Rourkela, Jan 21: An innovative effort by the employees of Steel Melting Shop-II (SMS-II) has led to savings of more than Rs. 27 Crores per month for Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).
Officials said, while taking sample and temperature of steel inside the converter of SMS-II, the converter operator had to stand in front of the converter mouth. To ensure the safety of the operator and also to protect him against heat, a fixed refractory lined screen remained placed in front of the converter.
Before doing any converter maintenance jobs like tap hole changing or cleaning of the area, the sample screen had to be taken out with the help of overhead cranes which was delaying the entire process, they said adding the height of the screen used to become a big constraint for charging of scrap into the converter with the help of the Semi-Portal crane.
After a lot of brainstorming the SMS-II staff, with the help of Refractory Engineering (Services) and Civil Engineering (Services) Departments, modified an idle motorized trolley and converted it into a mobile sample screen to overcome the difficulty, the officials said.
The newly developed mobile Sample Trolley rests on two rails in front of the converter and can be moved in either direction with the help of motors mounted on the trolley. The sampling screen will facilitate hassle free charging of scrap and metal, collection of samples and recording of temperature, besides ensuring no delays in starting of maintenance activities like tap hole changing and cleaning of the platform area, they added.
This would alone result in a cost saving of around Rs 27 crores per month, the officials said as this movable sample screen, scrap and metal can be charged into the converter from a lower height.
This will reduce the rate of erosion of the refractory bricks of the converter and will have a positive impact on the converter refractory lining life.
The Sample Trolley was inaugurated in the BOF Shop of SMS-II Department on January 19.
