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Developed by the Brazilian company Icro Group, the asset increases mineral production by US $88 million per year.
The Brazilian company Icro Group has developed a set of techniques and technologies in the country that operate within the operational context of industrial plants, which have a significant influence on increasing Brazilian mineral production, capable of reducing the number of failures and unplanned downtime. Among the results achieved by the company is a 63.52% reduction in downtime for corrective maintenance of the Vibrating Screen.
The Vibrating Screen, a typical tool in various coal mining processes, is responsible for separating ore particles by size, technically referred to as particle size distribution. Recently, the company increased the physical availability of the asset, reducing 63.52% of downtime for corrective maintenance through actions and methods of asset management, which involve Predictive Maintenance, Structural Integrity, Qualitative and Quantitative Reliability Engineering, to correct or lessen occurrences of the main failure modes.
The corrective maintenance of the Vibrating Screen, which lasted about 536 hours, was reduced to 195 hours, representing a potential gain of US $88 million per year. Among the main problems associated with breakdowns were: defect in the beam: 45.19%, defect in the side panel 23.25%, breakage (beam, drive beam, spring) 14.86% and other failures 16.7%, which affect operational development, raise the accident rate and increase operation and maintenance costs.
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For the effectiveness of the action, all the work of Icro Group is based on the integration of 3 important pillars. They are: People, Processes, and Technology, which utilize various precepts of Industry 4.0, integrated into a single platform, enabling consistent analyses and decision-making throughout the entire life of an asset.
According to Armando Marsarioli, the Director of Development, Strategy, and Innovation at Icro Group, unplanned maintenance stoppages and idle machine hours represent serious financial damages to the sector. “It is important to emphasize that the significant challenge for mining companies is to achieve organizational goals while keeping costs and risks within the planned scope. In addition to seeking good practices in terms of safety and the environment towards society and employees. It is precisely in this aspect that Icro has brought effective solutions to the sector,” he states.
The main gains related to financial results are: lower costs through reduced repair time; optimization of inventories; optimization of labor; optimization of maintenance strategy; reduction of safety risks and reduction of environmental risks.
Brazilian Scenario
Currently, in Brazil, about 85% of coal consumption is directed towards supplying thermoelectric plants, as well as the cement and pulp and paper industries. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Mining (Ibram), Brazilian mineral production grew by about 7% in the last year compared to 2020, totaling 1.15 billion tons.
