ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG

Calculating economics of lab automation

Financial benefits of automated quality control
2 Cost drivers in a cement plant. Constituents are not drawn to scale. On top of graph: schematic decrease of standard deviation during the cement production process
2 Cost drivers in a cement plant. Constituents are not drawn to scale. On top of graph: schematic decrease of standard deviation during the cement production process
3a Distribution function for different standard deviation values centered at LSF 963b Distribution function with shift of raw mix average LSF at minimum off-spec analyses* Cost values plotted as the difference to minimum cost raw mix. Mix with LSF 241 requires inverse correction to reduce free lime potential in clinker production
3a Distribution function for different standard deviation values centered at LSF 96
3b Distribution function with shift of raw mix average LSF at minimum off-spec analyses
* Cost values plotted as the difference to minimum cost raw mix. Mix with LSF 241 requires inverse correction to reduce free lime potential in clinker production
4 Change of raw mix composition related to LSF
4 Change of raw mix composition related to LSF
5 Variation of delta cost raw mix versus standard deviation. Cost values at 0.5 standard devia­tion are taken as the reference to outline cost change. LSF 241 data is calculated by shift from upper boundary to avoid free lime in clinker
5 Variation of delta cost raw mix versus standard deviation. Cost values at 0.5 standard devia­tion are taken as the reference to outline cost change. LSF 241 data is calculated by shift from upper boundary to avoid free lime in clinker
6 (A) Correlation of reduced kiln stops and clinker production (redrawn from [5]) (B) Modelled lost clinker volume/year
6 (A) Correlation of reduced kiln stops and clinker production (redrawn from [5]) (B) Modelled lost clinker volume/year
7 Map of relative variable cost change of limestone content and fineness in limestone cement (PLC)
7 Map of relative variable cost change of limestone content and fineness in limestone cement (PLC)
8 Shift of average for the clinker factor to maintain minimum off-spec quality for different standard deviation
8 Shift of average for the clinker factor to maintain minimum off-spec quality for different standard deviation
9 Delta variable cost of cement related to clinker content and most cost-efficient composite. 0.5 units in SD require additional 3 % in clinker factor
9 Delta variable cost of cement related to clinker content and most cost-efficient composite. 0.5 units in SD require additional 3 % in clinker factor
1 POLAB shuttle: one example for a state-of-the-art lab automation system All ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solution AG
1 POLAB shuttle: one example for a state-of-the-art lab automation system
All ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solution AG

This paper* describes a concept to translate quality parameters into financial benefit. Estimates based on variable cost savings and additional income indicate payback times less than two years. The concept can be used to evaluate CAPEX and return of investment of lab automation systems.

1 Introduction

Automated laboratory automation systems assure quality control at the highest possible consistency of process and product. Automated systems reduce human error and improve frequency, repeatability, and accuracy of the analyses [1]. The investment in lab automation is important when cement producers change from 24/7 lab personnel to day shift only. Continuous chemical, mineralogical and physical data acquisition is crucial to define incremental changes of the current composition relative to a target value (setpoint) [1, 2, 3, 6]. The task of cement suppliers is compliance of the...

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ZKG 10/2014

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ZKG 10/2014

Ressort:  Engineering
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TEXT Dr. Michael Enders, Markus Wiegeler and Uwe Bendig, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG, Beckum/Germany

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