MechChem Africa February 2018

Mech Chem FEBRUARY 2018 AFRICA

The world’s first self-calibrating thermometer The compact iTHERM TrustSens TM371 100% Compliance – 0% Effort

This month: Advanced materials and LSF construction

IIoT and the changing face of asset management

Local belt clip production for coveyor belt lacing extended

Wastewater reclamation and the Cape crisis

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Plant maintenance, lubrication and filtration 8 IIoT and the changing face of asset management MechChemAfrica talks to Stefan Swanepoel of Pragma about how the IIoT is blurring the lines between asset management, condition-based maintenance and operational performance. 11 Gearless mill drives assembled for Combre Panamá 12 Atlas Copco CTS’ rejuvenated customer-first service offering 14 New testing, inspection and certification services from BV 15 Anglo wins sustainability award for process metering Materials handling, Conveying, lifting and logistics 16 Local belt clip production extended Following the R4-million refurbishment of Mato Product’s clip-manufacturing machine, MechChem Africa talks to the company’s general manager, Benjamin Sibanda, about conveyor belt lacing and belt cleaning solutions. Corrosion control and coatings 24 Passivity key to keeping stainless stainless Michel Basson, manager of sassda’s Western Cape branch, talks about the vital role of the chrome-rich passive layer on stainless steel and how inadvertently blocking the layer’s access to oxygen can ruin its corrosion resistance. Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning 26 Disadvantages of natural refrigerants diminishing Stephan Sicars from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, talks about the market situation for plants using natural refrigerants in emerging and developing countries. 29 Sub-freezing air dryer delivers Class 3 air Water and wastewater processing 30 Wastewater reclamation and the Western Cape crisis MechChemAfrica talks to Xylem’s water reclamation specialist, Lucinda Jooste, who argues that the current situation offers an opportunity to put in place lasting solutions to overcome increasing water scarcity. 32 Desalination, brackish water and bio-saline agriculture 33 A race to spare every drop of water 34 Helping mines find the real source of nitrates in water Innovative engineering 38 Advanced materials and LSF construction MechChemAfrica columnist, Gary i Crawford, who is currently building a new property using only light steel frame construc- tion principles and products, presents some of the advanced materials that make this possible. REGULARS 2 Comment: We have to stop waiting for rain 4 Cover story: The world’s first self-calibrating thermometer Endress+Hauser is launching the iTHERM TrustSens TM371 compact thermometer for food & beverage and life sciences industries. 6 SAIChE News: Mike Hancock presents at UCT 36 Product and industry news 40 Back page: Volvo’s first climate-neutral manufacturing site 18 Closing the loop in Africa’s sugar industry 20 The true cost of sub-standard transfer points 23 Solutions for the dust-free discharge from screw conveyors

P U B L I C A T I O N S CR O WN

Published monthly by Crown Publications cc Cnr Theunis and Sovereign Streets Bedford Gardens 2007 PO Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008 Tel: +27 11 622 4770 e-mail: mechchemafrica@crown.co.za www.mechchemafricamagazine.co.za Editors: Peter Middleton e-mail: peterm@crown.co.za Glynnis Koch e-mail: glynnisk@crown.co.za Advertising: Brenda Karathanasis e-mail: brendak@crown.co.za Design: Darryl James Publisher: Karen Grant Deputy publisher: Wilhelm du Plessis Circulation: Karen Smith The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editors. P U B L I C A T I O N S CR O WN P U B L I C A T I O N S CR O WN 2015/02/10 01:17:09PM

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Front cover: Endress+Hauser Contact: Benjamin Mlangeni Temperature System Components & Registration +27 11 262 8000 Benjamin.Mlangeni@za.endress.com

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 1

Peter Middleton We have to stop waiting for rain ‘ S ome rain relief for drought-hit Cape Town’ I read on enca.com at the time of writing: Fri- dayFebruary9. Between5and10mm in the city and up to 20 mm in the mountains are

and waterless hand sanitiser is being provided. “Only bottledwaterwill be served for drinking, sourced from certified producers outside of the Western Cape or water constrained areas,” he assures. In addition, rainwater collection tanks, grey water savings and air-to-water harnessing from the HVAC systems is being used for all maintenance and clean- ing activities tominimise the impact on potable water supplies. These measures are being adopted by most hotels throughout the City, so as to reduce or completely remove pressure on the municipal supply, says Schiff, before urging an audience of “brightest minds in the water sector” to come and share further ideas. For our lead water feature in this issue, we inter- view water reclamation specialist Lucinda Jooste from Xylem, who compares water scarcity and use in South Africa to Arizona in the USA. With 6.96-million people spreadover a huge area receiving only 203mm of rainfall per year, Arizona has long been dependent on groundwater sources. In Cape Town, 77% of the supply comes from rain-replenished surface sources: rivers, dams and lakes. “Arizona places a huge emphasis onwater reclama- tion,” notes Jooste, its groundwater being replenished using treated reclaimed water, while also making use of tertiary treated effluent for non-potable applica- tions such as irrigation, in order to offset potable water use. Jooste believes that, in Cape Town, we should be moving towards alternative resources, such as reclaimed domestic and industrial wastewater and far better management of stormwater. As in Arizona, these sources should be used to replenish our ground- water sources, reducing dependence on dams. “It is clearly not sustainable to depend only on surface water,” she says. Jooste sees the current crisis in Cape Town as op- portunity. “If we don’t panic or play the blame game and, instead, focus on sensible and lasting solutions, ourwater securitycouldemergebetterthanever–and every one of us has a role to play,” she says. Let’shopeaweekend’srainandanyfurtheranswers to Buchan’s prayers do not stop ongoing investments and initiatives to reduce our dependence on surface water resources. While rain is undoubtedly a Godsend, let’s never forget how valuable our water resources are and how important it is to continue to use water wisely and manage all our resources effectively so as to better cope with the certainty of a drier future. q

