Metcom uses a structured, systematic process to evaluate and improve industrial grinding circuit performance. This process is a joint effort, executed by the project team which consists of Metcom specialists and plant metallurgical staff.
Metcom’s system focuses on three overlapping areas:
- process design,
- process control, and
- measurements & information.
A grinding process improvement project is conducted in the following phases:
- Initial Site Visit
- Circuit Survey
- Benchmarking and Identification of Improvement Opportunities
- Implementation of Recommended Changes
- Verification of Improvements
The Initial Site Visit is the project starting point, and its purpose is threefold: prepare the team, prepare the plant, and gather information. Metcom has developed a detailed checklist which drives the activities of the initial site visit which typically takes three to five days onsite.
Examples of team preparation activities include:
- Seminar presentations and discussions on Metcom methods
- Site tour and inspection
- Survey planning
- Identification of training needs
- Examples of plant preparations include:
- Review of plant instrumentation and calibrations
- Sample point review and identification of needed modifications
- Sample cutter design and fabrication
- Laboratory procedure development
- Examples of Information to gather:
- Flowsheets
- Equipment detail data sheets
- Electric power and media costs
- Historical circuit performance and data
At the end of the initial site visit the team will have generated a project plan with action items required to be completed prior to execution of step 2, the circuit survey. As an added benefit, the initial site visit often identifies “quick-wins” that can be exploited immediately.