Michael says that 28 lowbed trucks were used to transport the Liebherr LG 1550 mobile crane to site where it was built. “The challenge then came in lifting the gantries above plant buildings and underneath existing conveyor belts before slewing them in to final position,” he says, adding that individual gantries took approximately three and a half hours to lift and place, with the build of the crane taking 2-3 days depending on access.

Largest in the fleet

The Liebherr LG 1550 lattice boom crane is the largest mobile crane in Babcock’s plant fleet. It has a maximum lifting capacity of 600 tons at a 4.5 radius and lattice boom extending to 161 metres. The eight-axle machine with slewing platform also features outriggers that can be completely folded into the vehicle width, increasing manoeuvrability in confined spaces. In addition, the 24 wheels provide the load bearing capacity necessary for the crane to move on-site with the parts of its equipment and ballast. The boom and jib system enable hook heights of over 100 metres to be reached.

Babcock Michael Hawkins Tel: (010) 001-0730 Email: Michael.hawkins@babcock.co.za www.babcock.co.za

8

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

9

South Africa’s perfect blend of ingredients provides the ideal backdrop for this international Congress: adventure, wildlife, magnificent scenery, rich cultural diversity, and efficient infrastructure. Few countries in the world can match the fun, beauty and excitement you will find in South Africa.

At the foot of the vast continent of Africa is Cape Town, host city of the FIATA World Congress 2019, also known as South Africa’s “Mother City”. Cape Town is set in a dramatic landscape of exquisite natural beauty, nestled between the majestic Table Mountain and the sea, and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

START PLANNING YOUR TRIP NOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS OUTSTANDING DESTINATION!

AFRICA’S LEADING EVENT DESTINATION

AFRICA’S LEADING CITY DESTINATION

AFRICA’S LEADING AIRPORT DESTINATION

2018 W OR L D TR AV E L AWARD S

GOLF DESTINATION OF THE YEAR

(AFRICA & GULF STATES)

2017

•

2017 2018

2017

W O RL D T RAV E L AWA R D S

WORLD T R AV E L AWA R D S

I N T E R N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F GO L F T O U R O P E R ATO R S

REGISTER NOW: EARLY SPECIALS www.fiata2019.org

FIATA SAFARI

PRE-CONGRESS GOLF AT STEENBERG

You are coming to Africa!

This is your chance to experience a unique once-in-alifetime Big Five Safari.

Track these wild wild animals, live in luxury, dine under the starry Southern skies and immerse yourself in Africa.

To book email: info@africabespoke.com

Consistently named one of the best conditioned courses in South Africa Golf Digest Annual Top 100 – playing at Steenberg Golf Estate should be on every serious golfers’ bucket list. The golf package includes green fees, transport, meals and drinks. Signup for the tournament when you register for the Congress.

FOR REGISTRATION ENQUIRIES CONTACT:

register@fiata2019.org

10

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

DAY TOURS It’s not all hard work and no play! A varied selection of day tours in and around Cape Town is available for participants and partners who find that they have a free moment during the Congress week.

To book visit: www.kingdomtt.co.za/ fiata-2019/

EARLY ACCOMMODATION SPECIAL Choose from among some of Cape Town’s most convenient Congress hotels, with prices and star-ratings to suit all budgets. Participants that book and pay in full before 30 April 2019 will benefit from special discounted accommodation rates.

CRANES

Tight Spaces Grabbing cranes are usually large machines with wide spans and high lifting heights. Not so with the Condra grabbing crane installed in February at the railhead serving Sishen Iron Ore mine near Kuruman.

C

ompleted in December last year and delivered in January, the crane is the final link in Sishen’s ore spillage recovery chain, using its 0,5 cubic metre clamshell grab to transfer dumps of ore spilled by the conveyor system and subsequently recovered into railway cars.

Finely engineered

This finely engineered doublegirder electric overhead travelling grabbing crane is a relatively small machine with a capacity of 1,5 tons, a span of just 7,2m and a lifting height of a fairly standard 5,7m.

Condra has previously manufactured much bigger grabbing cranes for various applications, such as Condra grabbing crane working at the railhead serving Sishen Iron Ore the 25 ton 30m span machine for Mine, near Kuruman, South Africa a cement factory in Mozambique, but the Sishen specification called for a very high 7,2m end-to-end travel distance. Long travel speed degree of operational precision, resulting in the is 32m/min for a gantry length of just 20 metres. need for low-tolerance engineering of the crane Hoist speed is 6,2m/minute. clamshell grab so that it can move smoothly in Tight dimensions and out of the railway cars.

A Condra spokesman explains that the design chalWorking speeds are quick for the short distances involved. Cross-travel speed is 16m/min for the

Sishen’s grabbing crane is feature rich, with variable frequency drives incorporated throughout, a remote control with optional pendant control and downlights

lenge lay in configuring a crab to operate within the relatively tight travel and lift dimensions.

“For a grabbing crane this is a very confined area in which to work. Spans and lifting heights are usually much larger,” the spokesman says.

Feature rich

Sishen’s grabbing crane is feature rich, with variable frequency drives incorporated throughout, a remote control with optional pendant control, downlights, four red-and-green proxy lights to indicate movement clearance on the gantry and grab and a digital scale monitor on the remote control to show the exact grab load on a continual basis.

“There is a second, bigger digital scale read-out on the crane itself to transmit grab load status at a glance when not reading the remote control,” concludes the spokeman.

Condra Marc Kleiner Tel: (011) 776-6000 Email: sales@condra.co.za www.condra.co.za

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

11

Your boutique business destination Surrounded by lush gardens in the hub of Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, The Peartree in Craighall Park caters for groups of fifteen through to 100 guests in three well-appointed and equipped business suites.

Breakfast meetings, working lunches, indoor or outdoor dining, half-day and full-day packages including all welcome refreshments, teas and lunches are offered in Standard, Gold and Platinum packages.

Secure parking, Wi-fi, lockable space, all underpinned by highly qualified and helpful staff dedicated to ensuring your event is a success, make The Peartree a destination of choice.

www.thepeartree.co.za e-mail: info@thepeartree.co.za Tel: 011 781 1401 41 St. Albans Ave, Craighall Park

12

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

CHUTES

Expanding Into Canada Weba Chute Systems has announced the appointment of FWS Bulk Material Handling as the official distributor of Weba Chute Systems and Solution in Canada.

M

ark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems, says that the synergy between the two companies bodes well for a successful long term partnership.

Other markets

Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems

Weba Chute Systems has previously supplied its custom engineered chute systems to the North American market where these have been used in the power generation and mining sectors. Mark says that while the company has a sound understanding of the needs of this region, it is also looking forward to working closely with FWS Bulk Material Handling in servicing other sectors including

agriculture, bulk storage and export terminals, food processing and railways.

“Years of experience, hard won expertise and skill are the major differentiators that allow us to produce transfer point systems engineered specifically for a given application requirement,” he says.

Our transfer points are definitely not off-the-shelf products and while anyone can do the basics when it come to the technical side of designing a transfer chute, “Our transfer points are definitely not off-the-shelf products and while anyone can do the basics when it come to the technical side of designing a transfer chute, it is not an exact science and there is simply no single solution for materials transfer.”