indicated. Somewouldsay this is abit of amiracle, since summer rain is unusual inMediterranean climates and, in Cape Town, February is the usually the driest and hottest month of the year. Meanwhile, Huffpost SA is commenting on Angus Buchan’s upcoming call-to-prayer for Cape Town, which “is not a problem, but blaming the drought on Capetonian’s supposed moral indigence is…” writes MatthewWinfield. The water crisis in the Western Cape is being de- scribed as unlike any in recorded history, a 1 in 1 000 year period of low average rainfall. Does Buchan be- lieve that average levels of regional godless behaviour have dropped to 1 in 1 000 year lows? Earlier this week, I received a press release from the organisers of African Utility Week, assuring its partners, exhibitors, sponsors, delegates, visitors and speakers that the conference and exhibition at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC) will go ahead as planned from 15 to 17 May. Event director, Evan Schiff points out that Cape Town is a water scarce area that has experienced three years of sustained low rainfall, leading to Level 6b water restrictions that limit residents and visitors to a usage limit of 50 litres per person per day. “But municipal water is still being supplied and all services (health, safety, waste, sanitation) are functioning as normal,” says Schiff. Referring to ‘DayZero’ –presumably for thebenefit of overseas visitors – he explains that this is the day when the City might have to turn off the Municipal water supply forcing residents to collect daily water rations from distribution points. “It is important to remember that Day Zero is not inevitable,” hepoints out, adding that this is a “theoreti- cal date calculated daily based on rainfall projections, infrastructure projects coming on stream and water usage across the entire system.” Three days ago, (Feb 6), Day Zerowas pushed back to 11 May, just four days before the start of African Utility Week. Describing contingency plans being put in place at the CTICC to accommodate African Utility Week participants, he says that the centre has invested in grey water systems to ensure all hygiene functions are serviced without using any municipal/potable water; water supply has been stopped to hand basins;

MechChem Africa is endorsed by:

2 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

The world’s first self-calibrating 100% Compliance – 0% Effort

Endress+Hauser is launching the iTHERM TrustSens TM371 compact thermometer for food and beverage and life sciences industries. It features unique sensor technology with fully automated inline self-calibration function for hygienic and aseptic applications. Benjamin Mlangeni, product manager for Temperature and System Components in South Africa introduces the innovation.

T he new iTHERM TrustSens TM371, which is also available as theTM372 imperial version, enables continu- ous, traceable monitoring thanks to its fully automated inline self-calibration function that does not need to interrupt the process. This results in high product safety, increases plant availability and helps reduce risks and costs. The hygienic thermometer is designed for users in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries, which require absolute compliance with FDA and/or GMP regulations. At the heart of the temperature probe

Curie temperature and therefore serves to regularly calibrate the primary sensor. The self-calibration is triggered fully automati- cally at a temperature of 118 °C – the Curie point of the integrated reference – and the process typically occurs during each steam sterilisation (SIP) of the plant. This ensures that the constantly high measuring accuracy of the temperature sensor is permanently monitored throughout its entire life cycle. The integrated smart-electronics feature varied diagnostics functions, which are categorised in line with the NE107 NAMUR recommendation and transmitted viaHART ® communication. Furthermore, status signals are indicated locally by means of the LED integrated into the device. In addition to the automated calibration and verification of the thermometer’smeasuringaccuracy,datafrom the last 350 calibrations is stored directly in the device’s first in, first out (FIFO) memory. Heartbeat Technology in temperature measurement

This makes it possible to access a long device and process history, which can be used as a basis for predictions and the early determina- tion of trends. Thesefeaturesguaranteecontinuous,fully autonomous device self-diagnostics. The iTH- ERMTrustSensisthereforereadyforIndustry 4.0 applications. Checked, tested, confirmed Trust is good, control is better! Which is why the iTHERM TrustSens TM371 is supplied ex-works with a calibration certificate for the fixed-point reference integrated in the sensor, which ensures the traceability of the

is a unique sensor unit consisting of a prima- ry Pt100 temperature sensor and a highly ac- curate integrated ref-

erence with long- term stability. The reference sensor uses aphysical fixed point based on the

Above: The iTHERM TrustSens uses continued inline self-calibration to eliminate the risk of undetected non-conformities and incorporates the patented QuickNeck process connection for simple and tool-free installation. Left: The iTHERM TrustSens hygienic thermometer is for users in the life sciences and food and beverages industries who want seamless compliance to FDA regulations and/or GMP rules.

4 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

⎪ Cover story ⎪

thermometer calibration chain to the ITS-90 International Temperature Scale. Years of extensive load tests over many thousands of cycles, both in the lab and in the field, have confirmed that the solution is well developed.

withasimplemouseclick,viaEndress+Hauser FieldCare software, for example.

