| Cast iron cone maintenance |
Description
The replacement and maintenance of the cast iron cone on the sand plant was a risky task. The job was laborious and time consuming. A review, undertaken by the operators on-site, looked at how the replacement process could be made safer and more efficient.
The solution was to develop a ‘quick changeover’ process. This has been achieved by manufacturing a special cradle on a set of runners. The cradle supports the cone whilst it is unbolted. Once the bolts have been removed, the cone can be wheeled out and then lowered to the ground, enabling quick and safe replacement to be made. The process is then reversed to install the cone.
Benefits
The replacement of the cone is a much safer and faster operation. Manual handling has been reduced by 95% and the downtime for this activity is less than a quarter of the time previously required.
Before the new process was adopted, this task took four men up to four hours to complete, the task can now be completed by two men within 45 minutes.
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