Technology

Mechanical Activation of Fly Ash

Published

9 years ago

November 30, 2016

admin

Many scientists and environmentalists have been attracted towards fly ash, though it is not an attractive material. Dr Ajit Kumar Bhonsle, who has long been associated with the construction industry, narrates his experience on improving the performance of fly ash by mechanical means.

Fly ash is a finely divided residue, resulting from the combustion of ground or powdered bituminous coal or sub-bituminous coal (lignite) and is transported by the flue gases of boilers fired by pulverised coal or lignite. It comprises spherical particles, mostly amorphous, in addition to unburnt carbon, crystalline mullite, quartz and hematite. It has cementitious properties which exhibit when mixed with hydrated lime and alkalis. The mineralogical and chemical composition of n??y ash depends on the source of the coal and design engineering of fly ash collection at the power stations.

Fly ash is a very fine powder and tends to travel far in the air. When not properly disposed, it is known to pollute air and water, and causes respiratory problems when inhaled. When it settles on leaves and crops in fields around the power plant, it lowers the yield. The conventional method used to dispose of both fly ash and bottom ash is to convert them into slurry for impounding in ash ponds around the thermal plants. The construction of ash ponds requires vast tracts of land. This depletes land available for agriculture over a period of time. When one ash pond fills up, another has to be built, at high cost and with further loss of agricultural land. Huge quantity of water is required to convert ash into slurry. During rains, numerous salts and metallic content in the slurry can leach down to the groundwater and contaminate it. Of late (early 1970s), due to development of technology, collection of dry fly ash has started.

Fly ash generation in India

75 per cent of installed power generation in India – coal-based
200 million MT of fly ash is generated every year
300-500 million MT coal used every year
Ash generation likely to reach 300+ million MT by 2017-18
Average ash contents up to 35 per cent in Indian coal
Presently as per the figures from the Ministry of Environment & Forest, only 25-35 per cent of ash is being used in fillings, embank-?ments, construction/cement industry, block and tiles, etc.

Several factors have impeded fly ash utilisation in India, while it is being extensively used globally. Coal-based thermal power stations have been operational for more than 50 years, but the concept of developing environment-friendly solutions for fly ash utilisation is only about 15 years old. Overall, fly ash utilisation in India stands at a fairly low level of about 25-35 per cent of the quantity generated. Various possibilities for increasing its use are under research and development (R&D). Among numerous factors that account for the low level of utilisation, the major factors are:

Poor understanding of the chemistry of fly ash and its derivatives for proper end applications
Absence of standards and specifications for fly ash products
Lack of reliable quality assurance for fly ash products
Poor public awareness about the products and their performance
Availability of dry fly ash collection facilities is far off from consumption places.
Easy availability of land with top soil at cheap rates for manufacturing conventional bricks
Lack of proper coordination between thermal plants and ash users.

Mechanical activation of fly ash, an efforts to increase utilisation of fly ash The need of hour is to increase utilisation of fly ash through R&D activities. One such major activity that is being tried is mechanical activation of fly ash, a process that comprises exposing the particles to high energy impacts in order break or crack the particle microstructure to increase the surface area and reactivity of each particle. It is a process not only for achieving finer fly ash (up to 6,000-8,000 Blains), but also help conversion of fly ash particles from spherical shape to crystalline shape, thereby making available larger surface area for pozzolanic reaction. With mechanical activation, even the coarse fly ash and pond fly ash can be converted to finer reactive fly ash. Refer to Table 1 and 2. This would not only double the lime reactivity of normal fly ash, but would also result in giving packing effect to its final product, there by giving the final product increased density and better strength in shorter time (J Temuujin, R P Williams, A Van Riessen).

