Predictive maintenance pays off
Over the past three years the Ijaci plant has posted impressive production increases.
When InterCement’s Ijaci plant in Brazil needed to step up production to meet growing demand, predictive maintenance was the key.
Over the past three years the Ijaci plant has posted impressive production increases. In 2008 it turned out 1.8 million tonnes of cement. In 2009, 1.95 million tonnes. In 2010, 2.04 million tonnes. And, as visitors to the plant can see from posters throughout the facility, the projected result for 2011 is 2.1 million tonnes. It wasn’t always so; this is a success story based on an impressive turnaround.
Built and equipped by FLSmidth between 2001 and 2003, the Ijaci plant was inaugurated by Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik, but was from the start beset by a weak market and declining demand. In response, plant management initiated campaigns of 20 days interspersed with 30 days of production stoppage, a plan that matched market demand but made it impossible to operate equipment optimally or fully test plant production limits.
In an effort to control operating costs, InterCement opted to produce less at two other facilities and increase production at Ijaci. This gave the opportunity to test the new plant’s equipment under more normal conditions and optimise operation. Continual pressure to lower costs between 2003 and 2007 led to successful adoption of alternative fuels. However, the same cost pressure also resulted in a reduced maintenance schedule, which meant that when demand increased in 2007 the Ijaci plant was not in condition to reach increased production targets.
Identifying root causes
Work to improve the plant began in 2008, at a time when the market had turned around. Ijaci supplies the São Paulo and Minas Gerais regions with cement, and with an upcoming FIFA World Cup (soccer), the Olympics and growing governmental programs for housing and infrastructure on the horizon, it was clear that demand would continue to climb. However, with limited resources due to the past economic crisis, plant productivity was too low to satisfy potential demand. This had to be dealt with in order to keep pace with market growth. One possibility was to upgrade the line from 5,000 tpd to 6,000 tpd, and this is when Ijaci turned to FLSmidth for assistance in developing a solution.
“We try to work closely with our customers,” says Jens Vinther Nørgaard, FLSmidth’s sales manager for Customer Services Projects in Brazil. “Every situation is different – there are no off-the-shelf solutions. In close cooperation with the Ijaci plant engineers, we identified root causes of the situation rather than just treating symptoms. This allowed us to work together to develop the best plan of action. A plant audit indicated that an upgrade to 6,000 tpd wasn’t immediately feasible. It became clear to the team of Ijaci engineers and FLSmidth specialists that the Ijaci plant’s first priority should be to improve equipment maintenance and operation to obtain higher productivity.” A business plan was prepared, setting forth goals for equipment efficiency, maintenance improvement initiatives and required resources, as well as a budget and timetable. When this was approved by the plant’s board, a change-management process was set in motion. The plant’s management team was introduced to a new management tool called PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) – a business model that InterCement uses in all its cement plants – to help implement the plan.
Creating a different mindset
Successful implementation required a changed mindset at the plant for everyone from employees to management. Changing a plant formerly running in batch-like operation with a run factor of 40 percent to a continuously operating plant with a run factor above 90 percent calls for a very different maintenance culture. It took three years for Ijaci to fully implement a new maintenance philosophy, with the use of the PDCA tool to help structure, visualise and follow-up initiatives.
Close attention to predictive maintenance has now become a part of the culture at the factory. For every small or large deviation in the specified operation of the main equipment, an error report with an explanation of the problem and suggestions for improvement is drawn up. This procedure is now fully ingrained throughout the plant, from employees to management, and has resulted in the steady and significant production increases mentioned at the beginning of this article. Predictive maintenance – or rather the mindset and commitment behind it – has resulted in a formerly underperforming plant that now has a runfactor of 91 percent and produces at 104 percent of projected capacity.
“The specific details are always different, but we have one general rule that we encourage all our customers to apply, which is to anticipate potential problems to avoid breakdowns,” says Ulrik Kolding Hartvig, FLSmidth’s vice president of Global Customer Services. “This is a predictive maintenance philosophy shared by both InterCement and FLSmidth – one that we encourage many plants worldwide to follow in order to get optimum output from their FLSmidth® equipment. The Ijaci plant is an excellent example of this philosophy in action: Ijaci’s management implemented a plan to help everyone at the plant move from focusing on ‘putting out fires’ through short-term maintenance to ‘preventing fires’ through predictive maintenance.” Now that excellent maintenance and operation results have been achieved at the Ijaci plant, there is renewed focus on the possibility of future plant upgrades.
Supporting the community
Following a predictive maintenance philosophy is just one way in which the Ijaci plant attempts to plan for the long term. Ricardo Congro, plant manager at Ijaci, points out that in addition to filling a growing demand for cement, the Ijaci plant also makes important contributions to the long-term well-being of the local community. “The plant draws raw materials from the area,” he says, “but we make every effort to leave the environment undisturbed. The town of Ijaci has a population of around 8,000, and our plant has created jobs for many residents. Out of a permanent workforce of 250 employees, about 30 percent come from Ijaci. There are also 350 contract workers, including 150 in the quarry, of which about 90 percent come from the Ijaci area. Besides jobs, the construction of the plant resulted in improved infrastructure, including a bridge that connects Ijaci with the main highway. We also sponsor several local social projects. In cooperation with local authorities we helped establish a kindergarten, playgrounds and assistance programs for vulnerable children and young people.”
Contact:Jens Vinther Nørgaard