According to the World Steel Association, 1.7 million tonnes of crude steel were produced worldwide in 2017. The production of steel in plants and mills relies upon heavy plant equipment operating under extreme conditions, including high speed, high impact loads, high temperature, and cooling water ingress, all posing a serious threat of contamination and lubrication failure. This means that the lubricants used in this industry require constant monitoring and maintenance, and due to the highly competitive market, fluctuating steel prices and increasingly strict environmental regulations, profitability relies upon optimising every step of the production process. Lubrication monitoring techniques have therefore moved from being viewed as an ‘optional extra’, to a ‘business critical’ requirement in a step towards total predictive maintenance.
Product quality, equipment availability and life-cycle costs are high on every steel manufacturer’s agenda and choosing the right maintenance and monitoring solution is central to improving these factors. Tan Delta’s solutions help to reduce your process and equipment-ownership costs by providing enhanced failure protection, extended oil and equipment life, and improved efficiency through Full Spectrum Holistic (FSHTM) oil condition monitoring. One break in the process can completely stop steel production, resulting in lost revenue, high reactive maintenance costs and heavy fines. This early warning system lets you identify potential equipment failures before they become critical, and can be used in the steel industry to reduce costs and add value by:
By using traditional methods of manual oil sampling and lab testing, symptoms of oil degradation are easy to miss. Tan Delta’s real-time technologies are perfectly designed for hydraulic, gearbox, transformer and other steel processing equipment applications. The patented Oil Quality Sensor (OQSx) and display units can be easily retro-fitted to existing systems and live data readings allow operators to quickly identify a change in oil condition and direct maintenance action accordingly. Tan Delta’s unique technology ensures that oil condition is optimally managed, giving you the peace of mind that your steel plant is always running efficiently.
“We have partnered with Tan Delta to implement an online maintenance program for all our critical assets. By monitoring oil quality, we identified areas for overall operational improvement. Tan Delta have enhanced our maintenance practices across the plant, their advice and expertise has been invaluable so far”
– Steve Marshall, Forgemasters, Group Engineering Director.