Mining Production Dust Collector Success Story
IVEC® Controlled Ambient Air Cleaning System at Komatsu (formerly Joy Global, P&H Mining) Improves Air Quality 70%.
The Challenge
The Milwaukee Komatsu plant has two large weld shops each with 60 foot ceilings and measuring a total of 126,000 square feet. The facilities house about 7.56 million cubic feet of air and the welding and grinding operations within them produced noticeable amounts of fumes and air borne dust contamination.
Although the facilities were 100% OSHA compliant, management felt workers might still be at risk and that customers visiting the site might leave with a negative impression based on the apparent air quality within the site. Komatsu needed to do something to improve the environment for everyone and wanted to accomplish this task utilizing its existing general heating and ventilation system.
The Solution
Komatsu considered three different system designs including (1) Individual Source Capture Systems, (2) General Ventilation and/or (3) a Total Ambient Weld Fume Control System. From the alternatives available, a customized General Ventilation system with IVEC® controller offered the optimal solution for providing clean air to such a large facility while incorporating the use of their present heating and ventilation system.
The Custom IVEC® system ultimately was called on to monitor and control three major areas (1) sixty-three self-contained and self cleaning filtration units attached to (2) a dust collector central housekeeping system and (3) the HVAC system with make-up air units. This allowed for easy monitoring of all units from a single control point that is viewable via an on-line dashboard system. This intelligent panel system (IPS) also includes variable frequency drives to control speed based on demand, significantly reducing energy costs versus a conventional system that runs at full power 100% of the time.
We are thankful to Hastings Air Energy Control for listening to our employees and for providing a total solution that works! We have plans to model this approach into our Global Transformation Initiative. Ted Leamen, Director of Global Environmental Health & Safety
The Results
The custom IVEC® system was installed and labeled as a “BAS” or Building Automation System. This ambient air cleaning system provides Komatsu with a world-class facility that includes a safe environment for all of its employees and customers. Komatsu employees are providing positive feedback and their attendance metrics have greatly improved. Independent control testing, done before and after the installation, resulted in a 70% plus reduction of air-borne particles and a substantial savings in reduced energy cost.
