Maintenance Guild: News

The members of the guild arrived on Wednesday April 1st for the Golf outing at Blue Bonnet Golf Club. That evening we all joined for hospitality at the Holiday Inn – College Station, Texas.
On April 2nd Mark Kropf opened the meeting with the introduction of the officers and general business. We then began with the introduction of the technical papers. The first presentation was by Brian Wubbena from GARLOCK is presenting a paper on “Sealing Valves & Exchangers through Variable Reduction in Assembly”. This presentation will be available on the website under the Technical papers section.
The next presenter was Tim Marien from the Gund Company is presenting a paper on “Electrical Insulation Materials in the Melt Shop”. This presentation will be available on the website under the Technical papers section. The next presenter was Steve Dodge from Flametech is presenting a paper on “Increasing Yield and Decreasing Costs in the Caster Cutoff Area”. This presentation will be available on the website under the Technical papers section.
Our last paper for the day was to be presented by Dr. Matthew Kropf from Penn State on “Alternative Energy Opportunities for Steel Producers” He was not able to be present at the meeting so his presentation was teleconferenced to the members in attendance. This was a first for our organization and will give us more flexibility for future papers. This presentation will be available on the website under the Technical papers section.
After the technical papers were complete, the group broke for lunch at 12:00 and left the hotel at 1:00 for their tour of Nucor - Jewett Steel facility.
After returning from our tour we joined in the Hotel lounge at 6:00 for a social hour. Dinner was served at 7:00 and we were able to listen to Steve Gage Melt shop Manager - Nucor Steel - Texas talk about his plant and the importance of safety in the steel industry and finish the night with conversation and hospitality.
Friday morning we had a short Business meeting to determine future of the Maintenance Guild and or the location of the next meeting. The future of the Maintenance Guild was discussed and it was unanimous that this organization is extremely important to the members and the steel industry. We discussed the location and time of the next meeting. Mark presented his possibility of future limited involvement due to a career change and the need to have more participation from the executive board. It was agreed that would need to happen to maintain the continued viability of the organization. With travel the ability for other members to travel the group decided to approach Gerdau Ameristeel Cartersville to host and provide a tour. Mark will communicate with the administrative board for there inputs and approach his contacts to start the planning process. With the Economic situation of the steel industry we will move the meeting into the first week of November to possibly maximize the opportunity of participation and the economy to pick up.

The round table session began with questions from the floor at 8:45. Mark had everyone go around and state their main issues and concerns in their shops then moved to detailed questions and discussions.

Electrode adding system, are your sticks added off line on the ground or between heats on the furnace? What are some of the problems with the electrode adding machine? Most of those had to make minor modifications but everyone has had great improvements using this equipment. It was stated that shop design and layout dictate if they are added off line or on furnace.

Water-cooled Doc chamber what is the opinion of the group about going to the refractory lined box. Most of the membership agreed that the advancements in refractory have allowed the positive use in the DOC. The most important thing is to have a 1 or 2 inch fiber board between the box and refractory.

How do you motivate a maintenance team to have the heart and desire to do there jobs with the same sense of urgency that is required? We can train them to be knowledgeable in there trade and to work safely. Shop cultural has a lot to do with that along with the generational issues.

Safety programs were discussed and the different motivational tools the different shop are using. And each had programs that fit or worked in there unique organizations.

Furnace Grounds what are shops using to protect roof lift chains and reference grounds? Cylinder isolation and different types of ground connections were discussed. They also discussed the importance of monitoring the regulation systems.

Digital DC drive for motors and magnets. Who and what brands are you using?
Run timers on cranes, who is using them to develop proper maintenance?
Is anyone using Thruster brakes? Some are using them with good response. Anyone using “Bemco” produces? Yes and they are working out well but they are expensive.
Is anyone using torque limiting devise? Yes. Are they using them with auto resets? Some were. And they discussed the pros and cons of them.
Where are most of the shops getting their Rolling Mill rolls? Domestic or imported?
What type of seals are you using on the vertical pumps? Some have moved from mechanical seals back to packing..
4th hole pipe thickness are most shop using sch 80 or 160? Most say aluminum bronze to date has been working but they are all waiting for the time that the payback is made. Also look at what is going on in the furnace. A general discussion was held on the different things that can effect the performance of the 4th hole life.

Bag house fans - is anyone using the “Airstream” design in the facility. One facility used it and the improved performance was immediately seen. Make sure they include the performance guarantees.

