POWER July 2017 - 22

PRB COAL
1. Relying on gravity. Plant Scherer replaced its original vibratory feeders with the gravimetric
design shown here. The change resulted in fewer breakdowns and more consistent flow
through the system. Courtesy: Georgia Power
POWER POINTS
Key Takeaways
A good maintenance strategy
and meticulous planning are key
drivers for successful power
plants.
Good lighting isn't a luxury-
it's a necessity.
A positive culture change often
results when maintenance and
operational improvements are
implemented.
Having " the right people in the
right seats on the bus " is necessary
for teamwork to thrive.
feeders. " I'm telling you, this is no small
deal, " Rahm said.
The project took a lot of time and cost a lot
Howze said one of his fundamental beliefs
is that maintenance planning and maintenance
strategy are key drivers for successful
plants. He believed that if the station could
improve its maintenance, more than just
equipment problems would be solved.
" I thought we could plan our work better, "
Howze explained. " We could never seem to
make a plan and stick to it. As a result, shift
schedules were inconsistent. We were working
large amounts of overtime. "
So Howze directed his team to focus on
improving the plant's maintenance strategy.
The idea was to get employees working on
the right things at the right time. Managers
took a good look at preventive maintenance
tasks that were recommended by equipment
manufacturers, and they ensured the work
was being scheduled appropriately.
Of course, equipment can break down at
any time, no matter how good your preventive
maintenance program. But now when
equipment fails unexpectedly at Plant Scherer,
the operations folks review the problem
with the maintenance workers and planning
staff to decide if the trouble requires immediate
attention or if it can be planned appropriately
and executed through the normal
scheduling process. The communication between
departments and resulting prioritization
of work has made a big difference.
" When operators get confidence in maintenance
workers sticking to the plan, it just
begins to work and grow and blossom, " said
Howze.
One thing that should not be overlooked
22
is that safety revolves around good maintenance.
When the proper maintenance is completed
on electrical equipment, the odds of
someone being injured decrease. When small
mechanical problems are corrected before
they fail, there is less likelihood of collateral
damage. Not to mention, when workers
aren't constantly having to " put out fires "
(not literal fires, but those " regular emergencies "
that spring up when maintenance priorities
are continuously changing), they can
actually focus on safety and take the time to
do things right.
Improving plant maintenance and bettering
the overall operation also rallies employee
morale. When a plant starts running better
and faces less emergent trouble, attitudes improve
and it's like a cloud is lifted from the
station. A positive change in the plant culture
is the result.
Capital Projects Improve
Operation
Refining the maintenance strategy was a
great first step, but Plant Scherer also needed
to make some serious investments in equipment
retrofits. Randy Rahm, president of
CoalTech Consultants Inc. and executive director
of the PRBCUG, noted that because
Plant Scherer is so large, when a decision
is made to change something, the cost and
scope of the job is often quite significant.
For example, after years of trouble with
the plant's vibratory feeders, management
decided to replace them with gravimetric
feeders. Plant Scherer had 112 vibratory
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of money, but the results made it all worthwhile.
Nick Slappy, Scherer's assistant plant
manager, explained that with gravimetric
feeders (Figure 1), the plant needed fewer
parts and was able to reduce its warehouse
inventory. Gravimetric feeders also seem to
handle wet coal better than the vibratory design.
Slappy said wet coal continues to slide
through the gravimetric feeders, even under
conditions that might have posed trouble in
the past. The change has reduced downtime
and contractor costs, as well as cutting the
number and frequency of train unloading delays.
One
longstanding problem that the plant
faced was an inoperable crossover gate. The
lack of crossover functionality limited the
plant's flexibility, making it totally dependent
on one line to get coal into the building.
That affected workers' ability to perform
preventive maintenance, and it immediately
turned minor troubles into major emergencies.
Andy Waldrop, Scherer fuels manager,
was first to point out the problem to Howze.
Both men believed that getting the crossover
gate back in service would open a whole new
world for the plant.
And it did. Slappy said having the crossover
available meant repairs didn't need to
be worked around the clock-that reduced
overtime. The crossover also allowed work
to be performed on the trestle, stockout, and
reclaim, all while coal continued to flow into
the building. " That's been a big improvement
for us, " Slappy said.
Another important improvement was the
addition of an automatic washdown system
on the tripper floor. Coal dust is, of course,
very dangerous. If allowed to accumulate, it
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POWER July 2017

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