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Potential Failure Modes of Cement Production Process: A Case Study

Chapter · January 2020

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-0950-6_32

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 Potential Failure Modes of Cement Production
Process: A Case Study

Elita Amrina(&) and Mutty Oktaviani

Department of Industrial Engineering,

Andalas University, Padang 25163, Indonesia
elita@eng.unand.ac.id

Abstract. Cement is one of the strategic commodities that support the infras-
tructure development and the economic growth of a country. This requires the
cement companies to continuously improve the production process to become
more effective and efficient. This paper aims to identify the failure modes of
waste occurred during the cement production process using the Failure Mode
and Effect Analysis (FMEA) method. The action plans are then developed based
on the prioritized failure modes. The failure modes are determined on the three
main machines of cement production process consist of raw mill, kiln, and
cement mill. The results indicated the highest failure mode in the cement pro-
duction process is the low quality of raw materials. It is followed by the high
vibration of cement mill, the kiln is stop, and voltage is not constant. The failure
modes are largely due to the quality of raw material and the production
machinery. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality control of raw
material and the maintenance program. The results are expected to help the
cement companies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the production
process.

Keywords: Cement production
Failure modes
Waste

1 Introduction

The cement industry is one of the oldest manufacturing industries in the world. The
demand for cement has increased rapidly over the last decades and has become the
second substance after the water [1]. It forced the cement companies to increase the
production amount which increases the production activities. The cement companies
must be able to carry out the efficient and effective production process. The increased
efficiency of the production line is widely acknowledged to reduce the downtime and
satisfy the high market demand for products [2].
Based on the preliminary study, it was found that there are some wastes occurred
during the cement production process such as overproduction, transportation, delays,
and inventory. Waste will produce the negative effects on the company such as
increasing the production cost, create the work in process between workstations and
increase the level of redundancy operations [2]. These will cause the company unable
to meet the customer demand [3]. Waste is caused by failures that occur in a process.

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

M. N. Osman Zahid et al. (Eds.): iMEC-APCOMS 2019, LNME, pp. 205–210, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0950-6_32
206 E. Amrina and M. Oktaviani

Therefore, it is needed to identify the failure modes of wastes and develop the action
plans to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the production process.

2 Methodology

This research is conducted in PT X, a cement manufacturing company located in

Padang, Indonesia. The company is established in 1910 and certified by ISO 9001, ISO
14001, Occupational Safety and Health Management System, and Security Manage-
ment System. Currently, the company has a total production capacity of 10.4 million
tons per year. The cement production process has three main machines consist of raw
mill, kiln, and cement mill. In this research, the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
(FMEA) method is applied to assess the failure modes during the cement production
process.
The methodology started with the identification of failure modes in the cement
production process of PT X. The causes and effects are then determined for each of the
failure modes. Eleven managers and staffs from the Department of Production of PT X
are consulted through a questionnaire to determine the failure modes on the three main
machines of cement production process. The causes and the effects of each of the
failure modes are then determined.
The relative risk of failure and its effects are determined by three factors consisting
of severity, occurrence, and detection [4]. The severity is the consequence of the failure
should it occur. The occurrence is the probability of frequency of the failure occurring.
The detection is the probability of the failure being detected before the impact of the
effect is realized. The same experts are consulted to assign the severity, occurrence, and
detection for each of the failure modes in the cement production process of PT X.
A scale ranging from 1 to 10 is used adopted from [4]. The Risk Priority Number
(RPN) is then calculated for each of the failure modes by multiplying the ranking of the
three factors (severity, occurrence, detection) has assigned. The RPN will be used to
rank the need for corrective actions to eliminate or reduce the potential failure modes.

3 Results and Discussions

3.1 Identification of Failure Modes
A total of 32 failure modes are identified from the three main machines of cement
production process in PT X. The causes and effects of the failure modes are then
determined through discussions with the industry experts. The results are shown in
Table 1.

3.2 Evaluating the Risks of Failure Modes

In this stage, the severity (LPZ), the occurrence (LPW), and the detection (LPO) of the
failure modes of cement production process in PT X are assigned. The ranking from the
eleven experts are then averaged and the results are shown in Table 2.
 Potential Failure Modes of Cement Production Process: A Case Study 207

Table 1. The failure modes, effects, and causes.

