Nederman MikroPul is a leader in the air pollution control industry, with its broad range of dust collection systems and filtration solutions launching it as a global powerhouse.
With a mission to protect people, the planet and products from the harmful effects of industrial processes, Nederman MikroPul contributes to efficient production, environmental benefits and a safer workplace.
MikroPul is the inventor of the famous pulse jet dust collector, which keeps mine sites safe from harmful dust, smoke and fumes that are an unavoidable element of an industrial environment.
Dust collectors have been used in some form or another for well over 100 years, initially to address concerns over the effects exposure to certain dusts had on workers in heavy process industries, including mining, manufacturing and welding.
Effective dust management on-site is required as concern over how these dusts are affecting workers remains.
“A lot of these dusts can be toxic – think of coal dust as one example of where you are breathing in a lot of that, and it can have detrimental effects,” Nederman MikroPul aftermarket manager Dennis Kovacevic says.
Implementing the correct dust management systems is crucial, and Nederman MikroPul is at the forefront of assisting mining companies to understand the right system for them.
“What we do is we come in and review the processes for collecting dust and fumes, and we look at ways we can extract it from areas to keep staff safe through filtering it out and disposing of the material in a safe way,” Kovacevic says.
Nederman MikroPul dust collectors are used in many different mining operations across the world, with Rio Tinto utilising dozens in its operations alone.
Over the lifetime of the dust collector, its capacity stretches with new features and capabilities added, and if it’s not engineered correctly this can result in a loss of suction in existing areas, exposing employees and the environment to the adverse effects of the dust.
“The immediate impact is obviously people inhaling and breathing it in, but secondary to that is it getting into the air and then doing untold damage and reducing the air quality in general,” Kovacevic says.
Regular maintenance on a dust collection system is fundamental in ensuring that it is operating as intended and keeping the work areas clear of dust.
Ad hoc maintenance is the bare minimum that is required and is usually triggered by the underperformance of the dust collection system.
The trigger point prompts the company to seek advice on repairs, which could be a noticeable loss of suction or an obvious dust coating on the floor and equipment.
However, for it to become noticeable in this way, the dust collector has most likely been underperforming for some time, and exposure to the dust could have been there for weeks or months before someone noticed the issue.
Gauging the benefits of a proper maintenance program is difficult for some businesses, as there is often the assumption that if the collector is operating, there is not a problem, however, if it stops due to a mechanical failure, production then stops, and then that piece of equipment is costing money until it can be repaired.
A proper maintenance program is designed to avoid unplanned stoppages by finding and repairing any faults before they break down.
Nederman MikroPul customers in the mining sector are often on ongoing scheduled preventative maintenance programs, meaning MikroPul conducts regular inspections and assessments of the equipment and parts, to ensure it doesn’t have any unplanned, costly downtime.
‘Clean Air as a Service’ is a program where MikroPul takes on the responsibility for the dust collector infrastructure and set out a clear maintenance program over three or five years at a fixed cost.
This covers all parts and labour and gives the clients access to expert technicians who regularly attend the site, check over the condition of the equipment and change anything that could fail unexpectedly.
“We work with mines to say, ‘we’ll take responsibility for making sure that your dust collector or your equipment is maintained as it should and to suit your requirements’,” Kovacevic tells Safe to Work.
“It obviously depends on usage, so if a mine runs for eight hours a day, five days a week, it’s going to be a different maintenance program to a mine that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
This then ties in with its next level of maintenance support, the remote monitoring system MikroPul-Assist, which gives real-time feedback to a computer or mobile device on the performance of the dust collector and flags issues that may need attention before a catastrophic failure can occur.
“What it does is; report that there’s an issue and you need to get out and fix it because it’s not operating as it should be,” Kovacevic adds.
“It’ll flag a number of issues that are going to have an impact on what the collector is supposed to do, and it can actually get maintenance teams out there before it becomes a major issue and start to repair things.”
The benefit of bringing in external contractors to conduct maintenance activities on dust collection equipment is often overlooked as the mining companies already have general maintenance staff on-site, however, only years of experience working on this type of equipment can help identify seemingly minor issues.
This marriage of remote monitoring and external expertise makes everybody better informed.
Mine sites are notoriously hard on equipment. However, with maintenance, you can extend the life of a lot of parts longer than it would be possible without it.
Nederman MikroPul is an industry professional that helps its customers gain the benefit of working with air quality professionals who understand the process and can help a mine site be as safe as it possibly can be.
This feature appeared in the January issue of Safe to Work.