Weba Chute Systems Mark Baller Tel: (011) 827-9372 www.webachutes.com

Custom engineered transfer point solutions

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

13

BELTCON 19

Conveyor Maintenance – Strategies and Outsourcing Paul Nel, Dunlop Industrial products

A

t Beltcon 11, Arnold Matthee presented a paper with the title ‘Practical Outsourcing Of Engineering Support And Maintenance’. Although not in so many words, his conclusion during the presentation alluded to the fact that although such a concept could add value to the mining operations, he doubted whether industry was indeed ‘ready’ for such a paradigm shift, thereby implying that change was necessary, that the norm of using conveyor equipment till it fails should be addressed, and that something should happen towards ensuring that the total cost of ownership of conveyor equipment be addressed and improved.

This concept is cardinal to the survival of the mining industry.

With commodity prices being at an all-time low, at the height of arguably the most intense labour issues this country has ever experienced, the time to firmly reconsider those arguments put forward at Beltcon 11 has come. This paper touches on different maintenance strategies and the benefits of utilizing external resources to perform maintenance on conveyors.

The current state of affairs regarding maintenance According to some economists, commodity prices have stabilized, but remain low, and the mines are under increasing pressure to become more cost effective in their production methods in order to reduce overheads and to decrease the total cost of ownership related to the operation of conveyors.

On the other hand, due to limited or suitably skilled resources, the very core of the attempts to save on operational costs is eroded by the fact that inspections and maintenance on the equipment are not performed.

From a study ‘2016 Maintenance Study: Seven key findings’ performed by Amanda Peliccione the following four important points were extracted:a. That 76% of manufacturing facilities follow at least some form of preventive maintenance strategy on some equipment. 61% still has a run-to-failure method and 51% use some form of Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS – more about this later). b. It is reported that preventive maintenance, reactive maintenance, and predictive maintenance are three strategies that most reduce the probability of failure. c. It is reported that materials handling equipment is typically shut down four to six times each year. d. The report implies that rotating equipment receives the most maintenance support, followed by plant automation and fluid power systems.

Total cost of ownership In order to see the value of maintenance in perspective, it is important to understand the concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

14

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

Total cost of ownership can be defined as a financial estimate intended to help buyers or users to determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or system. In this instance, TCO refers to the cost to supply a product, install it, and operate the conveyor system until the particular piece of equipment is removed because it is no longer fit for use. Should such cost then be compared to the material it moved, the user can express a TCO value in terms of Cost / ton. Such could be for the conveyor belt alone, the drives, any piece of conveyor equipment, or the conveyor as a unit, where the cost of all the equipment would then be combined and related back to the material conveyed.

Direct costs • Complete finished product delivered to site • Installation • Commissioning

Indirect costs, also referred to as hidden costs • Equipment selection, procurement services – vendor recommendation.

• Installation delays due to false vendor promises • Belt cleaning – poorly adjusted scraper / to prevent damage to the belt.

• Condition of the belt cover • Idler maintenance – to prevent damage to covers.

• Pulley lagging – to ensure belt traction / protection of covers.

• Power consumption – How heavy is the belt?

• Quality of manufacture / splicing / repair on site.

• Spillage or lack of maintenance resulting in stoppages.

• Cost of spares.

• Downtime.

An indirect cost, if not attended to, will shorten the time of a piece of equipment to the next replacement, thereby increasing the TCO value. TCO therefore becomes an asset management process, focused on keeping total operating costs as low as possible, without impacting on production.

How could a third party (outsourced service) contribute towards reducing indirect costs and reducing TCO on a conveyor belt system?

• Belt cleaning – supply a scraper, or a maintenance service to ensure proper adjustment. Belt cleaning, or the lack thereof, is the cause of a very high percentage of problems experienced on site. * Idler failure due to ingress of dirt into bearings. * Pulley bearing failure, due to ingress of dirt.

BELTCON 19

* Belt damage due to ineffective cleaning or poor chute design - spillage * Take-up not operating due to spillage preventing carriage from moving. * Drive failure, due to being covered in spillage.

• Idler maintenance – supply idlers, or a maintenance service to ensure belt safety and limit energy cost.

• Pulley lagging – Supply new, or perform a maintenance service to monitor condition.

• Power consumption – Ensure that the correct belt is selected for a particular application, with the correct cover thickness and grade to optimize belt life over the life of the mine. Selecting a too thick cover will add mass to the belt, increasing rolling resistance, and thereby increasing capital cost in terms of belting, power packs and power consumption. Too thick a cover for the required application will just add mass, and not add real value in the longer term.

• Quality of manufacture – Ensure equipment is sourced from reputable suppliers that can provide backup to their product.

• Downtime – Increased reliability due to using a quality product and managing it efficiently will result in reduced potential downtime.

Why maintain assets?

The Cessna Citation Mustang aircraft is a small jet, and costs in the region of $3 500 000.00.

For aircraft such as this, maintenance is compulsory and failure to do so could end up in major legal issues should the lack thereof result in physical harm or worse to those on board. In summary, the owner of an aircraft such as this is highly likely to maintain it in accordance with manufacturer specifications. One therefore has to question why a company would spend more money than the cost of an airplane on a conveyor, and then not maintain it. Consider this in the light that a possible failure due to a lack of maintenance may

result in loss of life.

Maintenance discipline is of some importance for any facility operating conveyors. In the past maintenance was typically considered an expense in an attempt to reduce downtime.

However, the realization that maintenance should be considered an investment, and that it would be impossible to execute it well without implementing a well thought through maintenance strategy is at last manifesting itself. a. The first and most important role of maintenance around any conveyor, is to ensure safety. Safety should be the highest priority in any asset management strategy. b. The prevention of functional failures, requires an appreciation of the fact that a component on a conveyor may have failed, yet the conveyor is operating, resulting in risk of downtime, risk to the environment, facility flexibility and naturally production throughput, which in turn will threaten other business objectives. c. To correct failures. It is impossible to prevent all failures, and in fact, some should be allowed as the cost of prevention may exceed the cost of replacing a component after it has failed. Note that even a good preventive maintenance program will not have a 100% success rate. d. To optimize the life of the equipment. It has to be noted that optimizing the life of equipment is different from maximizing life of equipment. This is because obsolete equipment may no longer deliver competitive performance. e. To ensure that equipment performs in accordance with its design specifications. This is related to prevention of failure, but also includes the prevention of equipment modifications that may threaten the integrity of the original design. f. To achieve the above at minimum cost, limiting TCO.

Maintenance philosophies Typically a maintenance strategy does not consist of a single philosophy, but rather a variety thereof, depending on the installation and their priorities.

Figure 1. Cessna Citation Mustang

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

15

BELTCON 19 Herewith some different approaches, explaining their impact on productivity and system sustainability.