Low fly ash utilisation – technical facts
In addition to factors discussed above, there are some technical factors also, which hinder the optimum utilisation of fly ash. The prime factors are:
Coarseness: Despite having cementitiouss and pozzolanic properties, consumption of available fly ash has limitation due to its coarseness. Coarse fly ash gives a low compressive strength when used up to 30 per cent of cement replacement.
Spherical shape: Further, the large particle sizes carry the spherical form, which is inactive to pozzolanic reaction.
Inconsistency in particle size distribution (large variation in particle size in coarse fly ash), lower fineness and spherical shape result in limited availability of surface for reactivity.
Spherical particles also contribute to lower density of the mass.
Thus, lower density hinders the development of strength at early stage.
So, how mechanical activation would overcome these limitations: As discussed above, the mechanical activation is a method of obtaining very fine fly ash (up to or +8,000 Blaine). In addition, it also destroys the spherical morphology of raw fly ash and converts fly ash particles from spherical shape to crystalline shape.
Fineness and conversion result in larger surface area availability for lime reactivity, which is vital to any material having cementitious and pozzolanic properties.
Smaller particles fill voids between larger particles, thereby giving the final product increased density and strength.
Crystalline form of the particles itself leaves no room for voids as in the case of spherical particles. This results in reduction of water consumption, which otherwise gets accumulated in the voids.
Lab tests have shown increase in lime reactivity
Improved durability of concrete, even with 50 per cent replacement of OPC
Increase in tensile strength of cement product
Reduction in water consumption

Difference between superfine fly ash (SFAF) and normal fly ash: Finer particle size of SFAF and change in its morphology allow higher dissolution rate of SFAF. Thus, Geo polymer paste made with SFAF when cured at ambient temperature leads to an increase of about 80 per cent in compressive strength when compared with Geo polymer made from normal fly ash.

Some facts
Beside environmental issues discussed above, one of the major elements, which cause global warming, is emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). It is observed that production of one tonne of Portland cement releases an equal amount of CO2 into atmosphere, thus utilisation of fly ash in cement will help to contain CO2 emission. Therefore, use of fly ash will increase the cement production which in turn will slow down the rate of depletion of available natural resources.

An estimate says replacing 15 per cent cement worldwide by fly ash will reduce CO2 emission by 227 million tonne.
The target is replacing 50 per cent of cement worldwide by fly ash will reduce CO2 by 750 million tonne. Refer to Table 3. This may be equal to removing 25 per cent of all automobiles in the world.
Full utilisation of generated fly ash in India will provide employment potential for more than 3,00,000 people. This will generate a business volume of over Rs 4,000 crore.

Materials
I shall now give my experiences on improving the performance of fly ash through mechanical ways. Fly ash used for study purpose is procured from the Gandhinagar Thermal Power Station in Gujarat and Parli Thermal Power Station at Parli Vaijnath in Beed district of Maharashtra. Around 80 tonnes of samples is collected for study assessment.

Method
After mechanical activation, both the samples were analysed for the particle sizes, fineness (blains air permeability) and lime reactivity. The analysis was conducted at National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Standard method of testing were done as per IS 3812- Part 1 and 2 (2003) as Specification for Pulverised Fuel Ash, Part 1: for use as pozzolanic additive in cement, cement mortar and concrete [CED 2: Cement and Concrete] and specification for pulverised fuel ash, Part 2: for use as admixture in cement mortar and concrete [CED 2: Cement and Concrete] and IS 1727 (1967) for methods of test for pozzolanic materials [CED 2: Civil Engineering].

Test results of parameter for fineness, lime reactivity and compressive strength are mentioned in the tables Refer to Table 1 and 2.

Conclusion
Fly Ash is a wonderful material, however need of the hour is to explore its properties scientifically and make use of the same in various spheres.
Mechanically activated fly ash has vast potential to improve upon the utilization of fly ash in no. of fields viz cement, concrete, cement products like paver blocks bricks.
Mechanically activated fine fly ash can also be used in paint industry, cement roof sheeting industry
Consistent quality of activated fly ash can be a good substitute for concrete/cement strength enhancing material viz micro silica alcofine etc.
Activation facility if set up near thermal power plant it would generate employment opportunity to the local labour force.
Activation of fly ash may a good tool to combat the problem of Fly Ash disposal which is likely to increase in the days to come.
Up to 110 per cent of strength activity index can be achieved when normal fly ash is ground to smaller size.
Strength activity index of normal fly ash can be improved by grinding and coarse fly ash is not in crystalline phase.
For a good quality of micro fine fly ash, by classifying or grinding, the important factor is its fineness. Fly ash with finer particle size increases ultimate strength as well as rate of strength gain of fly ash cement mortar.
When keeping the same work-?ability of mortal, the use of finer fly ash demands less water than the use of normal coarse one.

