Bagging more uptime
November 1st 2008 At Tarmac Trupak's
production facility at
Rochester in Kent, the
company's main sand
bagging machine
processes around 1000
bags every hour, so any
downtime is costly.
The abrasive nature of
the product, and the fact
that sand being processed
is often wet, was causing
damage to the bearings on
the sand bagging machine.
These needed replacing
every five to six weeks, with
downtime of two to three
hours on each occasion.
The company was therefore
seeking bearings which
could more successfully
withstand the harsh
environment, providing a
longer service life and
increased production
uptime.
Regional maintenance
supervisor, Kevin Taylor,
spoke to his local Brammer
branch in Maidstone from
which the Rochester plant
has sourced all of its
maintenance, repair and
overhaul equipment for the
last three years.
Brammer recommended
replacement of the bearings
with solid oil versions which
are said to be less
susceptible to the ingress of
sand and water. The impact
on production uptime was
immediate – with bearings
lasting a minimum of two to
three months before
needing replacement – and
in some cases as long as
five months. This has
resulted in reduced machine
downtime, and allowed the
company to maintain
production levels, confident
that targets can be met.
Brammer provides same
or next day delivery and the
technical expertise to keep
production running
smoothly. More articles from BSL Brammer UK Ltd: | 
