Maintenance Reliability Services

Article in collaboration with CBC/ Let’s roll (Australia).

Two key areas that mining operations could improve upon to prevent unplanned shutdowns and increase throughput are equipment reliability and documented predictability, says industry expert, David Greig.

As Key Accounts Application Manager to the Mining, Power and Oil & Gas Industries with Henkel Australia, David is more than familiar with the issues that operations within this segment face, including the pressure to remain sustainably profitable in an increasingly competitive market space.

“The main ongoing issue that mining operations have is in their equipment failing outside of planned maintenance shutdowns. An unplanned shutdown will have a major impact on the entire mining operation in terms of lost production and profits,” explains David. “For example, a coal mine site that is putting 600 tonnes of coal per hour through their wash plant and selling that coal at $100 per tonne...

A loose, spinning bearing had damaged a large fan shaft at a cement manufacturer.  Hardfacing and machining the shaft would have taken five days of downtime, and it could have led to future weakening and damage from distortion and fretting corrosion. A LOCTITE^® Engineering Solutions Expert audited the plant and provided training to the maintenance team. The team decided to use LOCTITE^® 638™ Retaining Compound as a potential new repair method. As a result, in just 8 hours, maintenance personnel cleaned and removed the main bearing, applied LOCTITE^® 638™ to the shaft, slipped the bearing into the proper position and the fan was up and running.

 The customer said: “We not only minimized our plant downtime on this repair, we also reduced the likelihood of future repairs and downtime.”

Protecting industrial equipment and machinery is crucial for any kind of harsh industrial environment. Industrial parts are often worn out by abrasion, erosion, chemical attack, corrosion, and mechanical damage. Parts that aren’t protected properly will not function properly and this can pose safety risks at work, leading to expensive replacement of parts.

Article in collaboration with CBC/ Let’s roll (Australia).