A complete portfolio Led by iTHERM TrustSens, Endress+Hauser is the first manufacturer to offer a complete, globally available range of products for tem- perature measurement technology, system products and services, specially developed for the hygienic and aseptic requirements of the pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries. The comprehensive portfolio, consisting of compact, modular and highly precise thermometers, secure datamanagers andprocess displayunits, fulfils even themost demanding requirements in these industries. For more information on iTHERM TrustSens TM371: http://eh.digital/2rRQUwm or watch TrustSens video: http://bit.ly/trustsens

and Drug Administration’s strictly regulated Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) envi- ronment. In addition to a clear rise in process reliability thanks to the self-calibrationbefore every new batch, the availability of the plant is also significantly increased. This in turn results in an immense poten- tial for reducing effort and costs, as well as a higher production yield. Due to the expected high frequency of calibration cycles, the iTHERM TrustSens also enables an unprec- edented level of process transparency. Audit- compliant calibration data is available for complete documentation at all times: a valid calibration certificate can now be produced

The device also has the following inter- national approvals and certificates: Hygienic guidelines in accordancewith EHEDG, ASME BPE, FDA, 3-A, 1935/2004, 2023/2006, 10/2011,CE,CRN,TSE,CSAGeneralPurpose.

Significant advantages for life sciences, food and beverage

The self-calibrating TrustSens technology is a major innovation, especially in the US Food

Next Level Hygienic: The complete industry portfolio for temperature measurement, system products and services by Endress+Hauser for hygienic and aseptic applications.

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 5

Mike Hancock of Chester University presents at UCT On February 1 st 2018, the Western Cape Members Group attended a presentation at the UCT Chemical Engineering Department by Mike Hancock of the University of Chester in the UK.

M ike Hancock CEng, FIChemE, is a visiting lecturer at the UCT Department of Chemical Engineering. He obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge and thereafter joined Shell Petrochemicals and later theFertilisers division. Aftermany years he joined ICI Corporate Services before em- barkingonconsultancy, whichnowfocuses on Industrial Energy Efficiency. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, a member of the Regis- ter of Professional Energy Consultants and an IRCA registered auditor for ISO 50 001, Energy Management Standard. He had been on holiday and had just sailed into Cape Town aboard the QE 2 when he kindly agreed to visit UCT’s Chemical Engineering Department. He also agreed to hold a seminar to informmembers of SAIChE IChemE regarding the new Department of Chemical Engineering that has been estab- lished at the University of Chester. At a Western Cape members group meeting at UCT in February are, from left: N Isafiates, UCT; Eric Van Steen, UCT; Mike Hancock, Chester University and Dee Associates; and Hamied Mazema, Pro & RM.

vice chairperson, Maggie Chetty, which included feedback on the branch activities for the past year. SAIChE ICHemE KZN then elected its new committee. Several of the current and co-opted members of the outgoing committee availed themselves for re-election. The SAIChE KZN branch committee elected on the evening consists of: Maggie Chetty, Nokuthula Danisa, Thokozani Sikhakhane, David Lokhat, Ziphathele Chamane, Mohammed Dildar, BrendonHaripersad and Bavelile Hlongwa. The committee also welcomed a newly elected member, Bakare Babatunde. The keynote address at the subsequent dinner was delivered by Michael Ward, director of Creating Sustainable Value. The presentation focused on aspects of the green economy aswell as sustainable devel- opmentandthelinktochemicalengineering. Thewinners and participants of the SAIChE ICHemEKZNmembersgroupResearchDay, held earlier in the year, also received their awards at the dinner. q The Chester University Department of Chemical Engineering, Thornton Campus, is on the Shell (Petroleum and Lubricants) Research laboratories site, which was do- nated to the university. The faculty enjoys Mike Hancock addresses members of the Western Cape branch of SAIChE IChemE in early February this year. Hancock opened his presentation with a very interesting and vivid historical, geographical and economic description of Chester and its surrounds that lent good perspective and context to the ensuing topics. Chester is an ancient city founded in medieval time (around 1500) as a port city suited for trade and transportation; an importance that it retained even during the industrial revolution.

SAIChE ICHemE KZN Members Group The SAIChE ICHemE KZN members group held its regional AGM and dinner on the 24 November 2017 at the Riverside Hotel, Durban. This is an annual event organised by the KZN SAIChE committee for its members. The event began with the AGM where the annual report was presented by the

The KZN regional AGM and Dinner was held at the Riverside Hotel in Durban on 24 November 2017.

6 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

⎪ SAIChE IChemE news ⎪

The Gauteng branch has standardised its activities to fall on the last Wednesday of every month. The committee meets on the odd months and events are held on the even months. Events are usually held at WorleyParsons in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. 2017was a successful year for events. For February, we had Trish Kerin from IChemE speaking about the culture of safety. Our April event is always the AGM and branch dinner. We used the Wanderers Club as our venue to great success, co-locating the meeting with the National AGM. At the din- ner after the meeting, Mariette Liefferink enthralled the audience with her deep knowledge regarding the water situation in South Africa. In June, 3Mhosted a tour of its Innovation Centre in Woodmead. This event was fully sponsored and therefore free to attend. We had record attendance with 78 people be- ing present. In August, we had a joint event with the South African Association of Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST). More state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and lecture theatres. Last year the first group of students graduated from the uniquely structured curriculum that provides a practical industrial experience component throughout the course and hence prepares students for the ‘real world’ of work. This is orchestrated through the good liaison and co-operation of the department and the numerous surrounding industries that accommodate the students. The programme and qualifications of the

