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New Techniques Benefit Mining Sector With 63% Reduction in Corrective Maintenance Hours

Written by Paulo Nogueira

Published on 10/06/2022 at 10:35

Industry, Mining

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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.

New Techniques Benefit Mining Sector With 63% Reduction in Corrective Maintenance Hours

Developed by the Brazilian company Icro Group, the asset increases mineral production by US $88 million per year.

Brazilian Scenario

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New Techniques Benefit Mining Sector With 63% Reduction in Corrective Maintenance Hours

Developed by the Brazilian company Icro Group, the asset increases mineral production by US $88 million per year.

Brazilian Scenario

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

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