Technical Paper


Solutions in practice


A means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation, which is used to refer to what actually happens as opposed to what is meant or believed to happen


by Ing. W.A.J. Kastelic W/mKastelic Refractories Services


Ten Golden Rules for Tackling Refractory Problems (acc. Raul Topolevsky, August 2017)


1. Understand the process (methods and fundamentals) and equipment in which the refractories are involved;


2. Determine if the event has already occurred or is a new one; Based your findings in objective data whenever possible;


3. If it is a new one try to determine what has changed in the process, materials, equipment and personnel qualifications;


4. If the problem already occurred find all available data; Systematically encourage collective thinking and knowledge sharing and creation in working groups;


Think collectively!!


5. These groups should include process engineers, operation technicians and engineers, erection specialists, purchasing specialists and, whenever possible, qualified suppliers; Choose the methodology you think most appropriate for group solving problems: continuous improvement, design thinking, or other methodologies where applicable;


6. Get a deep understanding of the properties of the refractories used; Measure the required properties in qualified laboratories and use International Standards; If you decide to use numerical simulations of the process and the refractories be sure that the input data and assumptions are correct;


7. Get acquainted with the day to day issues that are raised during manufacturing;


8. Get acquainted with the erection practices and their reproducibility;


9. Develop synergy in the group, encouraging the


relevance of sharing the merits, the rewards and the satisfaction of finding the solution; Leave always brief and conceptual written reports with the conclusions and recommendations for improvement;


10. Reduce sense of urgency whenever possible;


Be optimistic and enjoy the problem solving process !!!!! Raul Topolevsky, PHD Physics, On line Education, Refractory Materials


REFRACTORIES ENGINEER


THE


Notes


www.irengineers.co.uk www.ireng.org


18


November 2019 Issue


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