Chester University Chemical Engineering Department have been approved by IChemE and the department seeks to further en- hance the programme through visits and exchange programmes with like institutions internationally, in order to build strategic partnerships. Hancock encouragedUCT and other chemical engineering departments in South Africa to participate in this outreach programme. The next part of his presentation was on his own invention and patented “OxyGen”

process, whichuses electrolysis as an integral step. This process is an IntegratedGeneration Carbon Capture and one that sequestrates carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-based power generation plants. Hancock also gave a comparative account of other such technologies, and presented predictions of consumption from other energy resources, such as renewables, dif- ferent fossil fuels and nuclear and their vari- ous impacts, including their climate change implications. q

Gauteng branch: 2017 summary and 2018 plans than 70 people came to hear the three experts speaking about the application of engineering in the food industry. Networking opportunities after the event were exciting. We plan to repeat this joint event annually in August.

anyone has not been receiving emails from the Gauteng branch, but would like to, please contact the SAIChE IChemE office using the contact details to be found on the website: www.saiche.co.za. q

SAIChE IChemE

The event we had planned for October with Engineers Without Borders had to be postponed and will now take place in 2018. The 2018 event programme Following the AGM on April 10, a whiskey tasting and technical talk is scheduled for June27. TheAugust eventwill againbe a joint event with our Food Science and Technology colleagues (SAAFoST) and will take place on the 29 August. Then, onOctober 31, wewill be looking at the Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things topics under the title: ‘Big data and visualisation for engineers’. We will be communicating our events using email and social media. Our members in the Gauteng region are encouraged to check that their email details are correct. If

SAIChE Board members: President: C Sheridan Imm. Past President D van Vuuren Honorary Treasurer L van Dyk + Vice President: Honorary Secretary: EMObwaka Vice President: D Lokhat Council member: JJ Scholtz Council member: AB Hlatshwayo Council member: K Harding Council Member: M Low Council member: BK Ferreira Council Member: HMazema Council Member: MChetty Council Member: A de Bondt Council Member: MMabaso Council Member NN Coni Member (co-opted): MD Heydenrych Chair Gauteng: C Sandrock Chair KZN: D Lokhat Chair Western Cape: HMazema Contact details SAIChE PO Box 2125, North Riding, 2162 South Africa

Tel: +27 11 704 5915 Fax: +27 86 672 9430 email: saiche@mweb.co.za saiche@icheme.org website: www.saiche.co.za

A view of the excellent buffet and some of the attendees at the joint SAIChE IChemE and South African Association of Food Science and Technology event held in August last year.

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 7

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MechChem Africa talks to Stefan Swanepoel of enterprise, physical asset management and monitoring specialist, Pragma, about how the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is blurring the lines between asset management, condition-based maintenance and operational performance. IIoT and the changing face of asset management

T he Pragma R&D group looks after R&D and product development and in that group, Swanepoel is respon- sible for R&D projects – and the IIoT is playing an increasingly big role in all Pragma’s development work. “We realised some while back that the IIoT is coming and we needed to prepare for it. We were highlighting the trend and advising clients to get up to speed. What we are now seeing, though, is that the push is coming from clients, for very sophisticated solutions,” he says. Pragma has long been involved with predictive maintenance, remaining life as- sessments, monitoring plant equipment that is already enabled for sending data electroni- cally. “But we have now specifically identified some projects around the IIoT, to choose partners we can align with and the skills we need to develop to get the best out of this fastemergingtechnology,”Swanepoelinforms MechChem Africa . “ThereareagazilliondifferentIIoTdevices, platforms and providers these days and it is quite important for us to choose the ones that meet the different needs that we are likely to encounter. And these needs are very diverse, as well. We have field service clients with distributedassets, where lowvolumes of data need to be collected from assets onsite and, on the other extreme, we have clients who

expect us to monitor plant wide systems on a real-time, permillisecondbasis. Soaone-size- fits-all solution is not possible,” he suggests. Most importantly, he says that Pragma needs a platform that can bring in data from different sensor technologies – be it low volume or high volume data, coming in bursts or in continuous streams. “Eventually, all the data must come into one place where we can apply analytics and business intelligence (BI) solutions soas toestablishworkflows, trigger actions and such like,” he notes. Sigfox and LoRaWAN Two IoT network technologies of interest to Pragma right now are the Sigfox- and LoRa- type network connectivity service providers for the IIoT. “LoRa, for example, enables the use of a public network to connect lowpower wide-area network devices to the Internet. Via aCloud-based IoTaccount, LoRa-enabled sensorsandmonitoringdevicesareregistered on the company’s LoRa platform, in the same way as a phone would be registered on a cellular network. This immediately allows data to start flowing for storage on a secure Cloud-based site. “What is attractiveabout LoRa is that apri- vate company-owned base station can be set up, in a remote area, for example. Wireless- enabled sensors can connect equipment to the company’s private LoRa network, inde-

pendently of any direct Internet connection. This enables areas not covered by network services to also participate in the IIoT. “Sigfox is similar and has already estab- lished wide coverage in South Africa for acquiring data from IIoT devices, but does not allow a company to set up a private base station, so users remain dependent on Sigfox as a 3 rd party provider. Each sensor has a unique ID and the moment it is registered and the back end is connected to a company’s own systems, then data analytics capabilities become available. “One of the challenges is that many of our clients have already made significant invest- ments in sensors, SCADA systems, PLCs and other technology to collect data in various ways. Clients are thus reluctant to rip out existing infrastructure for replacement with a newtechnology. A lot of these systemswork perfectlywell within their chosen scope, even if they are restrictive by emerging standards. “So from an asset management perspec- tive, we need solutions that can import data from sensors and systems that have already been installed into a single platform together with new data from the sensors required for accurate predictive maintenance manage- ment purposes,” he explains. Giving an example, Swanepoel says that pump flow rates might already be monitored for process control purposes, but for condi-