Caster Spray chamber structural deterioration what are shops doing correct this. Discussions were held from water quality to stainless steel structurals. Core ten steel has been tested with some improvement. Galvanized was brought up but not a viable solution. Sand blasting and painting was also mentioned and not viable. Water quality and stainless steels have had the best results to date.
What type of fan is used for steam exhaust in the spray chambers? Inline axel fans are used in most of the shops. Some radial applications were used but you need to make sure water condensation does not build up.

Is the training center being used? If not how do you train your people. There is a move to do training on line. Our personnel’s training is on going and continuous. Discussions were held from the different shop on how they pick up skilled labor and there training programs.

Calcium Carbide handling processes were discussed on a safety level.

Who is using Mid-shell designs and there designs were discussed along with balcony panel life and predictive maintenance practices.

Trunion cap off and sleeve partially off on a full ladle of steel has anyone had this problem?

On quick change roof change practices, has anyone having problems with repeatability?
Not most utilize 3 or 4 point location guides.

What success have people had with condition monitoring with ultrasonic’s? The key is being committed to it or contract it out to someone that is committed to it.

What is the typical life of the bag house fan bearings? Couple of years seems to be the average but starting and stopping plays a roll in its life.

Is anyone using P&H Cranes and who provides service now for brakes? Kona is servicing those cranes and a couple of other companies also provide support.

We are going from reactive to proactive our maintenance system and moving to a centralized maintenance system. Most shops are now centralized. A discussion was held on the different approaches taken by the different shops. They discussed the different maintenance systems that are available as well as what each shop is using. The use of outside contractors was discussed and the utilization most use them for large projects and down days.

What is the ratio of proactive to reactive in your shops? The average for attendees ran between 50 to 75% predictive. There was a variation from shop to shop but all measured that performance.

Is anyone using Bluetooth or some wireless technology for furnace RTD measuring? One was but not with much success.

Meeting fee: $350.00 if not already paid, will need to be collected to cover meals and meeting incidentals.
Questions: Call Mark Kropf (330) 479-5060, Dave Giancola (330) 742-6326
Dress: Business Casual attire

Wednesday, April. 1, 2009

10:00 – 3:00 GOLF OUTING AT PECAN LAKES GOLF COURSE.
(MAPS AT HOTEL FRONT DESK)

7:00 – 11:00 HOSPITALITY SUITE WITH HOURSDORVES
PROVIDED BY SUPPLIER GROUP (At Hotel)

Thursday, April. 2, 2009

7:00 – 7:45 BREAKFAST BUFFET

7:45 – 8:00 MEETING ROOM: SIGN IN WITH YOUR BUISNESS CARD

8:00 – 8:10 INTRODUCTION: MARK KROPF

8:10 - 8:40 PRESENTATION:
BRIAN WUBBENA FROM GARLOCK IS PRESENTING A PAPER ON “SEALING VALVES & EXCHANGERS THROUGH VARIABLE REDUCTION IN ASSEMBLY”

8:40 QUESTIONS

8:50 BREAK

9:00 - 9:30 PRESENTATION:
TIM MARIEN FROM THE GUND COMPANY IS PRESENTING A PAPER ON “ELECTRICAL INSULATION MATERIALS IN THE MELT SHOP”

9:30 QUESTIONS

9:40 BREAK

9:50 – 10:20 PRESENTATION:
STEVE DODGE FROM FLAMETECH IS PRESENTING A PAPER ON “INCREASING YIELD AND DECREASING COSTS IN THE CASTER CUTOFF AREA”

11:00 QUESTIONS

11:15 - 11:50 PRESENTATION:
DR. MATTHEW KROPF FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY IS PRESENTING A PAPER ON “ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES FOR STEEL PRODUCERS”

11:50 QUESTIONS

12:00 LUNCHEON BUFFET

1:00 – 5:30 BOARD BUSSES OUTSIDE HOTEL PROMPTLY FOR
THE TOUR OF THE NUCOR JEWETT STEEL PLANT

5:30 RETURN TO THE HOTEL

6:00 -7:00 GATHER IN THE HOTEL BAR FOR HOSPITALITY

7:00 - 8:30 DINNER BUFFET - BALLROOM
GUEST SPEAKER: CHAD UTERMARK
GENERAL MANAGER - NUCOR STEEL - TEXAS

8:30 - 10:30 HOSPITALITY SUITE WITH BEVERAGES

Friday April, 3, 2009

7:00 BREAKFAST BUFFET

8:00 - 8:30 GENERAL BUISNESS, NEXT MEETING DISCUSSION

8:30 - 9:30 ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS

9:30 - 10:00 BREAK

10:00 - 12:00 ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS

12:00 - 1:00 LUNCH BUFFET

1:15 - 2:45 ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS

2:45 - 3:15 BREAK

3:15 - 5:00 ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS