Chemical Engineering Design II Final Project - Optimization of Heavy Oil Stri...
Company Profile 2016
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2. Contents
2........... About Geographe
4........... Reducing Your Total Cost of Ownership
6........... The “EP” Label - Mining Parts with a Difference
8........... Geographe Client Solutions
10......... Customised Solutions
12......... Our Product Range
14......... Kits for Convenience
16......... B2B System Alignment and Online Store
18......... Inhouse Manufacturing Capabilities
20......... Engineering is our Foundation
22......... Gear Manufacture
24......... Gearbox and Fixed Plant Overhauls
26......... Mobile Fleet Repairs and Overhauls
28......... Technical Services and Failure Analysis
30......... From Concept to Reality
32......... Testimonials
3. About Geographe™
Geographe Enterprises is a globally recognised provider of technical and
commercial solutions to mechanical industries. Our vision is to become the
leading supplier of selected replacement parts through consistent application of
quality, performance and customer service.
Founded on over 45 years of hands on experience, Geographe™ provides
customised engineering solutions designed to radically improve
performance, generate significant cost efficiencies, extend the
lifespan of machinery and ensure the safety and reliability of your
fleet.
Key values shared by the company’s employees as they strive
towards continuous improvement are:
• Integrity
• Passion
• Tenacity
• Innovation
• Excellence
• Knowledge
• Adaptability
“Our purpose is to provide engineered solutions
that always exceed expectations”
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4. Reducing Your Total Cost of Ownership
Searching for more ways to improve the bottom line and reduce total cost of
ownership?
Geographe™ can provide cost-effective solutions for fleet maintenance
requirements. A number of successful agreements have been created for global
companies to help reduce their costs, creating a healthier bottom line - both short
and long term.
Corporate agreements can be entered regardless of whether you are
a large buyer of capital. Agreements can be applied to relatively
small fleets as well as large, meaning more clients can enjoy the
benefits of working with Geographe™.
We can fix prices for up to 12 months, hedging your risk against
fluctuations in pricing and ensuring there are no cost ‘surprises’.
Clients can rely on our ability to listen and to draw on excellent parts
knowledge. Based on your mining fleet and KPIs, Geographe™ can offer
stock holdings, service exchanges, product development and grouping of multiple
brands into one agreement, allowing a more cost effective solution tailored to you
and a lower total cost of ownership.
“Corporate agreements can be entered regardless of
whether you are a larger buyer of capital”
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5. The “EP” Label -
Mining Parts with a Difference
Enhanced Performance, or ‘EP’ parts can be viewed as upgrades to standard
parts, established exclusively through customer demand. Since 1968,
Geographe™ have been approached by customers who were frustrated with
original components failing prematurely and the unplanned maintenance that
ensued. With a team of engineers and by applying techniques learnt
through countless hours of trials, Geographe™ addressed these issues
one by one.
A reduced ‘whole of life’ cost of ownership is often cited by clients
as the key benefit of using Enhanced Performance products.
It is not uncommon for ‘EP’ parts to outperform standard
equivalent by over double the life.
To date, over 500 ‘EP’ parts have been developed to suit a
wide range of earthmoving trucks, excavators, loaders as well as
underground drills.
“It is not uncommon for ‘EP’ parts to
outperform their standard equivalent by
over double the life”
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6. Geographe Client Solutions
1 Drive Bogie Upgrades
Stockyards1
Tropical2
Marine3
Oil & Gas4
Defense5
Aero-space6
Alpine Tundra7
Earthmoving8
Surface Mining9
Commercial10
Underground Mining11
Processing Plant12
Products and Services that Saved the Day
geographe.com.au
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Drive Bogie Upgrades
A client’s Iron Ore Stacker Reclaimer Drive Bogies were suffering
extreme premature failure causing significant and consistent downtime.
Investigations carried out by Geographe revealed the use of poorly
designed pins, bushes and gears were the root cause. Upgraded
materials, heat treatment and lubrication were subsequently
implemented, reliability was reinstated and service intervals were
pushed out to 2 years
Mud Excluders Save the Day
Papua New Guinea’s muddy environment caused havoc for the CAT 789
truck fleets for one of Geographe’s clients. Frequent rain would mix with
dirt and turn into a slurry like substance… accumulating between the
wheels of the truck and drive hub then setting hard like concrete.
Frustrations with aggressive maintenance and routine wheel changes
led to the development of Geographe’s “Mud Excluder” wheel guards in
2002. Manufactured from wear resistant steel, they protect the drive
hub, leaving it clean and allowing the inner wheel to be easily removed
without holding up other repairs.