8 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

⎪ Plant maintenance, lubrication and filtration ⎪

Above: An integrated view of asset management data enables a ‘digital twin’ of the physical world to be established. 1: For asset management purposes, solutions that can import data from sensors and systems that have already been installed are needed, which can be combined with new sensors for accurate predictive maintenance management on a single platform. 2: “Eventually, all the data must come into one place where we can apply analytics and business intelligence (BI) solutions so as to establish work flows, trigger actions and such like,” notes Swanepoel.

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tion monitoring one might want to know the shaft vibration levels, bearing temperatures anddrivemotor currents of the pump system. “We therefore need ways to install and inte- grate new sensors to collect data in addition to what is already available,” he notes. “We have in recent times been working with a technology provider called IoT.nxt, a South African company that has developed products to tap into existing data sources located in different systems, while also being able to integrate data from new sensors for processing in one platform. “Data is the ‘oil’ of the future in terms of monetary value and technologies such as that of IoT.nxt helps to break down the data silos arising from different equipment OEM vendors, sensor providers and other IT sys- tems competing for exclusive access to data. This puts asset managers and owners in the position to have one integrated view of their asset management data and to be able to establish a ‘digital twin’ of the physical world that could be used for decision-making and automation purposes.” Explaining further, Swanepoel says the full current and historic operating context of a machine or component is ideally needed for use in machine learning algorithms and cognitive processing systems to accurately model and predict its future behaviour. “The factthatIIoTtechnologynowmakesthismore cost-effective and technically feasible iswhat makes it attractive for assetmanagement ser- vice providers such as Pragma,” he says. “And systems such as IoT.nxt provide an effective way of using data that is already collected in combination with data from new sensors to establish and digitise the full operating context of a machine or component.” Also, most people expect to push all the data they collect into the Cloud, where it will be processed and analysed to assist decision making. But as more and more devices get

fuel site, where information doesn’t change very quickly, a sample every ten minutes is more than adequate,” Swanepoel explains. “And the data is easy to combine with Edge data from other sources if the correct IIoT platform is used. “The challenge is simply to select the right combinationof sensors for theapplicationbe- ing managed and making sure that these are all compatiblewith the IIoT platform. Careful thought about technology redundancy, obso- lescence, systemexpansion,maintenanceand service are also vital,” he says. With respect to costs, a sensible and prag- matic approach needs to be adopted, tightly linked to the business strategy. “Rather than measuring everydata point that you can think of, if the impact of a failure or the effect on production is low, itmay not be cost-effective to include it in the IIoT strategy,” he advises. Any IIoT investment must be linked to what the business is striving to do: the future strategy, what are the critical assets; what could gowrong, howbest to incorporate reli- ablepre-warning strategies; specific response procedures; and the people who will action eachresponse.“Itisalwaysbebettertodecide on an IIoT solution after a strategic analysis of anorganisation’s business objectives, asset managementmaturity andperformance, than to simply connect up theplantwithout under- standing what you want to achieve. “What is fast becoming apparent is that the IIoT brings maintenance and operational performance management much closer to each other. Once an organisation develops an understanding of its equipments’ condi- tion, remaining life and the role it plays in the production cycle, then organisation’s cost-, energy- and production-optimisation programmes become far more effective and easier to develop and apply. “We all need to ready ourselves for this opportunity,” Swanepoel concludes. q

connected, data volumes become a challenge. “We believe that local processing is becoming increasingly important, so that only essential and pre-processed information needs to be uploaded to Cloud processing platforms. “For a vibration sensor, for example, it is possible to analyse the frequency spectrum locally, and periodically upload only the spectrum rather than having to continuously streamthe rawtime series data to theCloud.” This is calledEdgeprocessing, “andenhancing this capability is likely tobecome increasingly important for IIoT implementations.” Another use of the IIoT is for facilities and service management to take care of distrib- uted assets at smaller and/or remote sites. On site staff at such locations may not have the tools or skills to assess problems that emerge, so a field service engineer is called to inspect the equipment. Only on arrival can the necessary tools and replacement spares be indentified for later delivery and repair. The IIoT can help to avoid this. With the right sensors installed, the nature of a problemcan be analysed remotely via the IIoT platform, which enables the correct spares and an ap- propriately skilled and equipped field service engineer to be immediately dispatched. Such smaller and/or remote sites typically have fewer data points. Using the same tech- nologythatappliestoaconnectedautomotive plant, for example, might be prohibitively expensive and unnecessary. “It is in these situations that we believe technologies such as Sigfox and LoRa will play a bigger role,” Swanepoel suggests. “Each carefully selected sensor can transmit low volumes of data di- rectly into the Cloud for analysis on a central processing platform,” he explains. Sigfox devices typically send about 6 to 8 bytes of data every 10minutes, inmany cases enough to distinguish between problems and understand a machine’s condition. For temperatures of a motor or a tank level on a

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 9

⎪ Plant maintenance, lubrication and filtration ⎪

Gearless mill drives assembled for Cobre Panamá project

M arthinusen & Coutts (M&C), a division of ACTOM, recently executed the sub-assembly of six gearless mill drives for inera Panamá’s remotely situated Cobre Panamá project in record time, and as a result could hand the machine over to the mechanical teams for professional assembly well ahead of schedule. Minera Panamá, the Panamanian subsid- iary of First Quantum Minerals, is currently developingtheCobrePanamáproject,located inColónprovince. Themine life has been esti- mated atmore than30years andwill produce around300000 t/y copper, 100000oz/y gold and 2 500 t/y molybdenum. M&Chas a proven track recordpartnering with customers on similar complex projects, while still being able to offer a cost-competi- tive solution. This leading repairer of rotating machineryhas anestablished reputationas an expert in gearless mill drive refurbishment, winding termination and testing of motor segments. Of the six ABB gearless mill drives being installed at Cobre Panamá, four will power ball mills and the other two will drive SAG mills. Thesemassivemachines are among the largest ever installed in the world and were transported in quartered sections to site for assembly in situ. The sheer size of themachines, with an in- sidediameterof14m,presentedchallengesof its own, with each segmentweighing approxi- mately 80 t. Work was done in four different positions on the machines simultaneously, at 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock. Commenting on the role thatM&Cplayed in thisproject, divisional CEO, RichardBotton, says that a team of six highly competent and skilled technicians was responsible for the completion of the project within extremely tight time schedules. Work on the machines was performed back-to-back and this was accomplished using induction-brazing equip- Marthinusen & Coutts, part of ACTOM, is a leading repairer of rotating machinery with a proven record in gearless mill drive refurbishment. Through the level of skills and expertise that reside within this service provider, the company has established a strong reference base and reputation.

The Marthinusen & Coutts team that successfully executed the sub-assembly of the six gearless mill drives (back from left): Wesley Ludeman, assistant winder; Chico Bernades, field service technician; Shepard Chigmwa, senior winder and Keith van den Heever, assistant winder. (Front from left): Rico Coertze, assistant winder and Wynand Willemse, senior field service technician.

ment, andabar-woundwindingwith separate upper and lower stator bars, as opposed to set diamond lap-wound, formed-type coils. Another major challenge that the team had to contendwithwas the adverseweather conditionsatthelocation.Thisregionreceives 5-7 m of rain per year, with ambient tem- peratures often exceeding 35 °C with daily humidity levels above 80%. Botton says that working closely with the OEM ABB on this project was vital to its success. He pointed out that it is not unusual for M&C to partner with OEMs on projects such as this. Massive mill motor refurbished The largest AC electric motor operating in Zimbabwe drives a reduction mill, and this synchronousmotorwas recently refurbished by M&C. Estimated to be around 30 years old, the 2150 kWsynchronousmill motor, whichwas in operation at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, suffered a catastrophic failure caused by its age and metal fatigue. The main hub of the electrical rotor component had sheared off. Following preliminary repair work under- taken by the mine, M&C was called to site by

themine to investigate further and toprovide a long-termworld-class solution. Afull assess- ment undertakenby theM&C’s teamresulted in themotor being takenback to thedivision’s facility in South Africa. Itwas decided, followingnegotiationswith the mine, to do a design modification instead of replacing the hub. Botton explains that this option was chosen as it would save costs and reduce the lead-time without sacrificing the performance of the refurbished motor. “Our team’s extensive experience and understanding of large rotating machinery enabled us to offer an alternative to themine that would ensure optimum reliability in the future. One of the solutions was to use the existing rotor superstructure with a bolt-on hub on the motor,” Botton says. Acompleterewindofthestatorwasneces- sary due to the extensive damage causeddur- ing the failure at themine. Acompeteupgrade and modification to the sleeve bearings also brought these back to OEM specifications. The scope of work included the on-site commissioning of themotor, whichwas facili- tated by the M&C Zimbabwe operation with technical support from the division’s centre of excellence in Johannesburg. q

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 11

Atlas Copco Compressor Technique’s Ian Ainsworth talks about his vision for re- aligning the company’s service offering to better align with customer’s day-day needs and experiences. Atlas Copco CTS’ rejuvenated customer-first service offering

“ A tlas Copco must be first in the customer’s mind and first in the customer’s choice when it comes tochoosingair compres- sion technology,” states business line man- ager for Atlas Copco Compressor Technique Services (CTS), Ian Ainsworth. “So we always strive to put our customers first by making it easy for them to do business with us – from the initial purchase of the compressor right through to after-market services. To this end we are introducing a number of strategic initiatives to our service portfolio in order to streamlineour offering andmeet our custom- ers’ service requirements.” Ainsworthpoints out that in thepast,OEM service had very little competition as custom- ers for the most part only dealt with OEMs for their aftermarket service requirements. The uncertain and volatile economy and re- trenchments are forcing qualified engineers and technicians to start their own businesses, giving rise to the emergence of one-man busi- nesses. Armedwith a service vehicle and tools andoftenfamiliarwiththecustomersandtheir applications and products, these technicians or engineers are good to go to any site to do repairs. Customers see the fact that they can be on sitewithin amatter of hours as valuable. “AnOEMsuch asAtlasCopcounderstand- ablyhascertainproceduresthathavetobefol-