Run-to-failure (RTF) / Reactive Maintenance A run-to-failure philosophy is one in which failures are allowed to occur and are then dealt with after they have been detected (also known as reactive maintenance). The philosophy is sometimes referred to as ‘breakdown maintenance’ which is incorrect. RTF is different from breakdown maintenance since a component may have failed without a breakdown actually occurring i.e. the failure does not stop the equipment from running (a failed idler for instance). This is essentially the base from which all preventive maintenance philosophies were ultimately developed.

It is not a preventive philosophy, but a reactive one. If adopted as the dominant philosophy, it has many risks and can be expensive due to consequential damage that may occur as a result of component failure, much of which can be far more extensive than that incurred through the original failure itself.

Often, since spares may not be held for all components, the approach leads to potentially long periods of downtime as the site waits for delivery of the required components (consider some ripped steel cord belting). Important to note is that it is unlikely that stable operating performance will be achieved with this philosophy.

From a sustainability perspective, there are obvious economic drawbacks and also risks to safety and the environment that arise from use of this approach, and it would be unwise to adopt it as the primary philosophy. There is however room for limited application of the philosophy within the context of a wider preventive maintenance program. This is the case for when the consequences of failure of an individual component or sub-component are very low, and the costs of prevention of the failure exceed the costs of the consequences of failure.

A further criterion is that the failure must be readily detectable once it occurs. In this case the component may be allowed to fail and then repaired without incurring risks of multiple failures occurring at the same time, which may have far more serious consequences than the original failure. For conveyor systems, this particular philosophy is not recommended.

The disadvantages of a reactive maintenance regime outweighs the advantages:• Increased costs due to unplanned downtime and broken equipment.

• Increased labour cost especially in the event of overtime being required.

• Reactive maintenance normally follows some catastrophic failure, therefore cost involved to repair or replace equipment would be high.

• Risk of secondary equipment damage due to equipment failure (For example, a pulley bearing fails, belt tension is not evenly distributed and the belt fails.)

• Inefficient use of staff resources.

Hollow advantages to the use of a reactive maintenance regime are as follows:-

PM, components are replaced or reworked at defined frequencies, independent of their condition. Consider an activity such as changing the oil in one’s car. It is changed at say 10 000km intervals, and is based on equipment run time.

No consideration is given to the actual condition and performance capability of the oil. It is changed because it is time.

The initial philosophy was based on the age of components, and involved replacing components when they reached a fixed period in service. The approach was pioneered in arms manufacturing companies during WW2.

For this approach to be viable, components would have to display distinct wear characteristics that would allow some prediction as to when they would be expected to fail or would be completely worn. The approach would then be to replace them as they approached this failure point, which would be determined by their operating hours. Normally the decision to replace would be confirmed by visual inspection. It may be that technology has advanced to a point where the original life prediction is no longer valid.

The American airline industry, with its strong focus on safety, pioneered many of the approaches that form the basis for much of modern maintenance practice, and research into component failure conducted in the 1960’s shows that greater than 90% of components in the industry did not exhibit a predictable probability of failure with age. Maintenance tasks driven by time of use hence are not generally effective, and maintenance programmes using this philosophy will therefore not prevent functional failures. Infant mortality represents a simple example of why the philosophy is flawed.

Even new components have some probability of early-life failure, and hence replacement of a working used component may in fact reduce the reliability of a piece of equipment.

Maintenance-induced failures may also occur due to disassembly and re-assembly of complex equipment, particularly by unskilled artisans.

This approach, while potentially better than a run-to-failure philosophy, cannot guarantee improved productivity and sustainability, simply because most components do not wear in a predictable fashion. However, in replacing or reworking components, inspection of equipment is naturally carried out, and other potential problems may be detected and corrected before failure occurs. Reliability should therefore be somewhat improved over an approach comprising RTF.

The benefits of preventive maintenance are as follows:• Increase in the life of the equipment, thereby making it cost effective.

• Allows some flexibility towards when the maintenance is being performed. Reduce failures and breakdowns, thereby reducing costly downtime.

• Energy savings due to reduced rolling resistance and system drag.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages also:• Catastrophic failures are still possible.

• Low cost (Short-sighted!)

• Labour intensive – Personnel training is required.

• Fewer personnel involved.

Time/age/based Preventive Maintenance (PM)

• This may include performing some unneeded maintenance with the potential for incidental damage to components.

Preventive maintenance involves taking action before failures occur to prevent the failures from occurring. With time-based

Although preventive maintenance is not the most favourable maintenance program, by using the necessary resources to

16

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

BELTCON 19 perform maintenance activities, as intended by the equipment designer, equipment life is likely to be extended and reliability increased at the same time. Minimizing failures is likely to result in both maintenance and capital cost savings.

Predictive/Sensor based Predictive Maintenance

• The potential to save on expenditure in the longer term is often not recognized by management.

Studies estimate that a properly functioning predictive maintenance program can provide savings over a program utilizing only preventive maintenance of between 8% and 12%.

The primary goal of predictive maintenance is to minimize disruption of normal system operations, while allowing for budgeted, scheduled repairs. Predictive maintenance can be defined as follows: Measurements or techniques that detect the onset of system degradation (lower functional state), thereby allowing underlying risk to be eliminated or controlled prior to any significant deterioration in the component’s physical state.

‘Operation and Maintenance Best Practices Guide, Release 3’, implies that an independent study has shown that the following industrial average saving resulted from the initiation of a properly functional predictive maintenance programme:-

Results indicate current and future functional capability.

Predictive maintenance differs from preventive maintenance by basing maintenance requirements on the actual condition of the machine or equipment rather than on a pre-set schedule. This method is typically used to define a required maintenance task based on a quantified condition of the equipment. There are many advantages of a predictive maintenance strategy and a well-orchestrated predictive maintenance program will virtually eliminate catastrophic equipment failures. Predictive maintenance is indeed nothing more than an inspection regime, and does not include the act of physically performing preventive maintenance. Examples of predictive maintenance are:-

• Elimination of breakdowns: 70% to 75%

• Vibration analysis • Infrared thermography • Oil analysis • Visual inspections • Belt thickness monitoring • Conveyor belt scanning (Steel cord reinforced) belting One would be able to schedule maintenance activities or repairs to minimize or totally eliminate overtime cost. One will be able to minimize inventory and order parts, as required, well ahead of time to support the downstream maintenance.

Advantages of predictive maintenance are as follows:-

• It identifies trends, allowing users the opportunity to find a root cause.

• It shows the condition of in-service equipment and predicts when preventive maintenance should be performed.

• Provides increased operational life / availability.

• Potential to decrease unscheduled downtime.

• Allows for inclusion of repair costs in a budget.

• Allows the management of spares inventory.

And some less obvious benefits?

• Improves safety.

• Limits overtime cost.

• Energy savings.

• Improved morale.

Naturally there have to be disadvantages to such a strategy also:• Increased investment in diagnostic equipment would be required.

• Increased investment in personnel training or hiring of skilled personnel

• Return on investment: 10 times • Reduction in maintenance costs: 25% to 30% • Reduction in downtime: 35% to 45% • Increase in production: 20% to 25%.

