Innovative solution fulfils eco-design requirements, improves reliability, saves energy costs and reduces overall maintenance costs for mining and cement operators.
GKM power plant’s unit 9 in Germany, which was connected to the grid in 2015, is one of the world’s most efficient coal-fired power plants, with a fuel efficiency of 70 percent. For transport, maintenance and lifting tasks, GKM uses 260 crane systems and hoists of various types and manufacturers – an enormous fleet. Reliability of this equipment is crucial. Therefore, for maintenance and check-up purposes, GKM completely relies on Konecranes, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of cranes and hoists.
Each of the 260 cranes and hoists, from a simple chain pulley to the 300 tonne powerhouse crane, which the Konecranes installed in the new power plant, requires a yearly safety-related check (UVV) and maintenance.
How is it possible to get a quick, safe and clear overview of such a large fleet of cranes and hoists? By using the industry leading cloud-based customer portal, yourKonecranes.com, regardless of how many cranes and hoists are in the fleet.
Operational processes
At the beginning of each year, the experts at Konecranes coordinate the timeframes for maintenance and is safety-related checks with GKM. “Complex processes support the supply of energy. For example, each year, about 3 million tons of hard coal is required for the operation of the boilers. It needs to be unloaded by the loading bridges, stored and transported to the four power plant units with the conveyor systems at the right time.
“For maintenance and repair of these units, reliable cranes and hoists are crucial”, says Michael Griesheimer, responsible for the maintenance of these facilities at GKM. While planning the service assignments, the operational processes are monitored in detail, and so, an optimal date for maintenance is set. On yourKonecranes.com, GKM can always track the dates. Moreover, the software allows on-line requests for services.
Maintenance – regardless of type
and manufacturer
The cranes and hoists at GKM have different years of construction, manufacturers and histories. This results in individual requirements that need to be considered for the check-up. For maintenance and check-up of all units, Konecranes service technicians spend approximately three months at GKM.
With yourKonecranes.com, the crane experts always have mobile access to all information, from technical data to test reports on their smartphone or tablet, regardless of where they are located on the large premises of the plant.
With every check-up, the service technicians update the units’ data on the portal, and GKM can track the status of each maintenance task promptly in the service calendar.
Documentation
Following maintenance work, Konecranes creates a test report for each of the 260 cranes and hoists and advises how to further optimise the units. Moreover, GKM can access all reports on-line at yourKonecranes.com. With the search function, the units can be arranged by various criteria, like maintenance priority, last actions or newly-requested services.
High availability of the cranes and hoists is essential for the precisely timed production process at GKM. Therefore, the experts at Konecranes assess the condition of individual units during the check-up. If the operation of a unit is at risk or if it might fail, quick action is required.
Individual cranes and hoists are assigned to the four power plant units of GKM on yourKonecranes.com. In this way, the responsible departments receive notifications in a quick and uncomplicated manner, and repair orders can be initiated promptly.
“Complex processes ensure the efficient operation of our four power plant units. For this, we need to have confidence in the reliability of our cranes and hoists. Keeping 260 crane systems and hoists in view is a challenge”, Michael adds. “With the customer portal, we know the condition of each single unit at any time. Konecranes actively supports us, continues to the optimise the portal, and advises us, so that our units are ready for use at any time.”
“yourKonecranes.com significantly facilitates the whole process at the Mannheim high-energy power plant. In the United Kingdom, our customers also use the portal, which facilitates quick and easy access to crane maintenance information, usage data of Truconnect, maintenance information and unit details. Pooled data can be quickly called up, analysed and transmitted, so that sound maintenance decisions are made”, adds Mark Goringe, Konecranes Industrial Service: Area Director, Mid West Europe.
KonecranesDemag UK Limited
www.konecranes.co.uk