lowedbeforeatechniciancanbedispatchedto site.Theincreasingtrendofcustomersturning to the smaller concern if thebig company can- not assist fast enough is presenting a big chal- lenge to most industries.” Ainsworth warns that repairs not done by the OEM can and in manycasesdo lead tocritical failuredue to the useof incorrect tooling and inferior non-OEM replacement parts. “Customers only realise this when it’s too late and often the OEM is blamed for equipment failure when in fact it is as a result of a poor repair. “As one of the most efficient compressor systems available, driven by advanced VSDs andpermanentmagnetmotor technology, the purchase of our air systems is an investment for the customer. Understanding how critical plant up-time is for the customer, we don’t simply sell compressors; the establishment of long-term customer relationships through our after-market service is part and parcel of the initial sale. “We go beyond installation, commission- ing, regular (preventative) maintenance, repair and parts supply, looking to find ways to support the customer. We take care of the machine throughout its life to ensure enhanced performance, maximum efficiency and extended life,” he assures. These three factors are vital for customer sustainability and productivity but can only

be optimised if the compressor is serviced routinely by skilled specialists who attend regular training courses and use correct tool- ing; inotherwords, professional OEMservice technicians. “When it comes to service, Atlas Copco has always set the bar high and the objective is to never stop looking for ways to improve. Hence the streamlining of our after- market serviceoffering,” saysAinsworth, add- ing that this is not without challenges. “It is imperative that we do our homework properly. First we look closely at our custom- ers and their situation. For themost part they have also had to cut back and that includes staff. So simply introducing online portals for example is not a quick fix or a one-size-fits-all solutionbecause if there have been retrench- ments there is no one to monitor or attend to our online offering on the customer’s side. Of course technology and IT play a vital role but in order for it to be effective we must use it wisely. There has to be a balance between portals and people.” With flexible solutions forming the focus of its strategic plan, Atlas Copco CTS is in- troducing a number of new initiatives that the company believes will make a difference to the customer’s service experience. The CTS spares and service planning division team is extremely efficient when it comes to administration, planning and using the CRM (customer relationship management) systems. But Ainsworth explains that these administration specialists are not technically trainedwith fewever having seen a compres- sor on site. “When a customer phones, it is important that the person talking to them can ‘picture’ their environment and fully understand the issues involved in order to ask all the relevant questions. By briefing the technician about simple things like the ceiling height of the compressor roomand theavailabilityof lifting equipment before he gets on site can save a lot of time, enabling him to be fully prepared to efficiently meet the customer’s service requirement. “It therefore goes beyond good planning systems to avoid delays and cus- tomer downtime,” notes Ainsworth. Going forward, CTS has added technically

With flexible solutions forming the focus of its strategic plan, Atlas Copco CTS is introducing a number of new initiatives that the company believes will make a difference to the customer’s service experience.

12 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

⎪ Plant maintenance, lubrication and filtration ⎪

experienced people to the planning division who, by having a better understanding of the service requirement, can offer better customer support. “We are also beefing up our internal planning systems,” continues Ainsworth. MAM2 is being rolled out glob- ally to replace our existing centrally located online system. With the core goal of better supporting all our South African customers on Atlas Copco Service Plans, the latest sys- temwill enable us to populate our calendars months in advance. In addition to being able to better prioritise our loyal Service Plan customers, by being able to tell at a glance the location of each technician, where there are overlaps and what excess capacity we have, we will be able to up our response time to unexpected breakdowns.” Also included in the new service initia- tives is improved utilisation of data available from Atlas Copco machines out in the field. Several experienced technical specialists are being trained to drill down, interpret and summarise the machine data received from connected machines so that Atlas Copco can proactively pre-empt on site problems. “Our aim is twoweeks, threeweeks absolute maximum, on turnaround time to a service enquiry,” says Ainsworth. Air compression should simply be avail- able on demandwithout customers having to worry about the source of their compressed air supply. This is the objective of Atlas Copco’s service plans, which take control of the scheduled service side of compressor operations. Benefits include avoidance of unscheduled breakdowns and freeing up of customers to take better care of their core production processes without distractions and uncertainties. Operators need only look after the basics such as replacing clogged filters or checking oil levelswhileAtlasCopco keeps track of the routine maintenance requirements. That way, the best life and per- formance can be extracted from the invest- ment for lowest overall cost of compressor ownership. Through its service plans Atlas Copco establishes long-term relationships with the users of its compressor technology. Theadvancedmonitoringandcommunica- tionsystems suchas SmartLinkandSmartLink Energy built in to Atlas Copco compressors go hand-in-hand with after-market ser- vice. SmartLink, for example, enables the monitoring and self-diagnoses of AtlasCopco machines and the automatic upload of data via GPS to Atlas Copco servers in the cloud, offering further protection of customers’ assets through advanced predictive mainte- nance. With the SmartLink Uptime service, sensor and alarm data from the compressor is uploaded every 40 seconds. “Should any fall outside of normal operation, users and Atlas Copco technicians will be immediately

alerted,” explains Ainsworth, adding: “if cou- pledwithourTotalResponsibilitypremiumof- fering service plan, anAtlas Copco technician will be dispatched to attend to a fault before the operator is even aware of an issue!” Customers are constantly looking forways to reduce energy bills and with compressors responsible for up to 70% of a plant’s energy consumption, Atlas Copco assists customers with optimising their energy use. Through customised reports on the energy efficiency of the compressor room, in compliance with ISO50001,theAtlasCopcoSmartLinkEnergy monitoring tool makes it possible to identify energy-saving opportunities across the plant to minimise operational costs with massive savings as a consequence. “Remaining on the topic of energy saving,