Excerpt from the former President, APJ Abdul Kalam?s address to the nation on the eve of the country?s 56th Republic Day
Conversion of fly ash into wealth generator: Fly ash can become a wealth generator by making use of it for producing ?green building? materials, roads, agriculture etc.
Full utilisation of the generating stock will provide employment potential for three hundred thousand people and result in a business volume of over Rs 4,000 crore.?(ENVIS newsletter vol. 2, no.6 Jan 2007)

The author is an expert with over 35 years of experience working in cement, concrete and allied fields.

Concrete

Redefining Efficiency with Digitalisation

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2026

admin

Professor Procyon Mukherjee discusses how as the cement industry accelerates its shift towards digitalisation, data-driven technologies are becoming the mainstay of sustainability and control across the value chain.

The cement industry, long perceived as traditional and resistant to change, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by digital technologies. As global infrastructure demand grows alongside increasing pressure to decarbonise and improve productivity, cement manufacturers are adopting data-centric tools to enhance performance across the value chain. Nowhere is this shift more impactful than in grinding, which is the energy-intensive final stage of cement production, and in the materials that make grinding more efficient: grinding media and grinding aids.

The imperative for digitalisation
Cement production accounts for roughly 7 per cent to 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions, largely due to the energy intensity of clinker production and grinding processes. Digital solutions, such as AI-driven process controls and digital twins, are helping plants improve stability, cut fuel use and reduce emissions while maintaining consistent product quality. In one deployment alongside ABB’s process controls at a Heidelberg plant in Czechia, AI tools cut fuel use by 4 per cent and emissions by 2 per cent, while also improving operational stability.
Digitalisation in cement manufacturing encompasses a suite of technologies, broadly termed as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AI and machine learning, predictive analytics, cloud-based platforms, advanced process control and digital twins, each playing a role in optimising various stages of production from quarrying to despatch.

Grinding: The crucible of efficiency and cost
Of all the stages in cement production, grinding is among the most energy-intensive, historically consuming large amounts of electricity and representing a significant portion of plant operating costs. As a result, optimising grinding operations has become central to digital transformation strategies.
Modern digital systems are transforming grinding mills from mechanical workhorses into intelligent, interconnected assets. Sensors throughout the mill measure parameters such as mill load, vibration, mill speed, particle size distribution, and power consumption. This real-time data, fed into machine learning and advanced process control (APC) systems, can dynamically adjust operating conditions to maintain optimal throughput and energy usage.
For example, advanced grinding systems now predict inefficient conditions, such as impending mill overload, by continuously analysing acoustic and vibration signatures. The system can then proactively adjust clinker feed rates and grinding media distribution to sustain optimal conditions, reducing energy consumption and improving consistency.

Digital twins: Seeing grinding in the virtual world
One of the most transformative digital tools applied in cement grinding is the digital twin, which a real-time virtual replica of physical equipment and processes. By integrating sensor data and
process models, digital twins enable engineers to simulate process variations and run ‘what-if’
scenarios without disrupting actual production. These simulations support decisions on variables such as grinding media charge, mill speed and classifier settings, allowing optimisation of energy use and product fineness.
Digital twins have been used to optimise kilns and grinding circuits in plants worldwide, reducing unplanned downtime and allowing predictive maintenance to extend the life of expensive grinding assets.

Grinding media and grinding aids in a digital era
While digital technologies improve control and prediction, materials science innovations in grinding media and grinding aids have become equally crucial for achieving performance gains.
Grinding media, which comprise the balls or cylinders inside mills, directly influence the efficiency of clinker comminution. Traditionally composed of high-chrome cast iron or forged steel, grinding media account for nearly a quarter of global grinding media consumption by application, with efficiency improvements translating directly to lower energy intensity.
Recent advancements include ceramic and hybrid media that combine hardness and toughness to reduce wear and energy losses. For example, manufacturers such as Sanxin New Materials in China and Tosoh Corporation in Japan have developed sub-nano and zirconia media with exceptional wear resistance. Other innovations include smart media embedded with sensors to monitor wear, temperature, and impact forces in real time, enabling predictive maintenance and optimal media replacement scheduling. These digitally-enabled media solutions can increase grinding efficiency by as much as 15 per cent.
Complementing grinding media are grinding aids, which are chemical additives that improve mill throughput and reduce energy consumption by altering the surface properties of particles, trapping air, and preventing re-agglomeration. Technology leaders like SIKA AG and GCP Applied Technologies have invested in tailored grinding aids compatible with AI-driven dosing platforms that automatically adjust additive concentrations based on real-time mill conditions. Trials in South America reported throughput improvements nearing 19 per cent when integrating such digital assistive dosing with process control systems.
The integration of grinding media data and digital dosing of grinding aids moves the mill closer to a self-optimising system, where AI not only predicts media wear or energy losses but prescribes optimal interventions through automated dosing and operational adjustments.

Global case studies in digital adoption
Several cement companies around the world exemplify digital transformation in practice.
Heidelberg Materials has deployed digital twin technologies across global plants, achieving up to 15 per cent increases in production efficiency and 20 per cent reductions in energy consumption by leveraging real-time analytics and predictive algorithms.
Holcim’s Siggenthal plant in Switzerland piloted AI controllers that autonomously adjusted kiln operations, boosting throughput while reducing specific energy consumption and emissions.
Cemex, through its AI and predictive maintenance initiatives, improved kiln availability and reduced maintenance costs by predicting failures before they occurred. Global efforts also include AI process optimisation initiatives to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact.

Challenges and the road ahead
Despite these advances, digitalisation in cement grinding faces challenges. Legacy equipment may lack sensor readiness, requiring retrofits and edge-cloud connectivity upgrades. Data governance and integration across plants and systems remains a barrier for many mid-tier producers. Yet, digital transformation statistics show momentum: more than half of cement companies have implemented IoT sensors for equipment monitoring, and digital twin adoption is growing rapidly as part of broader Industry 4.0 strategies.
Furthermore, as digital systems mature, they increasingly support sustainability goals: reduced energy use, optimised media consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. By embedding intelligence into grinding circuits and material inputs like grinding aids, cement manufacturers can strike a balance between efficiency and environmental stewardship.
Conclusion
Digitalisation is not merely an add-on to cement manufacturing. It is reshaping the competitive and sustainability landscape of an industry often perceived as inertia-bound. With grinding representing a nexus of energy intensity and cost, digital technologies from sensor networks and predictive analytics to digital twins offer new levers of control. When paired with innovations in grinding media and grinding aids, particularly those with embedded digital capabilities, plants can achieve unprecedented gains in efficiency, predictability and performance.
For global cement producers aiming to reduce costs and carbon footprints simultaneously, the future belongs to those who harness digital intelligence not just to monitor operations, but to optimise and evolve them continuously.

About the author:
Professor Procyon Mukherjee, ex-CPO Lafarge-Holcim India, ex-President Hindalco, ex-VP Supply Chain Novelis Europe, has been an industry leader in logistics, procurement, operations and supply chain management. His career spans 38 years starting from Philips, Alcan Inc (Indian Aluminum Company), Hindalco, Novelis and Holcim. He authored the book, ‘The Search for Value in Supply Chains’. He serves now as Visiting Professor in SP Jain Global, SIOM and as the Adjunct Professor at SBUP. He advises leading Global Firms including Consulting firms on SCM and Industrial Leadership and is a subject matter expert in aluminum and cement. An Alumnus of IIM Calcutta and Jadavpur University, he has completed the LH Senior Leadership Programme at IVEY Academy at Western University, Canada.

Concrete

Digital Pathways for Sustainable Manufacturing

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2026

admin

Dr Y Chandri Naidu, Chief Technology Officer, Nextcem Consulting highlights how digital technologies are enabling Indian cement plants to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and transition toward sustainable, low-carbon manufacturing.

Cement manufacturing is inherently resource- and energy-intensive due to high-temperature clinkerisation and extensive material handling and grinding operations. In India, where cement demand continues to grow in line with infrastructure development, producers must balance capacity expansion with sustainability commitments. Energy costs constitute a major share of operating expenditure, while process-related carbon dioxide emissions from limestone calcination remain unavoidable.
Traditional optimisation approaches, which are largely dependent on operator experience, static control logic and offline laboratory analysis, have reached their practical limits. This is especially evident when higher levels of alternative fuel and raw materials (AFR) are introduced or when raw material variability increases.
Digital technologies provide a systematic pathway to manage this complexity by enabling
real-time monitoring, predictive optimisation and integrated decision-making across cement manufacturing operations.
Digital cement manufacturing is enabled through a layered architecture integrating operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). At the base are plant instrumentation, analysers, and automation systems, which generate continuous process data. This data is contextualised and analysed using advanced analytics and AI platforms, enabling predictive and prescriptive insights for operators and management.

