WHAT WAS THE ISSUE?
Our client, a manufacturer of Aqua Feeds based in Scotland who we have worked with since 2020, had discovered that two of their belt and bucket elevators (E103 & E211) had reached the end of their usable life. Subsequently this would mean potential breakdowns and lost production.
WHAT WAS OUR SOLUTION?
To avoid any major disruption to the production line, the client planned for a site shutdown period of 3 days, so that the work could be carried out within a scheduled time frame.
We began the project by attending the site to complete initial surveys, and after this we were able to complete general arrangement drawings of the two site locations to pass into the drawing office for detailed design. From this, we estimated correctly that the design to delivery period would be 8 weeks.
From our survey, we knew we needed to supply replacement machines with an identical design to our previously installed E212 machine, which we supplied in 2022. These machines are designed to be larger than the existing ones, allowing them to be operated at a slower speed to reduce wear, but still able to achieve the required throughput.
Therefore, we supplied & installed replacement heavy duty, galvanised belt & bucket elevators for the transfer of fish feed in the form of meal & pellets. Capable of transferring up to 120 tph, we supplied them complete with hard wearing polyurethane buckets for durability. This equipment was designed to fit within the limited space available in the mill.
We also wanted to ensure accessibility of the elevators for maintenance whilst complying with current British health & safety standards, and so we suggested designing and fabricating a suitable high level access platform.
HOW WE DID THE INSTALLATION
Both machines are situated deep within the factory complex, approximately 46 metres from the nearest open area. As these are also situated outside, standing 26 metres tall in height, the only way to suitably support & disassemble was by use of a crane.
As we have provided similar projects to this one for our client before, we again used their preferred local crane company in the area, Forsyth of Denny, who were a vital part of the installation team.
Both machines created by ISF were part assembled in the customer’s yard & craned into position using a large Liebherr LTM1150 crane, capable of lifting 3.5t at the required working radius of 46m.
We had originally planned to install both machines on our first visit, however, a severe change in wind conditions halted lifting operations as wind speeds exceeded gusts of 40 mph. Luckily the first machine was changed just in time, otherwise the plant would have been non-operational until weather conditions changed.
We adapted to the unpredictable weather conditions, and although we were unable to install the larger 17m high machine on this visit, we rescheduled a second visit for 3 days when the plant was next available for shut-down works.
As crane lifting operations were completed by Forsyth of Denny under ‘contract lift’ they were able to supply their own lifting team for managing crane operations under all required health and safety regulations including LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) & CPCS (Construction Plant Competence Scheme).
Our team required MEWP licences to gain safe high-level access using a cherry picker or manually elevated work platform.
WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME?
By installing larger machines operated at a slower speed, the impact of wear on the internal components is reduced, therefore prolonging the life of the machine. However, the customer is still able to achieve the same level of throughput, meaning that production time has not been sacrificed.
Additionally, it is important for customers to hold a certain number of spare parts for their machines in case the worst happens. Since the customer has now upgraded three machines to an identical specification, the quantity of spares required to be held in stock is reduced.
