NEWS | AUGUST 2021
MENNENS SUPPORTS SAPPI PAPER MILL WITH MAGNETIC ROPE TESTING PILOT SCHEME
M
ennens has set up a Magnetic Rope Testing (MRT) device as part of an inspection pilot program
at Sappi paper manufacturing plant in Maastricht, Germany. Paper manufacturer Sappi has
35 overhead and rolling cranes in continuous operation. Enormous rolls of paper – weighing 25t to 28t – are lifted from one machine to another. The steel wire ropes, among other things, must therefore be in perfect condition. The MRT technology inspects the insides of a steel wire rope, as an addition to the manufacturer’s daily visual inspections of its lifting, hoisting and moving heavy loads equipment, including Mennens 24/7 remote and preventative wire rope monitoring service. “A visual inspection tells you a lot,
but if any wire breaks occur on the inside, you don’t see them immediately. Although this doesn’t have to mean a disaster (there are legal standards for this), you do want insight into this. You can then anticipate breakage at an early stage. This contributes to the safety and continuity of operations,” said Koen van Kollenburg, contract manager, Mennens. Mennens currently sends one of its
team of engineers to the factory, once every three months, to visually inspect its steel wire ropes onsite.
Following discussions, the company decided to assemble a magnetic rope testing device to one of the cranes as part of a pilot project to monitor the condition of its steel wire ropes even further, as a more reliable and efficient add-on. The pilot program has only just started, but it’s expected to be an improvement for Sappi. “Magnetic rope testing is an addition to
the physical visual inspection for the time being. It’s an important additional tool for us to continuously monitor the condition of our lifting ropes,” said Rob Hennekens, reliability engineer, Sappi. “If the steel wire rope isn’t in the best condition, we know this at an even earlier stage. This allows us to plan better and therefore guarantee safety and continuity even further.”
Explaining the mechanism, Van
Kollenburg added it assembled a monitoring device to the crane, which can be done vertically or horizontally and during hoisting and lifting, the wire rope runs through the device and a magnetic field is created. Any internal deflections of the wire rope, such as wire breaks or the anything that looks like the beginning of any corrosion, can influence this magnetic field. This is later visible in the data. On the double-ended cranes, the device monitors the steel wire ropes independently of each other.
“The data generated by the device is
visualized in a graph by two engineers from Mennens. Any deviations are visible in the shape of a peak. You can see the exact conditions of the insides of the steel wire rope. Next, we compile the data into a report that we discuss with our client once every month. We also provide a graph with color codes: such as green, which indicates all ‘healthy’ parts of the steel wire rope, orange which shows a deflection and red requires taking action,” said Van Kollenburg. “Magnetic rope testing gives clients an
even more reliable picture of the overall condition of the steel wire rope. This can also have a positive impact on wire rope switches. Normally, you change a steel wire rope based on a visual inspection. Based on experience, you know due to production capacity, a steel wire rope will last approximately two years. But perhaps data will show that this wire rope can easily last 2.5 years. In five years, that would make a difference of one complete steel wire rope switch, which can result in major cost savings. “An added benefit is the fact that magnetic rope testing is a sustainable solution. After all, inspection can be carried out remotely, during any of time of day. A mechanic does not have to visit the site. It’s a win-win situation,” added Van Kollenburg. ●
www.hoistmagazine.com | August 2021 | 15
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