Digital optimisation of energy efficiency

Thermal energy optimisation
The kiln and calciner system accounts for approximately 60 per cent to 65 per cent of total energy consumption in an integrated cement plant. Digital optimisation focuses on reducing specific thermal energy consumption (STEC) while maintaining clinker quality and operational stability.
Advanced Process Control (APC) stabilises critical parameters such as burning zone temperature, oxygen concentration, kiln feed rate and calciner residence time. By minimising process variability, APC reduces the need for conservative over-firing. Artificial intelligence further enhances optimisation by learning nonlinear relationships between raw mix chemistry, AFR characteristics, flame dynamics and heat consumption.
Digital twins of kiln systems allow engineers to simulate operational scenarios such as increased AFR substitution, altered burner momentum or changes in raw mix burnability without operational risk. Indian cement plants adopting these solutions typically report STEC reductions in the range of 2 per cent to 5 per cent.
Electrical energy optimisation
Electrical energy consumption in cement plants is dominated by grinding systems, fans and material transport equipment. Machine learning–based optimisation continuously adjusts mill parameters such as separator speed, grinding pressure and feed rate to minimise specific power consumption while maintaining product fineness.
Predictive maintenance analytics identify inefficiencies caused by wear, fouling or imbalance in fans and motors. Plants implementing plant-wide electrical energy optimisation typically achieve
3 per cent to 7 per cent reduction in specific power consumption, contributing to both cost savings and indirect CO2 reduction.

Digital enablement of AFR
AFR challenges in the Indian context: Indian cement plants increasingly utilise biomass, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), plastic waste and industrial by-products. However, variability in calorific value, moisture, particle size, chlorine and sulphur content introduces combustion instability, build-up formation and emission risks.
Digital AFR management: Digital platforms integrate real-time AFR quality data from online analysers with historical kiln performance data. Machine learning models predict combustion behaviour, flame stability and emission trends for different AFR combinations. Based on these predictions, fuel feed distribution, primary and secondary air ratios, and burner momentum are dynamically adjusted to ensure stable kiln operation. Digitally enabled AFR management in cement plants will result in increased thermal substitution rates by 5-15 percentage points, reduced fossil fuel dependency, and improved kiln stability.

Digital resource and raw material optimisation
Raw mix control: Raw material variability directly affects kiln operation and clinker quality. AI-driven raw mix optimisation systems continuously adjust feed proportions to maintain target chemical parameters such as Lime Saturation Factor (LSF), Silica Modulus (SM), and Alumina Modulus (AM). This reduces corrective material usage and improves kiln thermal efficiency.
Clinker factor reduction: Reducing clinker factor through supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, slag and calcined clay is a key decarbonisation lever. Digital models simulate blended cement performance, enabling optimisation of SCM proportions while maintaining strength and durability requirements.

Challenges and strategies for digital adoption
Key challenges in Indian cement plants include data quality limitations due to legacy instrumentation, resistance to algorithm-based decision-making, integration complexity across multiple OEM systems, and site-specific variability in raw materials and fuels.
Successful digital transformation requires strengthening the data foundation, prioritising high-impact use cases such as kiln APC and energy optimisation, adopting a human-in-the-loop approach, and deploying modular, scalable digital platforms with cybersecurity by design.

Future Outlook
Future digital cement plants will evolve toward autonomous optimisation, real-time carbon intensity tracking, and integration with emerging decarbonisation technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). Digital platforms will also support ESG reporting and regulatory compliance.
Digital pathways offer a practical and scalable solution for sustainable cement manufacturing in India. By optimising energy consumption, enabling higher AFR substitution and improving resource efficiency, digital technologies deliver measurable environmental and economic benefits. With appropriate data infrastructure, organisational alignment and phased implementation, digital transformation will remain central to the Indian cement industry’s low-carbon transition.

About the author:
Dr Y Chandri Naidu is a cement industry professional with 30+ years of experience in process optimisation, quality control and quality assistance, energy conservation and sustainable manufacturing, across leading organisations including NCB, Ramco, Prism, Ultratech, HIL, NCL and Vedanta. He is known for guiding teams, developing innovative plant solutions and promoting environmentally responsible cement production. He is also passionate about mentoring professionals and advancing durable, resource efficient technologies for future of construction materials.

