ISSUE 138 Friday 21st April 2017

In this weeks edition

Bath Circuit Recovery
Maintenance Modifications
2017 Certification Audit
Cost Reduction
Lucky Number 13
Artificial Intelligence Trial

Bath Circuit Recovery

In the electrolysis process, each pot has a target
amount of liquid bath to dissolve alumina so that
we can produce aluminum.
If we operate too low in bath, alumina does not
dissolve causing sludge and anode effects. If we
operate too high in bath we damage the anode
pins causing high iron. The ideal is for the potline
process to produce a small excess of liquid bath
(100T per week). The excess bath is bagged in
the bath handling facility, and can be sold off site.
Year to date, we have bagged 1474T of tapped
bath and as a result we are starting to consume
excess material stored in Warehouse 3 by con-
verting the solid bath to liquid bath, and the alumi-
na to aluminum.
There is a significant quantity of material still
stored in Warehouse 3, but if we continue bagging
bath, the Warehouse will be empty in no time.

A big thank you to all involved in managing the

bath circuit. Story submitted by: Greg Kinniard

Maintenance Modifications
Previously the wall pusher has been electrically controlled, requiring charging after each
use. Reliability of the unit dropped off significantly last year and with the number of shift
calls increasing it was found that all failures were around the battery charger and the elec-
trical components.
At the same time, no shift calls had been made for the pneumatic/hydraulic pusher that is
in service.
With the help of Phil Martin, Neil Lindus and Nathan McLoughney the wall pusher has
been rebuilt to a pneumatic/hydraulic version. Central Maintenance did all the work in-
house and have achieved a great result under budget!
Initial feedback from the Refractory Supervisor has been extremely positive, thank you to
the team involved.
Story submitted by: Megan Scollay

Click on the light bulb icon & submit your idea online at the Good Ideas Page
 2017 Certification Audit If its FloodedForget it!
Tomago recently underwent a Safety and Environment Management Systems
These photos are from the recent
audit, conducted by SAI Global. The audit once again resulted in Tomago re-
floods in Northern NSW
ceiving a recommendation that it be recertified as compliant against the interna-
tionally recognised standards of OHSAS 18001:2007 and ISO 14001:2004.

This is a fantastic achievement and would not be possible without the support
and commitment to safety and the environment across all areas of the site.
Tomagos consistently high standards of safety management and continued im-
proved performance over the past 2 to 3 years enabled our application for self-
insurance. SIRA (Self-Insurance Regulatory Authority) has assessed our appli-
I drive this road every day
cation which has progressed to the next stage for approval which is currently
listed on the SIRA website for public comment.

A special thankyou to everyone who provided the time to assist and sup-
port the auditor during their visit.

Story submitted by: Simon Mitchell

I know its not that deep

What could possibly go wrong?

Cost Reduction: $18K Saved

Date: 20 April 2017
Who: Megan Scollay, Johan Kruger + Adam Jolly &
Travis Hulm
What: Lowering Thermocouple Hook Heights

An opportunity existed following a number of strain inci-

dents where the root cause was identified to be the
height of the thermocouple hooks in BO2/3. Since then
the Carbon Department have worked to get these low-
ered. A number of quotes were collected and the job
was estimated to come in just under $23,000. No
movement on this project could be made at that price.

The idea was raised to use the skills of the onsite TAC
boiler maker which allowed the job to be completed
with all 12 HR ramps modified to a safer height. Some
of the hooks were in bad condition which have also
been repaired and straightened. This has taken a num-
ber of weeks but we have managed to complete the
work and at a cost of $5k. This is not only a cost saving
to the business and an efficient use of TAC labour, but
a safety improvement as well.

COURAGETRUSTPRIDE
 Lucky Number 13
Two and half years ago the Casthouse experienced a change in process where Furnace 12 and 13 were no longer viable to
run and therefore mothballed. Since then, Peter Fishburn and his team have developed a project to re-use Furnace 13 as a
scrap remelt process.
The hard work and effort of many over five months has transformed the 30 year old furnace in the Casthouse.
A huge thanks to RIG Industrial Maintenance, Downer Electrical Maintenance, Macs Industrial Plumbing, Instrocal Instrumen-
tation along with Andrew Stoneman and Brent Dunn for their involvement with the project.
The testing and commissioning phase will start over the next few weeks.
Story submitted by: Peter Fishburn

Artificial Intelligence Trial

We became aware of Movus through our friends at Sydney Water. Movus is an Australian start up that makes a device called
a FitMachine. They describe it as a Fitbit for plant and uses Artificial Intelligence to detect early signs of machine problem.
We contacted Movus and found out that one of the founders worked on the Potline 3 expansion! They were very keen for us
to trial the FitMachines and they offered two for free for 6 months. They normally cost between $65 and $100 per month each
to run.
The FitMachines are battery powered and stick using a magnet. They communicate using WIFI or a 3G mobile phone net-
work, we are using WIFI. They were installed last week by Nick Landrigan, Todd Lilley and Dennis Moncrieff. Pete Sharkey
selected Compressor 9 and 2 for the trial as we wanted to really test them out. Compressor 9 is worn and due for an overhaul
and compressor 2 is generally problematic.
The two FitMachines are currently learning how the compressors run. We get a daily email from Movus telling us the health
of the Compressors. They have already expressed concern about Compressor 9 within a few days of fitting. Early signs are
promising!
To find our more on the FitMachines check out: http://www.movus.com.au

Story submitted by: Peter Horsburgh