Watertight Sliding Doors Come to the Rescue of Six Crew
In 1989, Geographe’s watertight sliding doors saved a tug boat from
sinking in the Dampier harbour. An incident between the ship “China
Steel Realist” and tug “The Pilbara Saturn” resulted in five deep holes
to be cut in the propeller room of the tug. Geographe’s hydraulically
operated watertight sliding doors were closed and stopped the tug from
sinking. Six crew safely abandoned the tug leaving it able to be towed
for repairs.
$19M of Saved Downtime
Time and money were running out fast for an oil & gas client of
Geographe’s who could no longer continue replacing crankshafts on a
series of refrigeration pumps that kept failing in 1999. Critical to
operations for the extraction of gas, these pumps were failing with each
passing day and Geographe were asked to find a solution. Liaising with
the client’s metallurgist, Geographe made a key material change to the
crankshafts’ bearings with a manufactured turnaround of 8 days. A
savings of approximately $19M of downtime.
Naval Ties
Geographe developed a quick release industrial tow hook for towing
and mooring that has been used in the Australian Navy.
Improved Satellite Accuracy with Mini Gearing
Satellite technology works off the principle of taking geo-stationary
measurements by firing a green laser light to a stationary satellite’s
reflectors and getting a reading. The greater the hits, the more accurate
a reading. In Western Australia’s wheatbelt region at Mingenew, the
geared aiming device responsible for taking measurements was
missing its accuracy with not enough hits on the satellite reflectors.
Geographe were asked to help and re-engineered the device with new
tolerances and no backlash. Reflector hits increased by 20% which
improved readings to a once again satisfactory level.
Track Pins Re-Engineered to Last
Over 15,000ft above sea level, lies Grasberg Mine in the highest mountain
of Indonesia. Partial to icy conditions, the P&H shovels on the mine sites
were prone to pins breaking in their tracks. Geographe were called upon to
re-engineer the pins to stop the catastrophic breakage and optimise
service life. The result? A 500% life expectancy improvement.
Maintenance Grief Eased by Top Hat Bushes
Geographe’s popular “top hat bush” enhanced performance product was
developed in 2011. The company was challenged by customers (who ran
Hitachi Excavator fleets) to design a replacement bush which eliminated
the bolt-on thrust washers in the stick-to-bucket area, as they were often
difficult and time consuming to remove when worn. Through improved
engineering the top hat bushes now outlast the original by 200-300%.
The Oil-Filled Pin Replacement Solution
Used as a replacement for oil-filled bucket pins in CAT loaders, the
Geographe “Solid Pin Kit” was uniquely engineered to eliminate the
problem of seizure which normally creates difficulties in extracting oil filled
pins. Solid Pin Kits have proven to be one of Geographe’s most popular kit
choices and have been progressively produced to suit the 990, 992, 994
series loaders throughout time.
Cost Reduction Plans
Geographe have been asked on numerous occasions to solve cost issues.
Analysis across thousands of catalogued parts can be made leading to
fixed cost reductions in corporate fleets of equipment.
A Safer Design for Rollover Pistons
Mechanical breakdowns can have disastrous safety consequences. This
was one such issue a client of Geographe’s wanted to avoid when they
identified that the rollover piston heads on their Sandvik TB40/60
underground drills were breaking at the weldment point. A lot of demand is
placed on the rollover piston which enables rotation of a 2 Tonne drill
head. Should the weld fail and the shaft section detach, the drilling head is
liable to fall in any direction, potentially causing serious damage and harm.
Geographe developed a safer design incorporating a thread to hold the
piston head on which significantly reduced the risk of detachment
and harm.
Mill Gearbox Reliability Improvement
The mill drive gearboxes working on a gold processing plant in Western
Australia had begun failing between 1000-2000 hours when Geographe
were asked to intervene. The gearbox was twisting under load causing gear
contact to point load. Improvements were made to counteract the design
and space restrictions resulting in improved reliability and distortion
resistance as well as significant increase in uptime. All mill drive gearboxes
on site have now been replaced with the improved Geographe unit.
7. “What used to take a day and a half to replace
tyres now takes 4-6 hours”
Customised Solutions
Geographe™ collaborated with a client to deal with the issue of wheel nut seizures
on their fleet of trucks. Their vehicles operated in a corrosive environment, so
when they came in for a service and would attempt to remove the tyres, the nuts
and the wheel studs would spin, preventing removal. As a consequence, a labour
intensive and time consuming process ensued whereby the entire wheel hub
would need to be removed, laid flat and tyres taken off by thermal cutting
which required a hot work permit - increasing risk of injury.
A fitter on site thought of a solution to use a nut splitter. The design
was sent to us, modelled but needed a re-think. Geographe™ were
asked to adhere to the following unique design specifications:
• Operational in a vertical position
• A unit weight of less than 23kg
• Narrow enough to operate within the restricted confines of the
wheel hub
Geographe™ devised a scissor design whereby the base would sit either
side of the nut and act like a scissor to cut it. 3D modelling and subsequent Finite
Element Analysis proved successful and the drawings and first unit were produced.
Today, when the wheel hubs are removed and laid down, an abbey or hoist can
be used to lower the nut splitter in. What used to take a day and a half to replace
a truck’s tyres now takes our client between 4-6 hours with the Geographe™ nut
splitter design.
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8. Our Product Range
With over 30,000 parts catalogued to fit a diverse range of both earthmoving and
underground machines, Geographe™ can provide what you need for your mining
fleet. Parts are available to suit the following OEMs and more:
• Atlas Copco
• Bucyrus
• Caterpillar
• Gardner Denver
• Hitachi
• Komatsu
• Sandvik/Tamrock
• Terex
Geographe™ also stock traded items including consumables,
many of which are manufactured in Australia. Other consumable
items are procured from a global portfolio of suppliers. Brands include
Nordlock, Schroder, Spiral Guard, Donaldson, Timken, Ryco and NSK.
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9. Kits for Convenience
Time for a parts changeout for a particular area on your machine?
You may find our range of popular kits to suit dozers, excavators, trucks and
drills a hassle-free solution. Each kit created by Geographe™ stocks the
necessary amount of items for a fit-out. Geographe™ have spent time on-site
assessing potential kits with an aim to give you exactly what is required
without waste.
Type of kits available are:
• Custom kits
• EP kits
• 250, 500, 1000 & 2000 hourly maintenance kits
• Filter kits
“If you’re looking to save time and reduce waste,
Geographe™ kits have got you covered”
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10. B2B System Alignment and Online Store
Our aim is to make purchasing simple.
In 2002, Geographe™ implemented SAP allowing our products to be aligned with
clients’ electronic and automated supply chain systems including Ariba.
In 2013, we launched our first online store showcasing over 20,000 products,
designed with the following considerations:
• Functionality - the store enables global purchasing and offers
location-specific stock availability, product comparisons and
online RFQ submissions.
• User Friendly - with navigation that is common sense and a
growing parts image database which make parts identification
even easier.
• Powerful Search Engine - you don’t always need an OEM or
Geographe™ part number at hand to find what you are searching
for. Enter a parts description, machine type or model and the online
store’s search capability will help you locate what you need.
Geographe™ have also implemented CRM platform, Salesforce, with the key
objective to achieve more timely, data-driven responses customer requirements.
We are using this platform to enable continuous improvement in service levels as
we continue to learn about our customer’s businesses and their needs.
“store.geographe.com.au
was designed to be user friendly with a
powerful search capability”
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11. Inhouse Manufacturing Capabilities
Do you require a one-stop shop for your manufacturing needs?
Geographe’s manufacturing base is vertically integrated with a full suite of
capabilities and beyond, beginning with engineering drawings to delivery of the
final product and anything in between. Casting, gear grinding, heat treatment,
machining and more are all achieved in house. Why spend time outsourcing to
many when lead times can be minimised with one?
Our range of capabilities include:
• Welding and fabrication
• EDM wire cutting and coordinate measuring
• Foundry - ferrous, non-ferrous and steel alloys
• Full precision gear cutting and grinding facility
• Industrial manufacturing using precision CNC equipment
• Surface treatments - chrome plating, phosphate coating,
industrial painting
• Heat treatment processes - gas carburising, induction hardening,
quench & tempering and nitro carburising
• Finish surface grinding
Geographe™ is proud to be pushing the frontiers of technical innovation in
industrial production. Our manufacturing hub houses some of Australia’s most
advanced technology with a wide scope of processes which are unrivalled in the
industry.
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12. Engineering is our Foundation
Geographe™ is founded on its engineering expertise. The company’s breadth and
depth of services have spanned over 40 years to include:
• Drafting and Design
• Finite Element Analysis
• Reverse Engineering
• Failure Analysis
• Product analysis
• CAD drafting and design
Not limited to the resource sector, Geographe™ have long
serviced other industries such as construction, aerospace,
marine, transportation, exploration and agriculture. Engineering
projects Geographe™ have collaborated on include Western
Australia’s northwest railways, Australian Navy vessel watertight
sliding doors, marine winches and many more.
The product development team use sophisticated computer aided design
(CAD) services in conjunction with the latest automated systems including
“Solidworks 3D Models”, “Solidworks Simulation”, “Kissoft” and “Geartrax”
packages. This software suite supplies complete and detailed information that
reduces the need for expensive physical prototypes; improves product quality; and
shortens lead times. Using these software applications in conjunction with our
team of engineers, metallurgists and designers, Geographe™ is well equipped to
engineer both custom, new and enhanced products to increase part life.
“With the use of sophisticated CAD software,
Geographe’s product development team is well
equipped to engineer both custom, new and
enhanced products to increase part life”
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14. Gearbox and Fixed Plant Overhauls
Gearboxes used in the mining, exploration and transport industries are often
required to operate in demanding conditions. Geographe™ offers comprehensive
services for the repair and overhaul of problem industrial gearboxes and
transmission systems as well as pumps, conveyors and precision equipment.
Geographe™ draws from forty years of experience with all brands of industrial
gearboxes including:
• Lightnin
• Krupp
• Zollern
• Sew
• Falk
• Bonfiglioli
• Brevini
• Flender
• David Brown
• Hansen
Geographe™ offers a full suite of services to support customers’ maintenance
programs and ensure the highest standards are met in all aspects of
refurbishment. The key to faster turnaround and cost savings is in our ability to
manufacture gears and parts inhouse, cutting down on wait times otherwise
spent on outsourcing.
“Has your industrial gearbox stopped working
or giving consistent output?”
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15. Mobile Fleet Repairs and Overhauls
Geographe™ have the following suite of services for mobile fleet repairs and
overhauls governed by ISO quality standards:
• Strip
• Full NDT crack inspection
• Quote
• Crack repairs / welding
• Repairing bores
• Line boring
• Manufacturing of pins, bushes
• Failure analysis
• Repairs and rebuilds
• Fitting and fit testing
• Full MDR (Manufacturer’s Data Report)
Lead times are significantly reduced due to in-house manufacturing
capabilities.
“The Geographe™ difference lies in a breadth of expertise
and manufacturing resources found in-house. There are
no drawn out lead times in sourcing externally and our
stringent quality standards ensure a consistent result.”
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16. Technical Services and Failure Analysis
Are you tired of your equipment experiencing recurring failures? This is an
opportune time to conduct failure analysis with Geographe™ in order to improve
performance.
Across Australia, customers from a broad spectrum of industries from marine
to mining, have sent failed components to Geographe™ for analysis and to
determine possible solutions. A dedicated metallurgist forms part of our
technical services team who conduct failure analysis.
Reasons for component failure are varied and are not necessarily
caused by defects. However, if any defects are evident, we do
our best to also provide cost-effective solutions. Some of these
solution-engineered parts are then catalogued as a Geographe™
‘EP’ (Enhanced Performance) part.
The Technical Services team specialise in:
• Failure Analysis
• Materials Analysis
• Spectrographic Analysis
• Non Destructive Testing
• Case Depth Determination
• Hardness Measurements
• Finite Element Analysis
• Testing and Performance Analysis
“As engineers at heart, we gladly accept client
challenges that are within our capabilities.”
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17. “Geographe’s brief was to come up with a new
sampling design to manufacture that could be
safely worked in situ”
From Concept to Reality
Do you have an open reliability issue that is currently unresolved for your plant
or equipment? Don’t know where to start?
Geographe’s Technical Services and Project Management teams handle all
types of industrial inquiries whether they be solution-oriented or requests for our
engineering and manufacturing expertise.
This was the case for one of our clients who had concerns with a
materials sampler at their processing plant. The original design
did not isolate the extremely high temperature sample, thereby
exposing it to contamination and leading to inaccurate quality
readings. The possibility of spillage further amplified concerns as
it also became a worrying health hazard.
The brief given to Geographe™ was to come up with a new
design which 1) worked safely in situ with as little disturbance to
operations as possible 2) was capable of isolating the hot sample from
atmospheric contaminants and allow for uniform cooling. In turn, we:
• Assessed original set up and design
• Determined material selection to withstand high temperatures
• Produced concept drawings & trialled a prototype
• Fine tuned, made modifications and re-trialled prototype with accurate results
• Manufactured sampler unit in-house
Installation of the Geographe™ designed sampling unit proved successful in
meeting all criteria including safety standards. 30
18. “Our longevity and survival in this competitive
industry has proven that Geographe™ continue
to provide value for clients and exceed
expectations wherever possible.”
Testimonials
“Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd wish to acknowledge the service and quality of
workmanship presented by Geographe in the manufacture of components for
Leighton plant and machinery. The standard of service provided has ensured an
ongoing relationship.”
K.V Bethell
Manager, Leighton Plant Department
“This is to certify that we have been using a wide range of
Geographe’s parts and services for over 20 years and find the
product to be of high quality and reliable. Of those products, we
have purchased Geographe bogie pins for over 15 years and can
say with confidence that we are satisfied they provide value for
money and the life we require.”
B. Catalano
B&J Catalano
“Alcoa Mining have been closely associated with Geographe for more
than 30 years....Geographe have supplied all pins and bushes for our mining
equipment. These parts have proven to be of equivalent, or better, quality at
substantially reduced costs.The service and professional approach by Geographe
staff has enabled Alcoa to develop a long standing relationship which allows both
organizations to improve their competitiveness.”
J.R.Hawes
Mine Maintenance Supervisor, Huntly Mine
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