Shared cranes

Copper production is quite a complex process to plan and to schedule due to the many process interdependencies (shared continuous casters and cranes, emission level restrictions, limited material availability, to name a few). This makes it very difficult to foresee the overall consequences of a local decision. The variability of the raw material has alone a significant impact on the process, various disturbances and equipment breakdowns are common, daily maintenance operations are needed and material bottlenecks occur from time to time. The solution that is presented here considers simultaneously, and in a rigorous and optimal way, the above mentioned aspects that affect the copper production process. As a consequence, this scheduling solution supports reducing the impact of various disturbance factors. It enables a more efficient production, better overall coordination and visualization of the process, faster recovery from disturbances and supports optimal... 

The field and armature windings are connected in series and consequently share the same current. The series motor has the characteristics of a high starting torque but a speed which varies with load. Figure 2.47 shows series motor connections and characteristics. For this reason the motor is only suitable for direct coupling to a load, except in very small motors, such as vacuum cleaners and hand drills, and is ideally suited for applications where the machine must start on load, such as electric trains, cranes and hoists. 

Ask trainees if they have ever been involved with crane assembly/ disassembly and if so, ask them to share some stories or situations. 

Multiple cranes/derricks and one or more signal persons may share a dedicated channel for the purpose of coordinating operations. 

If we turn to the physical components, they too share this kind of constant motion in relation to one another earthmovers and drills were really important at first, but once the footers are set, their roles recede as the cranes move in. So the once simple site has now become a beehive of activity, and it is not clear what the context of the project is because there is no single, simple context. Consider who and what is involved in this particular engineering project. We began with the site, but the site can t be the context, because the site is in a location, a place, which may or may not be a simple geographical location. But no geographical location is simple. There are questions of subsurface geology, access to the area, ecological impacts, visual impacts and more to be considered. 

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