Concrete

Turning Downtime into Actionable Intelligence

Published

4 days ago

February 19, 2026

admin

Stoppage Insights instantly identifies root causes and maps their full operational impact.

In cement, mining and minerals processing operations, every unplanned stoppage equals lost production and reduced profitability. Yet identifying what caused a stoppage remains frustratingly complex. A single motor failure can trigger cascading interlocks and alarm floods, burying the root cause under layers of secondary events. Operators and maintenance teams waste valuable time tracing event chains when they should be solving problems. Until now.
Our latest innovation to our ECS Process Control Solution(1) eliminates this complexity. Stoppage Insights, available with the combined updates to our ECS/ControlCenter™ (ECS) software and ACESYS programming library, transforms stoppage events into clear, actionable intelligence. The system automatically identifies the root cause of every stoppage – whether triggered by alarms, interlocks, or operator actions – and maps all affected equipment. Operators can click any stopped motor’s faceplate to view what caused the shutdown instantly. The Stoppage UI provides a complete record of all stoppages with drill-down capabilities, replacing manual investigation with immediate answers.

Understanding root cause in Stoppage Insights
In Stoppage Insights, ‘root cause’ refers to the first alarm, interlock, or operator action detected by the control system. While this may not reveal the underlying mechanical, electrical or process failure that a maintenance team may later discover, it provides an actionable starting point for rapid troubleshooting and response. And this is where Stoppage Insights steps ahead of traditional first-out alarm systems (ISA 18.2). In this older type of system, the first alarm is identified in a group. This is useful, but limited, as it doesn’t show the complete cascade of events, distinguish between operator-initiated and alarm-triggered stoppages, or map downstream impacts. In contrast, Stoppage Insights provides complete transparency:

Comprehensive capture: Records both regular operator stops and alarm-triggered shutdowns.
Complete impact visibility: Maps all affected equipment automatically.
Contextual clarity: Eliminates manual tracing through alarm floods, saving critical response time.

David Campain, Global Product Manager for Process Control Systems, says, “Stoppage Insights takes fault analysis to the next level. Operators and maintenance engineers no longer need to trace complex event chains. They see the root cause clearly and can respond quickly.”

Driving results
1.Driving results for operations teams
Stoppage Insights maximises clarity to minimise downtime, enabling operators to:
• Rapidly identify root causes to shorten recovery time.
• View initiating events and all affected units in one intuitive interface.
• Access complete records of both planned and unplanned stoppages

Driving results for maintenance and reliability teams
Stoppage Insights helps prioritise work based on evidence, not guesswork:
• Access structured stoppage data for reliability programmes.
• Replace manual logging with automated, exportable records for CMMS, ERP or MES.(2)
• Identify recurring issues and target preventive maintenance effectively.
A future-proof and cybersecure foundation
Our Stoppage Insights feature is built on the latest (version 9) update to our ACESYS advanced programming library. This industry-leading solution lies at the heart of the ECS process control system. Its structured approach enables fast engineering and consistent control logic across hardware platforms from Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, and others.
In addition to powering Stoppage Insights, ACESYS v9 positions the ECS system for open, interoperable architectures and future-proof automation. The same structured data used by Stoppage Insights supports AI-driven process control, providing the foundation for machine learning models and advanced analytics.
The latest releases also respond to the growing risk of cyberattacks on industrial operational technology (OT) infrastructure, delivering robust cybersecurity. The latest ECS software update (version 9.2) is certified to IEC 62443-4-1 international cybersecurity standards, protecting your process operations and reducing system vulnerability.

What’s available now and what’s coming next?
The ECS/ControlCenter 9.2 and ACESYS 9 updates, featuring Stoppage Insights, are available now for:

Greenfield projects.
ECS system upgrades.
Brownfield replacement of competitor systems.
Stoppage Insights will also soon integrate with our ECS/UptimeGo downtime analysis software. Stoppage records, including root cause identification and affected equipment, will flow seamlessly into UptimeGo for advanced analytics, trending and long-term reliability reporting. This integration creates a complete ecosystem for managing and improving plant uptime.

(1) The ECS Process Control Solution for cement, mining and minerals processing combines proven control strategies with modern automation architecture to optimise plant performance, reduce downtime and support operational excellence.
(2) CMMS refers to computerised maintenance management systems; ERP, to enterprise resource planning; and MES to manufacturing execution systems.