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) RCM also originated in the airline industry, and was a product of a study commissioned to maximize availability and control costs, with primary consideration for safety. Its roots lie in a steering committee representing airlines and aircraft manufacturers which was formed in 1960 to study the effectiveness of preventive maintenance. The committee, known as the Maintenance Steering Group (MSG) developed a logic known as MSG-1, which after successive iterations and improvements developed into MSG-3 by 1978. This decision logic, applied with detailed knowledge of failure causes and consequences, is effectively RCM. The RCM philosophy deals with key issues neglected by other maintenance programs by using a logical, structured framework for optimizing the availability and lifespan of equipment and systems. It recognizes that all equipment in a facility is not of equal importance to either the process or facility safety.

It recognizes that equipment design and operation differs and that different equipment will have a higher probability to undergo failures from different degradation mechanisms than others. It also ensures that maintenance tasks are effective and economical. The following are core principles of the methodology: • It seeks to preserve an item’s function – hence any failure which impacts on a component’s ability to function is addressed, not just those which cause plant stoppages; • It focuses on the entire life (not to be confused with life cycle) of the system or item, making RCM a continuous process; • It seeks to understand the failure characteristics of the item in question, and uses this to evaluate whether preventive maintenance is appropriate (i.e. should an item be allowed to fail or not?), and if so what type of preventive maintenance is required; RCM is driven by safety and environmental considerations first, and then by economics; RCM acknowledges that an item has “inherent reliability” which cannot be improved through maintenance, but only through re-design.

RCM is a systematic approach to evaluate a facility’s equipment and resources to best mate the two and result in a high degree of facility reliability and cost-effectiveness. RCM is highly reliant on predictive maintenance but also recognizes that maintenance activities on equipment that is inexpensive and unimportant to facility reliability may best be left to a reactive maintenance approach. The following maintenance program breakdowns of continually top-performing faciliBULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

17

BELTCON 19 ties would echo the RCM approach to utilize all available maintenance approaches with the predominant methodology being predictive.

• Reactive maintenance – less than 10% • Preventive maintenance – 25% to 35% • Predictive maintenance – 45% to 55% The primary difference between RCM and time/age-based maintenance is that RCM stresses the examination of the condition of an item, with tasks that are then defined based on this condition. The philosophy also differentiates between evident functions, whose failure can readily be detected by the operator of the equipment, and hidden functions, whose failure may not be readily apparent to the operator. In the case of hidden functions, there is the potential for exposure to multiple functional failures, and this is what the maintenance effort aims to prevent. The consequences of failure determine the options to be followed in terms of preventive maintenance tasks.

Advantages of an RCM based maintenance regime • Can be the most efficient maintenance program.

• Lower costs by eliminating unnecessary maintenance or overhauls.

• Minimize frequency of overhauls.

• Reduced probability of sudden equipment failures.

• Able to focus maintenance activities on critical components.

• Increased component reliability.

• Incorporates root cause analysis.

Disadvantages can be as follows: • Can have significant startup cost, training, equipment, etc.

• Savings potential not readily seen by management.

Explanation of CMMS (computer maintenance management system)

CMMS is a product developed to make maintenance easy.

Although it is a trade name, it is really the concept that is important, namely that an assessment is done and recorded using some form of electronic device. Such information is then stored on a database and can be accessed anytime for the client to ensure proposed corrections have been actioned and to be able to consistently compare new surveys against earlier versions. Typically this kind of software will allow the production of graphs, and would also be able to store

photographs.

On the other hand, care has to be taken as very often reports generated are generic, and such a report could easily ramble on about things that are not particularly relevant to the client, tarnishing the good information concealed elsewhere in the report. As a user, once trust has been lost in a report, it would be difficult to regain.

There is a further risk regarding personnel performing the inspections. As the system is considered to be user friendly and easy to use, often personnel performing the inspections are not qualified to detect real problems associated with the machine, making it difficult to produce high-quality reports of real value. Should a report be made, filled with irrelevant information, the person having prepared the report may not even realize such a mistake.

The client however will become frustrated, and finding the report almost identical to the one he received 6 months ago, supports a perception that he is not getting value for money, and often the services of the company performing the inspections are terminated. Another challenge is that often customers object to an outsider highlighting inefficient methods and systems used at the mine. In this modern age, the concept of spending money in order to save money is well understood, but often an inconvenient truth, and therefore ignored. CMMS, although inherently a good predictive maintenance method, has to be performed by skilled and vigilant personnel.

Managing the information obtained through any computerized system has to be carefully set up, as when the results of an inspection is uploaded, the system could generate jobcards, and perform a lot of tedious work previously requiring human input.

Outsourcing of maintenance From the above, it can be seen that there are some advantages in maintaining equipment, resulting in potentially significant operational cost savings, increased production and improved safety.

Why outsource?

• Allow some outside company to consider the installation with experienced and fresh eyes, and together with the user, formulate a workable, affordable, long term maintenance and equipment replacement strategy, acceptable from both a technical and budgetary perspective. This

Note regarding safety

18

Through ensuring reliability and good housekeeping, safety is automatically improved. In terms of the Mines Health and Safety Act 29 of 1996, it is required that every mine has a code of practice, which would typically be based on risk assessments. In conjunction with the mine, a third party would be able to assist with the production of such a Code of Practice. The Code of Practice is likely to stipulate maintenance requirements to ensure safety, and if not abided by, will indicate that due care was not taken by the user.

most neglected pieces of equipment at the mine.

In an economic climate where unnecessary spend at mines cannot be afforded, it has become necessary to look after and manage the assets at the mines. Conveyors, being the critical arteries to ensure a steady income, are often the

Users are obligated, by law, to ensure a safe working environment for their employees, and an unmaintained facility cannot offer such an environment.

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

Conveyor maintenance, whether by the user or an outsourced party, is critical. It has been found that the practising of a reactive maintenance regime is not particularly effective, while a preventive strategy, paired with a predictive maintenance plan, is likely to yield far better up-time of the production facility. Ideally, a reliability centred maintenance regime has the ability to actually save on expenses and also increase productivity by improving reliability and availability of equipment.

BELTCON 19 would include regular inspections and execution of preventive maintenance during planned shutdown periods. As users typically do not have the luxury of enough skilled resources to perform this function, having somebody else come do the work, and accept responsibility thereof, has the ability to increase general reliability and availability of the facility, limiting potential downtime.

• Limit training of personnel – In order for any person to review the condition of a conveyor or its equipment, a particular level of training is required. Important issues are the use of senses, such as recognizing visible problems, or audibly being able to detect some broken idlers. Feel is important, as a bearing or drive component emitting heat above its operating temperature may indeed be a sign of imminent failure.

• Alternatively, detecting an undue vibration early may indeed result in preventing costly repairs. Developing a ‘feel’ for such skills is not something that happens overnight, and typically requires extensive training or many years of experience, and most junior mine personnel required to do this work, do not have such skills or experience.

There is a significant risk in letting unskilled personnel perform critical maintenance, not only to the equipment but also the person doing the work.

