Cradle to grave
A high-reach demolition excavator fitted with a
hydraulic shear, working immediately adjacent to an
operational facility.
demolition methods are not always not suited
to the petrochemical industry. “We normally
make use of large excavators with specialised
attachments like shears,” Botes adds. “We
have also developed quite a few specialised
attachments to work in these zero-flame
areas, where we cannot risk any spark or any
emission due to the volatile nature of the
surroundings.”
The company’s fleet includes a selection of
diverse demolition shears and ripping tools of
various sizes and weights for added flexibility
in flammable environments. The demolition
shears, in particular, range from a few hundred
kilograms to more than 12 tonnes, including
the largest version in Africa at present.
Jet
Cold-cutting techniques developed by
South African based Jet Demolition have
introduced a new benchmark for health
and safety in the petrochemical industry,
which represents a highly volatile and
hazardous work environment.
The equipment and methodology
pioneered by Jet Demolition has the
added ‘green’ benefit of limiting incidental
contamination of natural resources,
which is generally unavoidable using
less advanced techniques. This proactive
approach has resulted in the demolition
specialist having completed over 100
projects for a leading local petrochemical
producer, as well as undertaking work
for the bulk of the major players in this
sector, Jet Demolition Project Engineer
Andre Botes reveals.
Apart from oil and gas facilities, Jet
Demolition’s expertise also encompasses
hexane plants, chemical plants, fuel tanks,
and storage facilities. “Petrochemical
demolition forms part of our heavy
industrial demolition portfolio. It is
critical to pay close attention to every
step in the demolition process during
petrochemical work, as we normally work
in close proximity to live operations,
with a high degree of danger due to the
flammability,” says Botes.
The risk of fire means that conventional
Cold-cutting sets new limits
Jet Demolition owns the largest demolition shear
in Africa
Original Equipment Manufacturer Epiroc,
has introduced the fifth generation of Rig
Control System (RCS). RCS 5 is the next
evolutionary step toward fully autonomous
mining.
RCS 5 provides the next step for the
mining industry from the automation
program that brought autonomous drilling
into a sustainable reality. Features such as
Machine-to-Machine Communication,
sharing real time drill plan updates between
drills, Auto Tower Angle and Integrated
Camera View advanced awareness are some
of the early features introduced.
Whether operating from a remote
location or onboard the drill, the new and
improved RCS 5 intuitive main menu
creates a user-friendly experience that
ultimately increases productivity. This new
design allows the operator to focus on the
task at hand and switch seamlessly between
screens in a well-organised and dynamic
environment.
RCS 5 with the new function Drill Plan
Generator (DPG) allows for creating and
editing drill plans onboard the rig or from a
remote location quickly and easily.
The new Drilling Data Screen in RCS5
features real time depth and penetration rate
feedback with histogram for easy in-hole
monitoring.
[38] MINING MIRROR JULY 2019
Epiroc takes evolutionary step
Epiroc RCS5 Autonomous Pit Vipers in the pit.
www.miningmirror.co.za