2009-03-06 - ABB’s Full Service concept increased production by 30 percent at an aluminum smelter process line in Australia by eliminating a critical bottleneck that had been blocking productivity for years.
By
ABB Communications
ABB took over the maintenance operations at Hydro’s Kurri Kurri aluminum smelter in Australia in 2006 and very quickly achieved some excellent results, including a 30 percent increase in production at one of the process lines in the carbon plant.
The carbon plant is where carbon anodes weighing as much as 900 kilograms are produced and transported in carriages on two power and free (P&F) conveyors to the bake furnace, where they are slowly baked for up to 20 days and made ready for electrolysis in the potlines. The anodes are used in the process of making aluminum.
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Hydro’s aluminum smelter at Kurri Kurri (about 150 kilometers north of Sydney) has an annual production capacity of 160,000 metric tons of primary aluminum. (photo © Norsk Hydro ASA)
The carriages used to move them operate in a demanding environment and, prior to ABB’s involvement, frequently had to be removed from the conveyor system for repair. Over time, this became a bottleneck where the number of disabled carriages was so high downtime was four hours per shift. At its worst, the plant had 240 carriages out of service.
ABB immediately focused on returning carriages to production as quickly as possible and increasing the reliability of the entire system.
“The carriage repair project has had great success. We have gone from a position of vulnerability to a position of structure in our carriage repairs.”
- Kevin Hearne, production team coordinator, Hydro Kurri Kurri
ABB turned the situation around by iImplementing proven best practices in plant maintenance, and by identifying and solving the problems causing extensive carriage damage and resulting in excessive conveyor downtime.
For example, a troubleshooting guide was created for the maintenance crew, who could then perform inspections and in-service repairs before a carriage was removed from service. This not only made conveyor maintenance more efficient, but reduced annual maintenance costs by $14,000, eliminating unnecessary freight and material handling charges.
Within four months downtime was eliminated, productivity was up by 30 percent and the conveyor was meeting its performance targets for the first time in several years.
One of the positive side-effects of the achievement was increased employee morale and job satisfaction. Carbon plant operators and maintenance staff were no longer working in an environment associated with defective equipment and downtime.
A unique partnertship
Currently in operation in a variety of industries at more than 150 sites worldwide, ABB Full Service is a unique partnership agreement in which ABB and the customer jointly define the maintenance targets and share the rewards of success.
In a typical agreement ABB designs, manages and executes the entire maintenance operations of a facility in accordance with proven ABB best practices. Responsibilities range from corrective, preventive and predictive maintenance to improving the use of equipment and energy and the utilization of resources, and ensuring that local and global health, safety and environment regulations are followed.
Click for an ABB case study with more details on the project to improve productivity at Hydro's Kurri Kurri aluminum smelter. (PDF / 692 kB)
Click for an ABB Review special report on ABB Process Automation services and capabilities. (PDF / 5.24 MB)