• Limit the investment in diagnostic equipment – Should the client be serious about maintenance and monitoring their equipment, they would require to invest in some diagnostic equipment. Such would include tools such as:-

only that matters be resolved, but also that the root cause be addressed and removed.

There is some risk associated with relying solely on a contractor to perform all maintenance tasks, and users are cautioned to ensure that contracts be written in a manner as to protect their assets and limit risk associated with contractors withdrawing from site for some reason. Leave matters, such as withdrawal from site over festive seasons should be clearly defined and agreed upon at the contract negotiation stage.

A second model of outsourcing is not addressed in this paper, but relates to a total handover of a conveying system to the successful contractor. This would imply that the user remunerates the contractor on a cents per ton basis to operate and maintain the equipment. Such a contract could be based on labour rates only or could include the supply and installation of equipment. This model is much more complex, leaving both the supplier and the user at risk if not formulated carefully.

This paper was first presented at the Beltcon Conference in 2017.

Copyright is vested with IMHC. www.beltcon.org.za Paul Nel Rema / Dunlop Tel: (011) 741-2594 Email: pauln@rtt-dunlop.co.za

• Belt thickness monitor.

• Steel cord scanner.

• Infrared camera.

• Equipment for vibration analysis.

• Equipment for oil analysis.

• Measuring equipment (distance, temperature).

LMI ACADEMY cc.

Merseta Accreditation No: 17-QA/ACC/0637/11

• Have a single body responsible for the monitoring and timeous reporting of potential issues that could influence production.

However, there are also disadvantages to complete outsourcing of maintenance. The first challenge that is likely to occur, is that the user may lose touch with his equipment, as to what is where, what is new, what is used and what is being done to the system to ensure it stays up and running. To manage such risk, because it is also a financial risk, the user is advised to not only make use of a reputable company, but also keep a finger on the pulse by insisting on regular usable reports, in a format easily understandable and able to implement.

There is always a risk that the contractor will not be honest with the user, taking advantage of or exploiting a situation for his own benefit. Once again the user would have to keep an eye on the contractor in order to ensure that when it is reported that particular equipment requires replacement, it is done not to keep the contractor in business but with the best interest of the user at heart.

The biggest risk faced by the user, is that the contractor does just enough to keep the installation in operation. This implies that the contractor is only attending to the problems as they occur, no matter which strategy is followed, rather than to eliminate the cause thereof. Once again, this would be a good ‘stay-in-business’ strategy for the contractor, but would be unacceptable to the user. The user requires not

Reg. No. 2001/075895/23

P.O. Box 5907,Weltevredenpark 1715 E-MAIL: info@lmi-academy.co.za website: www.lmi-academy.co.za Training offered at the LMI Academy or on site.

• • • • •

Lifting Machinery Inspector Qualification (LMI).

Registered CPD Training.

The Rigging trade.

DMR 18 training.

Tackle training.

For further details contact: +27(011) 475 5876 Member of: LEEASA No. 810051

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

19

TRACE Inte is a globa anti-br or leading pr party risk

TRACE due diligence solutions are based on internationally accepted best practices and our experience and familiarity with the compliance needs of multinational companies. Services range from a denied parties screening to enhanced due diligence, including TRACE Certified Due Diligence.

20

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

International, Inc. globally recognized ti-bribery business organization and g provider of third risk management solutions.

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

21

High security welded mesh

Pallisade

Gates

Gate Automation

Razor wire and more ....

What is High Security Weld Mesh HIGH Security Weld Mesh is wire fused and welded at a Horizontal distance of 76.2mm and a vertical distance of 12.7mm also known as 35B/3510 where 3 denotes 3”(distance between vertical wires), 5 denotes 0.5” (distance between horizontal wires), and B or 10 denotes gauge of wire

Salient Features • Difficult to Climb: The spaces between the Horizontal wires are too narrow for fingers to have grip • Impregnable: Extremely difficult to cut with a hand cutter as the beak of a wire cutter will not be able to penetrate the horizontal wires • Excellent Replacement option to Solid Wall as: 1. More economical than a solid wall 2. Faster to install than a solid wall 3. CCTV Camera has a clear view • Further upgrade possible with electric security system • Anti-corrosive & low maintenance

Standards

• Manufactured according to BS EN 10016-2 • Wire Sizes in accordance with BS EN 10218-2 • Tolerance on Mesh Size in accordance wiht EN 10223-7 • Tolerance on Panel Size in accordance with EN 10223-4 • Welding Strength in accordance with BS EN 1461 • Zinc Coating in accordance with EN 10245-1 • Anti Corrosion in accordance with BS En 3900 E4/F4

Tensile Strength • Wire has a tensile strenght of min 550 MPA

MARK: 083 454 6488 22

Email: mark@palifence.co.za

www.palifence.co.za

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

MINING

27 Complete Conveyor Builds

The complete drive package consisted of the drive gearbox base-plate-and-guards

A Greenfield coal mine in Mpumalanga has standardised on drives from SEW-Eurodrive for its entire conveyor-belt system. This entailed a 27 unit order that was assembled at the OEM’s Nelspruit facility and transported directly to site.

T

he order consisted of a complete drive package in the form of a simple ‘bolt-on’ solution for the coal mine’s conveyor-belt system.

This included the drives themselves, gearboxes, base plates, guards and, in one instance, an ancillary cooler.

The project was facilitated by the Projects Department of SEW-Eurodrive, under the direction of Project sales representatives, Brett Weinmann and Bruce Farthing.

It is the the job of a qualified mechanical engineer, to come up with a solution best-suited for the application at hand, which is subsequently presented to the client for its approval Finding the best solution

Brett explains that the long-term aim of the Projects Department is to establish longstanding relationships with project houses who put their designs out to competitive tender. Thereafter it is the responsibility of Bruce, a qualified mechanical engineer, to come up with a solution best-suited for the application at hand, which is subsequently presented to the client for its approval.

Peace of mind imperative

Due to the fact that this massive order had to be customised, an important part of the value added service offering was overseeing that the required specifications were met, keeping in mind the strict delivery date. This was essential in giving the client peace of mind.

“We like to be on-site during this critical phase of any project in order to ensure that everything is according to specification and installed correctly.

For example, we double check the oil levels and the alignment of the units, and are also present at the first cold start-up,” Brett notes.

Critical to the success of this project was the close working relationship forged with the project house, which resulted in SEW-Eurodrive being afforded an extended lead time. “This not only allows us to iron out all of the technical specifications in advance, but is of great benefit to our sub-suppliers as well,” Bruce concludes.

SEW-Eurodrive Brett Weinmann/ Bruce Farthing Tel: (011) 248-7000 www.sew-eurodrive.co.za

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

23

SHIPPING

Biggest Dry Dock Doubles Productivity A new R98 million floating caisson is to be fabricated for the Sturrock Dry Dock operated by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in the Port of Cape Town which will enable one of the biggest dry dock facilities in the Southern Hemisphere to double its productivity.

T

he new caisson forms part of a multimillionrand overhaul taking place at the port’s ship repair facilities under South Africa’s Operation Phakisa programme, through which ship building and ship repair have been identified as a strategic competence for the port.

