Severstal Implements Program for Upgrading CherMK's Infrastructure Facilities
Severstal Russian Steel division’s Cherepovets Steel Mill in 2019 launched a large-scale program for upgrading infrastructure facilities. At the moment, it is formed until 2029. Vadim Germanov, director general of the Severstal Russian Steel division, said “Possible malfunctions of infrastructure facilities carry risks of plant shutdowns, undermine the reliability of our enterprise as a whole and, of course, can become a source of danger for our staff. We did not find any analogs of such a program at other enterprises, so we developed our own strategy. To compile a list of investment projects and group them into target blocks, we have already assessed the condition of more than 15,000 infrastructure facilities, and this work will continue. In total, 29 programs are planned to be implemented, and we intend to allocate about 7 billion rubles annually for this purpose.”
The main areas of work were the replacement of lifting mechanisms, energy and electrical equipment, automotive and railway equipment, automation and communication systems, machine tool fleet.
For example, in 2019, there are 16 projects with a total cost of more than 2 billion rubles, and in the next 5 years - until 2024 - the company expects to replace about 42 more units. At the same time, most of the equipment will be manufactured by the Machine-Building Center SSM-Tyazhmash (part of the Severstal Russian Steel division).
A video surveillance program is also continuing at the Cherepovets site of Severstal. This year it is planned to install 600 cameras, next year another 1,300. Video surveillance is necessary to monitor the operation of the equipment and its maintenance. The data from the cameras are transmitted to the equipment condition monitoring service, where on-line specialists monitor its operation and report on the risks of shutdowns or technological incidents. In addition, on the already installed cameras, we are implementing projects on technical vision.
Another direction was the renewal of the special equipment park, in particular, the rolling stock for the transportation of products. New gondola cars, platform cars, dump cars and locomotives themselves will be purchased. For example, in 2019 Severstal plans to buy 6 locomotives, more than 300 million rubles will be allocated for this. In total, over the next 10 years, the company will upgrade 75 cars.
Source : Strategic Research Institute