Failure modes Effects Causes
1. Voltage is not constant Process is stop Problem in GI
2. Drive not ready Process is stop Interlocking of tools
3. Hopper of material is empty or in Decreasing of feeding rate Raw material is difficult
critical condition to get
4. Storage is empty Process is stop Problem of raw material
transport
5. Feeding is stop Feeding is stop Block in chute
6. Maximum vibration of mill Feeding is stop Strange material in mill
7. Low quality of material Decreasing of feeding rate Material is wet
8. Belt conveyor is damaged Maintenance Belt is sway
9. BCR works is not maximal Decreasing of feeding rate Low material on pile
10. Reject bin is full Mill process is stop Delay of cleaning
activity
11. Raw mix stock is minimum Decreasing of feeding rate Raw mill process is stop
12. Fine coal stock is minimum Decreasing of feeding rate Coal mill process is stop
13. Voltage is not constant Process is stop Problem in GI
14. Kiln is stop Decreasing of clinker production Cooler maintenance
15. Feeding number is fluctuative Material is overcook Low quality of material
16. GCT is not well running Hot gas and fine material passing the GCT Pump is Not
chimney Running
17. Coal mill is hang Process is stop Vibration
18. Pressure inlet BHF is increasing Kiln is stop, raw mill is stop Pump is not working
19. Abnormalities of machine sound Checking by staff, process stop Milling process is
hampered
20. Damper mill fan is not open Coal trapped inside the mill Problem in instruments
21. RAL motion detector Process is stop Detecting motion
22. Bus fault Process is stop Problem in instruments
23. Maximum vibration of mill Mill is stop Roller and Table collide
each other
24. Belt conveyor is damaged Feeding is stop Belt is Flaked and
Folded
25. Pull rope/pull cord is not ready Feeding is stop Hit By Material
26. Clinker is out of stock Decreasing of feeding rate, Kiln is Stop
decreasing of production
27. Bucket elevator silo level high Material is not transported Interlocking
alarm
28. Block in air slide Cement accumulated Canvas is shot
29. Hopper of gypsum is empty or in Decreasing of feeding rate Gypsum is wet
critical condition
30. Reject bin is full Mill is stop Delay of cleaning
activity
31. Feeding is not smooth Material is in critical condition Feeder is trip
32. Hydraulic station is not ready Mill is stop Problem in oil
circulation
208 E. Amrina and M. Oktaviani

Table 2. The severity, occurrence, and detection of failure modes.

Failure modes LPZ LPW LPO
1. Voltage is not constant 6.33 2.33 6.83
2. Drive not ready 2.50 4.17 4.50
3. Hopper of material is empty or in critical condition 4.17 6.00 1.67
4. Storage is empty 4.00 2.33 1.50
5. Feeding is stop 2.83 7.83 2.17
6. Maximum vibration of mill 3.33 7.83 5.00
7. Low quality of material 4.67 6.50 4.33
8. Belt conveyor is damaged 3.00 3.17 4.67
9. BCR works is not maximal 2.17 3.00 3.50
10. Reject bin is full 2.33 2.00 1.83
11. Raw mix stock is minimum 5.83 4.17 1.67
12. Fine coal stock is minimum 4.67 2.50 2.00
13. Voltage is not constant 6.17 1.67 8.00
14. Kiln is stop 5.67 3.67 5.50
15. Feeding number is fluctuative 4.50 4.33 2.33
16. GCT is not well running 2.83 2.83 5.33
17. Coal mill is hang 4.00 3.67 5.33
18. Pressure inlet BHF is increasing 3.00 2.83 4.50
19. Abnormalities of machine sound 3.50 3.17 5.17
20. Damper mill fan is not open 3.83 3.33 5.17
21. RAL motion detector 2.83 2.83 3.17
22. Bus fault 3.33 4.50 6.67
23. Maximum vibration of mill 4.00 2.83 5.83
24. Belt conveyor is damaged 3.67 3.17 4.67
25. Pull rope/pull cord is not ready 4.00 2.83 3.17
26. Clinker is out of stock 3.50 1.50 1.50
27. Bucket elevator silo level high alarm 2.00 2.00 3.67
28. Block in air slide 3.33 1.33 3.33
29. Hopper of gypsum is empty or in critical condition 4.33 2.83 1.83
30. Reject bin is full 2.17 2.17 1.83
31. Feeding is not smooth 2.33 2.83 1.83
32. Hydraulic station is not ready 3.17 1.67 3.50