The 74-year old dry dock was first commissioned in 1945 to repair American and British war vessels Subdividing the dock

The caisson is a large steel gate structure that acts as a secondary seal and subdivides the dock,

24

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

allowing for the simultaneous docking of multiple commercial vessels within the facility. The old, defective caisson had been out of commission since December 2016. The 74-year old dry dock was first commissioned in 1945 to repair American and British war vessels.

Refurbishment of the old caisson cost TNPA R2.7 million and covered a condition assessment and finite element analysis, as well as stabilisation of the old caisson prior to the new one being introduced.

Phase 1, completed by Southey Co between July and August 2018, entailed the installation of special greenheart timber to seal water leaks around the old caisson. Phase 2 was completed in November 2018

and entailed the replacement of shut off doors and three sinking tank valves, as well as the addition of ballast weights to make up for lost weight due to corrosion and blanking off valves that would not be used going forward.

Challenges

During the initial commissioning of the new caisson, there were challenges as the floating caisson was not sinking sufficiently at high tide. This compelled the naval architect to go back to the drawing board.

There were also minor leaks between the floating caisson steel structure and the sealing timber due to uneven steel structure surfaces. This was resolved by inserting a special sealant that is compatible with sea water.

Other work

Civil infrastructure at the Sturrock dock has also received attention including concrete repairs and replacement of corroded tunnel piping.

Twenty-nine capstans or rotating machines that assist in pulling the vessels into position inside the dock are being replaced in Cape Town at various locations which include the Sturrock Dry Dock, the Robinson Dry Dock and the Synchrolift. In line with

Operation Phakisa’s intention to fast track delivery while being respectful of governance, TNPA took a decision to execute the replacement of capstans at its dry docks as a national project for the benefit of standardising the ship repair equipment and achieving economies of scale by procuring these capstans in large numbers.

During the initial commissioning of the new caisson, there were challenges as the floating caisson was not sinking sufficiently at high tide Under Operation Phakisa, the port’s Robinson Dry Dock is also undergoing a major upgrade. While this Dry Dock’s floating caisson (main gate) was recently refurbished, it is the ultimate intention to replace this structure with a modern, fit-for-purpose caisson structure. The design process will be undertaken in the near future including replacement of the floating caisson that seals off the dry dock from the basin.

Port of Cape Town Kevin Cavernelis Kevin.Cavernelis@Transnet.net

ABSOLUTE MATERIAL FLOW CONTROL

CHUTE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS • Optimum material flow • Up to 80% decrease in material degradation

• Reduced dust and noise levels • Virtually maintenance free

• Greatly reduced spillage • Significant reduction in belt damage

Tel: +27 (0) 11 827-9372 email: info@webachutes.com

www.webachutes.com

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

25

COAL BENEFICIATION SOLUTION

Trialling of Dry Sorter Mounting stress on South Africa’s water resources, combined with growing concerns about the environmental impact of mining operations, makes Aury Africa’s 400 tph dry sorting technology ideal for environmentally-conscious mining houses.

Aury Africa Production and Support Manager John Wills emphasises that the TDS does not use any water during operation making it a fundamentally invaluable technology for ‘greening’ the coal-mining industry

ury Africa aims to bring its first dry separator to South Africa for trial at a coal mine in 2019, Business Development Manager, George Sturgeon reveals.

Sydney mentions that, in August last year, seven TDS systems had either been commissioned, or contracts had been signed. Currently, 46 systems

A

The company, a subsidiary of design and construction coal group DADI Engineering Development Group, is in discussions with its sister company Meiteng Technology Group to bring in its Telligent Dry Separator (TDS).

The TDS was developed by high-technology company, Tianjin Meiteng Technology, another DADI subsidiary, in 2015. Aury Africa launched the technology locally at the South African Coal Processing Society’s biennial conference in Secunda in September 2017. At that time, three operating mines in China were using the equipment.

The higher tonnage output makes the TDS more efficient compared with competitor dry sorter technology

Aury Africa MD Sydney Parkhouse.

The TDS constitutes intelligent dry separation technology. Aury Africa Managing Director Sydney Parkhouse explains that “basically coal is conveyed on an enclosed conveying system, single layered.

The enclosed system, which incorporates dual X-ray technology, is simple to operate. It can be retrofitted to an existing coal-processing plant in various configurations."

The system features image-identification technology, with the separator accurately identifying and separating coal without using water or any other medium. There is also no slime generation, with the TDS subsequently producing a higher yield of coarse coal at low operational cost at an increased return-on-investment, compared with conventional process systems.

Aury Africa Business Development Manager George Sturgeon

Self-diagnostics

The technology can process 300mm to 50mm and 100mm to 25mm raw coal, with an upper throughput of about 400tph. The higher tonnage output makes the TDS more efficient compared with competitor dry sorter technology. Aury Africa is continuously striving to improve the technology’s separation capabilities in order to achieve coal sizing down to 12mm.

George highlights that the technology is fully automated and modular, with a self-diagnostic system.

“The longer the unit runs, the more accurate it becomes – the margin of reject material compared with coal is reduced, as the TDS learns and adapts continuously,” he elaborates.

26

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

Aury Africa Production and Support Manager John Wills

their mineral samples to Tianjin to be trialled on the TDS, until such time as the equipment is available in South Africa,” George highlights. The mineral and reject material must be trialled to differentiate X-ray absorption rates. The computer software is programmed by the development of algorithms during the trialling period, after which the equipment is set up accordingly.

We invite interested mining companies to submit their mineral samples to Tianjin to be trialled on the TDS, until such time as the equipment is available in South Africa Aury Africa aims to bring its first dry separator to South Africa for trial at a coal mine in 2019.

are either operational, being commissioned, or contracts signed. “The growth has been exponential, owing to its successes in the field,” he adds.

Mineral samples

Aury Africa is considering different applications for the TDS in the complete mineral beneficiation chain. For example, a four tonne sample from a manganese mine in the Northern Cape was sent to Tianjin in China in July for separation trials using the TDS. “We invite interested mining companies to submit

“Mining partners across the commodity spectrum are able to see how the TDS can improve yield and quality at their mines, and ultimately reduce operating and maintenance costs.

We are open to procure units for clients in South Africa to trial at their mines, and to show them the benefits of the TDS system,” John concludes.

Aury Africa Sydney Parkhouse Tel: (011) 026-6642 Email: syd@auryafrica.co.za www.auryafrica.co.za

Aury The TDS constitutes intelligent dry separation technology.

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

27

CONVEYING

Staying on Track RWE Generation's Eemshaven power plant is the largest coal and biomass power plant in the Netherlands and covered conveyor belts ensure dust-free transport of the coal from ships to the power plant or the storage yard. This process was always accompanied by jerks and jolts due to frequent belt mistracking, resulting in constant downtime of the conveyor belts.

R

WE consulted TBK Group, after which it was decided to install the CenTrax tracker rollers for a trial period. Within a month, it was already clear that CenTrax was the solution to their mistracking problem.

