The quarry that no longer digs deep to make savings
A leading UK quarry facility turned to the Drive Solutions Centre to address the issues of reduction of energy consumption across its facility. It needed intelligence to predict maintenance on the vast array of electric motors that power fans, pumps, conveyors, crushers and hoists.
Issues
Several instances occurred where key processes failed due to the harsh operating conditions. These could have been avoided through the use of a smart condition monitoring device. The total overhead costs of unplanned downtime were significantly more than the cost of the solution. In addition to the unplanned downtime, there were a number dust suppression pumps working continuously, even when the plant was inactive. Over the course of a year these costs would have been significant. Something had to change.
Operating benefits:
The priority must always be the continuity of production and security of supply. By introducing smart monitoring, there were significant improvements, including:
- Generating a 78% reduction in energy saving
- Annunciation of alarms and equipment malfunction
- Simplified maintenance
- Simplified operation of the plant
- Dramatically reduced unplanned downtime
- Continuity of production and supply
- Calculated overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
To correct inefficient mechanical damping assemblies on the pumps and fan motors, a variable speed drive was fitted to a pumping system with a header tank with a basic on/off feedback loop control. This paid for itself within six months of operation.
The solution:
- Mitsubishi A-800 series inverters
- Integrated PLC functionality
- Smart condition monitoring
- Intelligent drive based energy saving
- Seamless integration into Mitsubishi Electric SCADA solution
