Mechanical Technology February 2015

⎪ On the cover ⎪

By implementing quick response manufacturing at its Jet Park engineering and assembly facility, HTSA hopes to shrink total cycle times so that they become much closer to actual touch times.

Hansen’s P4 mill drive solution with a double gearbox arrangement. HTSA now also has access to the SEISA brand of very high torque transmissions, which are ideal for larger modern ball and SAG mills.

a mine. Road transport, because of the state of the roads in some remote regions, is also very difficult. By the time a gearbox reaches its destination in some places, in Mali or Ghana, for example, it might have been subjected to gearbox Brinelling before it is even put into service,” he notes. “We manage a very large gearbox portfolio, so to keep a full inventory of spares is not feasible,” says Main. “Key to overcoming this problem is to educate users to understand the risks and keep on top of the condition of the equipment. I truly believe that if customers are well informed, they won’t end up with as many last minute breakdown emergen- cies. Instead, the correct replacement components can be ordered in advance and fitted during a planned shutdown,” he adds. Via sound customer relationships, based on site surveys and training, HTSA strives to develop sound knowledge of the capital equipment operating at customer sites and how to minimise the risks of that equipment breaking down unexpectedly. Talking about condition monitoring, Fourie says that HTSA, in partnership with the University of Pretoria, is cur- rently developing a simple gearbox spe- cific product to help customers take care of their gearboxes. Now in production, the monitor is a vibration-based diag- nostic device programmed specifically for fault finding on Hansen Transmissions’ industrial gearboxes. “No special skill in vibration analysis is required to use the tool and it will be relatively cheap. While the gearbox is running, operators will simply enter the detail of the gear- box into the system, including the gear

ratios, and attach the probes. The system immediately returns a condition or fault diagnosis. It can also compare the results to previous measurements on the same unit to allow deterioration to be tracked,” Fourie explains. “The whole purpose is to diagnose a problem so that an appropriate expert can be called in at a convenient time,” Main adds. “Across Africa, including South Africa, there are serious skills shortages. We have lost the experienced people that used to be able to walk up to a gearbox and identify a problem from the noise it is making. Our new monitor replaces this experience. Nobody wants a situation where a gearbox failure causes a plant to stand still, while the delivery time for a replacement could be up to 22 weeks,” he points out. In line with a reinvigoration strategy for the global group, HTSA is adopting cultural values from Japan and Belgium and aligning its marketing campaigns with internal philosophies. “We are in- troducing quick response manufacturing (QRM) and the KATA system, the philoso- phy that has made Toyota so successful,” Main reveals. KATA is about continual improvement. The word comes from the Japanese martial arts masters who train students to practice and repeat a set of physical movements over and over, so that, in a real fight, they would be able to automatically and instinctively perform the routines at full force. “In the context of an organisation, it is about reinforcing and repeating the things that are done well and identifying areas of weakness. Via ongoing introspection and improvement projects, we are steadily improving every facet of our business. And this culture involves all processes,

Hansen’s ‘Think’ campaign was launched at last years Electra Mining show. Through culture change and the KATA system of continual improvement, the company hopes to steadily improve every facet of its business. people and disciplines,” he explains. While Kata relates to continual improvement, quick response manufac- turing looks to improve response times for competitive advantage. “A key goal is the reduction of idle or wasted time, known as ‘white time’. The production cycle for a gear unit, for example, might be 22 weeks, but the actual touch time for that unit might only be three weeks. Along with KATA, QRM asks everyone involved to think of ways to shrink the total cycle time so that it becomes closer to the actual touch time,” Main says. “As an organisation, HTSA is determined to embrace these principles to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of every aspect of our operation.” Concluding, he adds: “Africa repre- sents a growth opportunity, but our South African business remains of primary importance. We will increase our busi- ness, particularly on the service side, and slowly but surely we intend to expand north of the border.” q

Mechanical Technology — February 2015

5