Previously, we had to stop the conveyors several times a day. We would stop everything to carry out a thorough clean, sometimes resulting in half a day of delays and costs “We use several conveyor belts at our power plant. We use a hopper to transfer the coal from one conveyor to another, but coal from the US and Russia is often damp, which means it sticks to the walls of the hopper. As a result, the load is then skewed when it reaches the conveyor belt, resulting in mistracking,” explains Gert-Jan Arkema, Maintenance Engineer Bulk Handling at

RWE Generation Eemshaven.

Optimal contact between roller and conveyor

The CenTrax system is a multi roller tracker system, consisting of a central roller and a tapered tracker roller on both sides. The robust rollers are lined with 8mm of wear-resistant rubber.

The rubber vulcanisation process is carried out in an autoclave. This creates a permanent and seamless bond between the rubber and the steel roller shell. The rubber has a diamond profile to ensure optimal contact between roller and conveyor. Even when the conveyor belt is wet.

The combination of roller lining and swivel bearing, means the CenTrax belt tracker system has no equal.

“This became clear within a month of the trials, and so we immediately arranged the installation of 51 CenTrax tracker systems,” says Alex Budding, the account manager at TBK Spillage Control. “As standard, we always perform a strength calculation for the CenTrax construction, a ‘finite element method’, which is what we did on the tracker rollers for RWE,” he continues.

Cost savings

“Previously, we had to stop the conveyors several times a day. We would stop everything to carry out a thorough clean, sometimes resulting in half

The CenTrax system is a multi roller tracker system, consisting of a central roller and a tapered tracker roller on both sides

28

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

a day of delays and costs. Now, a stop only occurs when a ship is empty or when the belt has run for a certain time and requires cleaning.

Installation

“Complete shut-down of the power plant was not an option, so several sessions were planned to

install everything. The entire project took about three weeks, including installation,� Alex concludes.

TBK Spillage Control Alex Budding Tel: +31 (0)318-745-740 www.centraxbt.com

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

29

30

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

CONVEYING

Premium Belting for SA Bearings International (BI) will be adding ContiTech belts to its range of brands and products. The ContiTech Power Transmission Group develops and manufactures drive belts, matched components, and complete beltdrive systems for vehicles, machines and systems for both Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the aftermarket.

T

he belts are ideal to minimise vibration and belt whip, especially in heavy-duty shockload applications. The banded or joined construction prevents rollover and reduces vibration tendencies. Productivity is maximised by eliminating groove mismatch or belt turnover problems, which are common on drives with a

The partnership will allow the company to diversify even further into additional market sectors, as well as boost the credibility of its premium product focus

combination of long belt spans or pulsating loads.

ContiTech also manufactures specialty belts for constant speed delivery and excellent rigidity, while retaining flexibility and strong gripping traction. Power transmission belts are supplied in traditional, classic, and narrow-profile V-belt forms, with particular attention paid to features such as total lifetime cost, quiet running, and increased efficiency.

Distribution underway

Karl Weindinger, General Manager, of sales for ContiTech in Western Europe and Africa, recently paid a visit to BI’s Parkhaven, Johannesburg head office to formally commence with the process of discussing the details of the potential distributorship. “As a global belt manufacturer, we rely on key partners to import and distribute our products.

We are excited at the prospect of strengthening our cooperation with the BI family, which is predicated on representing some of the top brands and products globally.”

Brian Tillie, BI Chain and Belt Transmission Drives Product Manager, adds that the tie-up will allow the company to diversify even further into additional market sectors, as well as boost the credibility of its premium product focus.

Bearings International, Brian Tillie Tel: (011) 899-0000 Email: info@bearings.co.za, www.bearings.co.za

Brian Tillie, Victor Strobel and Karl Weindinger

ContiTech belts are ideal to minimise vibration and belt whip, especially in heavy-duty shock-load applications

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

31

TRANSFORMING FREIGHT LOGISTICS

32

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

TRANSNET FREIGHT RAIL

www.transnet.net www.transnetfreightrail-tfr.net

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

33

MARKET FORUM

IIoT to boost conveyer belt sales The belt scale market is likely to be valued at approximately US$ 970 million this year, witnessing a growth of over 3%. The

steady growth in the will be driven by a combination of macroeconomic and industryspecific factors, including growing demand for bulk material handling for increased production.

A study has revealed that this market growth will be upheld by

advancements in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) which is enabling end-users to efficiently manage conveyor belt scale systems.

Integration of sensors in conveyor systems is allowing end-user industries to remotely monitor the functioning of different parts of conveyor belt scales systems. In addition, IIoT technologies are aiding companies across different industries in collecting valuable data which can be leveraged to predict maintenance requirements and evaluate production flows and rates.

The study further shows that quick and efficient identification of defective parts in belt scale systems is aiding end-user industries in substantially reducing downtime. Leveraging its capabilities, companies are monitoring real-time data to optimise production and manufacturing processes.

Additionally, remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and optimisation are helping companies reduce dependency on manual labour and save on overhead costs.

Fact.MR Consulting, www.factmr.com

Crane manufacturing for 200 years This year marks the double century of Demag, which started from humble beginnings in the town of Wetter in Germany in 1819 by Friedrich Harkort. He was an early prominent German industrialist and pioneer of industrial development in the Ruhr region. Under the name Mechanische Werkstatten Harkort & Co he founded the first industrial workshop at Castle Wetter, producing steam engines and gas light equipment.

The onset of the Industrial Revolution was crucial to the success of the company and its production of steam engines, steel works and rolling mills. The growing need for mecha-

34

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

nisation led them to become the first crane manufacturing company in Germany.

Demag today is part of the Konecranes group and together they represent a formidable force in the lifting industry worldwide. They are backed by centuries of experience, knowledge and quality and are leaders in the latest innovative crane technology.

Demag, Richard Roughly Tel: (011).898-3500 Email: richard.roughly@demagcranes.com www.demagcranes.co.za

MARKET FORUM

The largest in the range “The new DX800LC-5B tracked excavator, with an operating weight of 78 500kgs, is currently the largest machine in the Doosan range of construction and mining equipment. This machine has been designed for high productivity, fuel effi-

ciency, minimal downtime and greater safety in harsh operating conditions,” says Darrel Holton, managing director, DISA Equipment. The DX800LC-5B has a re-designed structure, with a heavy-duty front and improved undercarriage. It has been fitted with many customised components that ensure continuous operation in arduous environments with minimum to no downtime.

Fuel saving technologies include Smart Power Control (SPC) and a highly-efficient cooling system. The SPC allows the machine to provide optimised control for engine speed and torque, based on different workloads, thereby reducing unnecessary fuel consumption.

On-site safety and improved operator comfort have been an important focus. New LED work lights enable safe operation after dark and an Around View Monitor (AVM) provides a clear 360°view for the operator, from inside the cabin.

The new DX800LC-5B tracked excavator - with an operating weight of 78 500 kgs - is currently the largest machine in the Doosan range of construction and mining equipment.