It can be seen that the highest severity ranking is voltage is not constant with a
value of 6.33. The most occurrence failure is feeding is stop with a value of 7.83. In
term of detection, voltage is not constant identified as the most detection failure with a
value of 8.00. The failure of non-constant voltage occurs suddenly and causes the
production process to become disturbed and even stop.
 Potential Failure Modes of Cement Production Process: A Case Study 209

3.3 Calculating the Risk Priority Number

The Risk Priority Number (RPN) is calculated for each of the failure modes of cement
production process in PT X. The results are presented in Fig. 1.

32. Hydraulic station is not ready

31. Feeding is not smooth
30. Reject bin is full
29. Hopper of gypsum is empty or in critical condition
28. Block in air slide
27. Bucket elevator silo level high alarm
26. Clinker is out of stock
25. Pull rope/pull cord is not ready
24. Belt conveyor is damaged
23. Maximum vibration of mill
22. Bus fault
21. RAL motion detector
20. Damper mill fan is not open
19. Abnormalities of machine sound
18. Pressure inlet BHF is increasing
17. Coal mill is hang
16. GCT is not well running
15. Feeding number is fluctuative
14. Kiln is stop
13. Voltage is not constant
12. Fine coal stock is minimum
11. Raw mix stock is minimum
10. Reject bin is full
9. BCR works is not maximal
8. Belt conveyor is damaged
7. Low quality of material
6. Maximum vibration of mill
5. Feeding is stop
4. Storage is empty
3. Hopper of material is empty or in critical condition
2. Drive not ready
1. Voltage is not constant
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00

Fig. 1. The RPN of failure modes.

It is obtained that the highest failure mode is low quality of material with an RPN of
131.44, followed by maximum vibration of mill (130.56), kiln is stop (112.93), and
voltage is not constant (100.98). The low quality of material is mostly caused by the
wet material. It will affect the cement production process, especially in the milling
machine. It also disturbs the material movement on the belt conveyor. In order to
overcome this failure, the company usually uses the rotary dryer to minimize the water
content in the wet material. This will increase the production time and the production
cost. Therefore, it needs high attention from the production manager to conduct a
comprehensive inspection of the material supplied. Besides, the supplier selection and
evaluation need to be improved to provide a good quality of the material. The quality
inspection is important to ensure the conformity of materials with requirements [5].
210 E. Amrina and M. Oktaviani

The failure of maximum vibration in the milling process is might be due to the
physical quality of raw material. It is suggested to check the raw material before
entering the production stage. With regard to the failure of kiln stop, it is recommended
to improve the maintenance program. The performance of machine and equipment is
critical to maintain the production process [6]. Action needed to minimize the failure of
non-constant voltage is by using a stabilizer for the engine so that if a failure occurs, it
will not affect directly to the engines which can stop the process. Although the non-
constant voltage is rare, it can cause a serious effect on the production process.

4 Conclusions

This research has applied the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) method to
identify the failure modes of waste occurred in the cement production process. A total
of 32 failure modes are identified from the three main machines of cement production
process in PT X. The causes and effects of the failure modes are also determined. The
failure modes are then evaluated on the severity, the occurrence, and the detection.
Finally, the Risk Priority Number (RPN) is calculated for each of the failure modes of
cement production process in PT X. It is obtained the highest failure modes are low
quality of material, maximum vibration of mill, kiln is stop, and voltage is not constant.
Then, action plans are developed to improve the quality control of raw material and the
maintenance program. This study hoped can help the cement companies to improve
their production process to be more efficient and effective.

Acknowledgments. The authors would like to thanks to Andalas University, Padang, Indonesia
and Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher
Education, Republic of Indonesia.

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