we also provide air optimisers on a purchase or lease basis. As the name suggests, the in- telligent systemoptimises air delivery across all machines it is linked to. With the ability to regulate up to 60 compressors (ES360), air optimisers deliver tremendous energy sav- ings. “We do an air audit to determine savings up front and the lease fee is then charged as a percentage of the customer’s plant savings,” notes Ainsworth. Wrapping up, Ainsworth says that the implementationof all these strategic changes within the Atlas Copco service offering will take time if it is to be done properly to ensure a fully comprehensive, streamlined and sus- tainable solution. “These service initiatives are testament toour efforts to always put our customers first.” q

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 13

Bureau Veritas (BV), the global leader in testing, inspection and certification, has unveiled several transformative and innovative professional solutions and services. New testing, inspection and certification services from BV

Marc Roussel, Senior VP – Africa Region and president of Government Services and International Trade (GSIT) for Bureau Veritas.

W ithastrongbrandbuiltupover 190 years, Bureau Veritas operates across six global businesses; Marine & Off- shore, Agri Food & Commodities, Consumer Products, Building& Infrastructure, Certifica- tion & Industry. New and improved service offerings were announced from various divisions withinBureauVeritas, ensuring the company delivers the highest levels of service to its customers. Oil &Petrochemicals services, ledby Erick Naidoo in Southern Africa, announced a re- cent change in the internationally renowned online cloud-based reporting platform, Lube Oil Analysis Management System (LOAMS). Based on feedback from clients dispersed across the globe, the system has been opti- mised to improve maintenance productivity, while reducing product waste and reducing pressure on the environment. The Metals & Minerals activity, led by Mr Gavin Hefer in Southern Africa, announced a new test offering, Transportable Moisture Limits (TML), which is fast becoming a global requirement. TML refers to the maximum moisture content permissible for the cargo of anyshipthatisconsideredsafefortransporta- tion. If the cargo can liquefy, if the cargomelts for example, the centreof gravity and stability of the ship can be affected causing safety and environmental concerns. Bureau Veritas previously offered the

service outside of South Africa, and recently obtained approval from the Global Technical Governance regulator to conduct the tests lo- cally at theRichards Bay laboratory across all three methods: Flow Table, Penetration Test and the Proctor Fragerberg Test. Turnaround times are now much quicker and rates are more competitive in the local market. The Agri-Food offering, led by Joanne Barton in Southern Africa, announced the unveiling of a highly innovative and high-tech automated laboratory in Cape Town, which extends Bureau Veritas’ network and foot- print inAfrica. Newequipment introduced for testing of pesticide chemicals ensures latest legislation in South Africa can be reported morequicklywithahighaccuracy result. Food safety remains a key priority, with the labora- tory geared for the quick responses required to food contaminants such as Listeria , where identification and quarantine of products needs to be managed quickly and effectively. The Industry service, led by Eric van der Linde in Southern Africa, announced that Bureau Veritas has launched various measures to better manage asset integrity management data on behalf of clients. Using advanced analytics, data can be interrogated and assimilated more effectively, assisting engineers when making decisions regard- ing asset integrity and asset optimisation, increasing efficiency, lowering operational costs and increasing profits. The Certification arm, locally led by Neda

Taghadosi, announced the revision of vari- ous certifications: the Quality Management system ISO 9001, the Environmental Management system ISO 14001 and the Health and Safety Management system ISO 45001. Language is simpler and require- ments are less prescriptive, ensuring they can easily be integrated into clients’ current management systems due to the High Level Structure nature of the system. Risk Management is also improved, en- suring customer satisfaction and improved environmental impact management. Clients are poised to benefit from sets of technical documents providing guidance on the stan- dards and its requisites through the website www.lead.bureauveritas.com. Training cours- es, online self-assessment tools and transition packs have been designed tomake the transi- tion smooth, quick and efficient. CEO of Zambian operations, Alex Hui, announced the launch of the instrument- based Vehicle Inspection Service, bringing improved reliability and safety to load vet- ting. Benefiting Fleet Management clients requiring hazard control, this improvement will ensure cost- and time-saving efforts. Furthermore, Bureau Veritas is encourag- ing clients to invest in the Verification of Conformity asset, which is useful for au- thorities to protect citizens from counterfeit imports. Thedivisionhas alsohas begunusing drones for precision farming, cropmonitoring and inventory, fertiliser analysis, input control of seed soil and water analysis. Spearheaded by Grace Mabasa, the Government Services & International Trade divisionpresentedvariousreformedsolutions for government clients. Inspection testing is now done electronically and in real-time, improving thequalityof reports, deliveryperi- ods, productivity andefficiency. The introduc- tion of E-cert electronic certificates ensures enhanced security features for clients. “Bureau Veritas is committed to the African Continent and continues to show confidence in the regions,” saidMarc Roussel, senior VP for the Africa Region. “It is our vi- sion for SouthernAfrica to constantly exceed our client expectations through world class professionalism from a diverse and highly motivated team,” he added. q

Bureau Veritas in Zambia has begun using drones for precision farming, crop monitoring and inventory, fertiliser analysis, input control of seed soil and water analysis.

14 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2018

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