This machine has been designed for high productivity, fuel efficiency, minimal downtime and greater safety in harsh operating conditions

Doosan Darrel Holton Tel: (011) 974-2095 Email: darrelh@doosan.co.za www.doosan.co.za

Saving time and money The heavy lifting capacity of modern mobile cranes is revolutionising industrial project roll-out, with complete structures now being moved and lifted. Gaining full benefit from this trend, however, needs careful planning, warns Johnson Crane Hire national sales executive Peter Yaman.

It is usually preferable to build an engineered structure or component in a factory environment where manufacturing conditions are monitored. Here, there are better quality controls, and testing can be conducted before the item leaves the facility for site.

Peter highlights the company was able to apply jacking and sliding techniques to move 3 000 ton concrete units. The sheer weight and size of the units made normal lifting by large mobile cranes impractical but lent itself to the use of a jack-and-slide method to get the loads from the casting area to the location where they were to be installed.

“This means their capacity can be cumulatively increased to match the demands of the items to be moved or lifted,” he concludes.

Johnson Crane Hire Peter Yaman Tel: (011) 455-9242, www.jch.co.za

An upfront engineering on heavy lift projects ensures success

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

35

36

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

MARKET FORUM

Simulator brings down training costs Port Nelson in New Zealand has ordered a classroom solution in order to simulate ship crane and mobile harbour operation.

The simulator is a two-in one device, allowing for training on more aspects of real port operations, with both a generic

ship crane simulator and the LiSIM version of the LHM 550 mobile harbour crane, both using much of the same hardware. The ship crane simulation software features the CBG series, a floating four-rope grab crane with a boom length of 28 metres and a maximum lifting capacity of up to 45 tons.

The LHM 550 mobile harbour crane simulator is equipped with its original LiTronic crane controls and has training programme installed for basic operations, bulk, break-bulk and container handling, reflecting the port’s present and future operations.

Simulators are globally recognised as an effective training method, offering numerous advantages. The development of this sophisticated training tool was prompted by Liebherr’s extensive experience in crane operator training.

Based on the original Litronic crane control system, LiSIM is the only realistic virtual solution available on the market for learning the precise and innovative control of Liebherr maritime cranes.

Users can run through any load-handling situation and simulate harsh environmental conditions when required

Liebherr, Philipp Helberg Email: Philipp.Helberg@liebherr.com www.liebherr.com

Cutting back on labour “The Metso Lokotrack ST2.8 and its complementary counterpart, the Metso Lokotrack ST3.5 are necessary tools when screening an array of materials. Diamonds, sand, metals or manganese, the ST2.8 and ST3.5 will reduce material handling by up to 50%,” says Sandro Scherf, CEO of Pilot Crushtec International.

The Lokotrack ST2.8, unlike other mobile scalping screens, has a two-way split option. This feature combines material flow from the first and second deck to the main conveyor and maximises the capacity and efficiency of the screening process.

“When the ST2.8 is utilised in the two-way split mode, the non-working conveyor can be removed. This customisable ability and two-way split means oversize rocks in diamond mining go out onto one conveyor belt, while product passes through to the product conveyor. This system eradicates double

handling and reduces the amount of time the loader spends collecting material from different sides of the scalper,” he says.

While most mobile screens tend to blind when dealing with sticky wet material like clay, and wet sand, the Metso Lokotrack screens get around this through the application of Pilot Crushtec’s piano wires on the Metso ST3.5 and the Metso ST2.8 Lokotracks’ eccentric throw of 15mm. Metso Lokotrack is suitable for screening alluvial diamond bearing material, top soil, demolition waste and river gravel.

“The ST2.8 is 25% lighter than similar machines in the market, making it more economic when it comes to transportation costs. But, despite its size, it can produce 600 ton per hour maximum feed,” concludes Sandro.

Pilot Crushtec International Sandro Scherf Email: info@pilotcrushtec.com www.pilotcrushtec.com

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

37

MARKET FORUM

Bulk handling plant lands in UAE Martin Engineering has entered the Middle East market by forging a partnership with German Conveyor Industries LLC, UAE’s experts in the design, installation and maintenance of industrial plants. The deal means that Martin Engineering’s range of products are available for the first time in UAE.

South Africa and the UK have been working alongside colleagues from German Conveyor to develop an extensive product offering and year-round, rapid-response service.

The new partnership has already given rise to a number of opportunities with materials producers in UAE.

The products are exclusively supplied, installed and maintained

by German Conveyor’s local team of specialists.

Since 1944, Martin Engineering has designed, engineered and manufactured heavy-duty conveyor components and material flow aids with a focus on safety, efficiency and ease of service.

With a team of 150 people, German Conveyor, part of Quarry Mining LLC, designs, manufactures, installs and maintains bulk handling systems, processing plants and environmental technologies in the UAE minerals and mining sector.

Teams from Martin Engineering offices in Germany, Turkey,

A simple solution to a complex problem

38

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

Martin Engineering Rick Felde Email: rickf@martin-eng.com

Recovery of mineral commodities is a complex challenge. Discover how we can help you find simple solutions and achieve sustainable productivity enhancements. flsmidth.com South Africa Tel: +27 (0)10 210 4000 E-mail: flsm-za@flsmidth.com

BULK HANDLING TODAY

May 2019

39

REMA TIP TOP SURFACE PROTECTION Rema Tip Top Surface Protection South Africa is the largest rubber sheeting manufacture in South Africa. We provide tailor made solutions based on each site’s requirements, through our large network of applicators.

Wherever chemicals and abrasive materials cause damage to containers, pipes, valves etc., we offer “one-stop shopping” corrosion and wear protection solution.

Main Industries Waste Incineration Plants Ferilizer Industry Chemical Plants Phosphoric Acid Plants Steel Industry (pickling plants) Drinking Water Plants Water Treatments Plants Desalination Plants Mining and Mineral Processing Industry Flue Gas Desulphurization

Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê

Rubber lining systems The proven corrosion protection rubber lining offers your plant and storage tanks dependable and long-term protection.

Rubber – a high grade elastomeric material with versatile properties Ê Abrasion resistant Ê Chemical resistant Ê Noise reducing Ê Vibration depressant Ê Low weight Ê Antistatic Ê Can be reinforced with steel and fabrics Ê Anti-adhesive surface Ê Unique high elasticity Brick & Tile Lining

Ê Coroflake lining: Flake filled spray - and trowel applied

Ê Acid-proof brick & tile linings offer improved chemical

resistance in addition to protection against thermal and mechanical stresses.

Coating Systems Our spray and trowel applied coating systems offer optimal corrosion and wear resistance on a wide variety of surfaces.

Benoni Plant 22 - 24 Lincoln Road, Industrial Site, Benoni 011 741 2500

40

BULK HANDLING TODAY

coatings based on Vinyl Ester Expoxy or Polyester resins. Ê Lining & Topline: Glass-matt reinforced trowel applied

linings (FRP / GRP Lining) based on Vinyl Ester Expoxy or Polyester resins. Ê Remacoat: Highly-reactive 2 - component spray coatings based on Polyurea.

Howick Plant 1 Induna Mills Road, Howick, Kwazulu Natal 033 239 7200

May 2019

info@rematiptop.co.za www.rema-tiptop.co.za