ISSUE 107 Friday 26th August 2016

In this weeks edition

VDC Remote$10k Banked

Improving Now for a Stronger Future

VDC Remote - $10k Banked

Previously, CPO have utilised a cable re-coiler to
start casts on VDC 1. The process created a trip
hazard with the cable lying on the ground and was
continually getting damaged, requiring replacement.

were very positive and will result in no more trip

hazards and no cable damage.
Over the past 12 months the cable re-coiler has
been replaced 4 times at a cost of over $2,500
each time and the new remote will last over 1 million pushes!

Last week, a new battery-less remote system was

trialled. The remote wirelessly transmits to a receiver in the control panel which removes the need for Great work Casthouse Maintenance, Mitch Harding and Scott Bubb
cables across the floor. The results from the trial

Improving
now for a
stronger
future.

Spot the differ-

With a substantial increase to

the price of power set to kickin from November next year,
cross-site teams are already
mobilised around some of the
key
improvement projects that will help deliver a
significantly lower power consumption over the next 5
years.
Two of these exciting projects
will start next week with a
large scale trial and will include the increased length and
optimised slot design of our
anodes.
The length of the trial anodes
will be increased by +20mm
from 1580mm (baked) to
1600mm. This increase is ex-

Paste & Bake Contact: Megan Scollay

pected to
deliver a millivolt
saving worth around $1.7M p.a
in power costs and is also a
major enabler for further amperage increases, up to 260kA
and 600,000T in future years.
The optimised slot design trial
will see the current elevated
slot removed, and the height
of the existing formed slots
doubled, from 200mm to
400mm! The extra height will
be achieved by cutting the
slots after baking rather than
forming them. The trial anodes
will be cut off-site.

By increasing to 2 slots we
expect that the instability of
the cells will decrease, resulting in a reduction of the bath
resistance and therefore cell

Cutting Contact:
Marshal Holden

RAO Contact:
Andrew Thurlow

Overall Project Leadership & Contact: Jason Couper & Michelle Whyte

voltage. The expected millivolt

savings is in the order of 30mV
and is worth approximately
$3.2M p.a in
reduced power costs.
Other benefits may also include a localised increase in
anode density by removing the
elevated slot, a significant reduction in the amount of packing coke
carried through to
the rod shop resulting in a
cleaner workplace and less carbon dusting in the cells.
Look-out for more detailed information from your area contact person (see yellow boxes
below) for things such as timing, specific changes you will
notice, or any other questions
you may have.

LMO Contact: Rodger Hughes, Marty

Smyth & Darryl Frew

RAO Contact:
Andrew Thurlow