Concrete

A Common Control Platform

Published

3 years ago

April 12, 2023

admin

Combining the old and new production lines on a common FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ Platform at Arghakhanchi Cement, Nepal.

Having experienced the benefits of the latest FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ control software on its newest production line, Arghakhanchi Cement was convinced of the need to upgrade the obsolete and fault-prone software on its existing line 1. With both lines now controlled from a common platform, productivity has increased and knowledge sharing between operators has improved.

AN OBSOLETE CONTROL SYSTEM CAUSES PROBLEMS
Production line 1 at Arghakhanchi Cement in Nepal was experiencing an increasing amount of unplanned downtime, caused by an obsolete control system. It was resulting in a loss of production. But the issue came to a head when production line 2 was commissioned with the latest FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ process control software. process control software. This really highlighted the benefits of a modern state-of-the-art control for achieving reliable productivity.
“When production line 2 was commissioned with ECS/ControlCenter v8, the benefits were evident. With easier fault tracing, advanced trending and reporting features, it is much easier to achieve stable operation, as operators can easily understand and fix potential issues,” explained Krishna Pandey, General Manager – Plant, Arghakhanchi Cement.
The old system was engineered without any standardisation, which meant only specific engineers knew how to troubleshoot and maintain the system.
“A great advantage of ECS/ControlCenter v8 is that everything is based on a standard system, so learning how to operate the system and extract information is simple and intuitive. This applies to everything from troubleshooting to configuring process analytics using trend and reporting tools, and even back-up and restore functions,”said Pandey.
“As a result, operators began to ask for a similar control system to replace the old system on production line 1,” he concluded.

INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING
To upgrade the obsolete control system in as cost-efficient a way as possible, much of the existing hardware, with complete I/Os and panels was retained and re-used. This not only made lasting use of the customer’s previous investment; it also has a sustainability advantage. The amount of waste generated and new
materials used is reduced – a key pillar of the circular economy.
PLCs and communication cards had to be replaced, as did the entire PLC programming code. To do so, FLSmidth employed several proven engineering and processing tools to ensure consistent and uniform structure in the PLC programmes.
For commissioning, FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter v8 includes a device simulation mode that allows the operation of the entire plant to be simulated and tested as per process requirements. This helps to ensure smooth and quick commissioning, allowing any problems to be identified and solved, without impacting the real-world operations of the plant.

NEW AND OLD LINES: A COMMON FLSMIDTH CONTROL PLATFORM
As one example of the benefits of the new system, “all interlocks can be seen and bypassed by every authorised user, directly from the faceplate, most often from the engineering system,” explained Pandey. “It means the new system is very easy to operate and – most importantly – we avoid the plant tripping, as operators can take action very quickly. Before, it was very difficult to know the interlocks and impossible to bypass them from the faceplate, as each bypass required reprogramming of the PLC system,” he added.
The upgrade of production line 1 is another example of the benefits gained by customers using FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter v8. It is also a demonstration of FLSmidth skills and expertise to suggest the optimum upgrade strategy, even for obsolete and third-party supplied PLC hardware.
“From a control and logistics point of view, we wanted to have one central control room for both lines,” said Pandey. “The new system from FLSmidth gives us more flexibility with process control, more powerful control capabilities over both lines and excellent reporting capabilities.”

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Concrete

Ultra Concrete Age

Prof. A. S. Khanna (Retd., IIT Bombay) on how Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) improves strength, durability and lifecycle performance.

Published

1 week ago

April 1, 2026

admin

The need of present time is stronger buildings, industrial or common utility buildings, such as Malls, Railway stations, hospitals, offices, bridges etc. For this, there is need of long durable, tough and stable concrete, which could stand under normal and seismic conditions. Tough railway bridges are required for bullet trains to pass without any damage. Railway tunnels, sea-links, coastal roads, bridges and multistorey buildings, are the need of the hour. The question comes, is the normal cement called OPC is sufficient to take care of such requirements or better combination of cements and sand mixtures is required?

Introduction

A good stable building structure can be made with a good quality of cement+sand+water system. Its quality can be enhanced by keeping the density of admixture higher (varies from 30 in normal buildings to bridges etc to 80). Further enhancement in the properties of various cements admixtures is made by adding several additives which give additional strength, waterproofing, flexibility etc. These are called construction chemicals…

To read the full story Click Here

Concrete

NCB Signs MoU With Cement Manufacturer To Boost Construction Skills

Partnership to deliver nationwide training and certification

Published

1 week ago

March 31, 2026

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The National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading cement manufacturer to strengthen skill development and capacity building in the construction sector. The agreement was formalised at NCB premises in Ballabgarh and was signed by the Director General of NCB, Dr L. P. Singh, and the head of technical services at UltraTech Cement Limited, Er Rahul Goel. The collaboration seeks to bring institutional resources and industry expertise into a structured national training effort.

The partnership will deliver structured training and certification programmes across the country aimed at enhancing the capabilities of civil engineers, ready?mix concrete (RMC) professionals, contractors, construction workers and masons. Programme curricula will cover material quality testing, concrete mix proportioning, durability assessment and sustainable construction practices to support improved construction outcomes. Emphasis is to be placed on standardised assessment and certification to raise practice levels across diverse construction roles.

Practical learning elements will include workshops, site demonstrations, technical seminars and exposure visits to plants and RMC facilities to strengthen applied skills and on?site decision making. The Director General indicated confidence that a large number of professionals and workers would be trained over the next three to five years under the initiative. The partnership is designed to complement flagship government schemes such as the Skill India Mission and to align training outputs with national infrastructure priorities.

By combining the council’s technical mandate with industry experience, the initiative aims to develop a more skilled and quality?conscious workforce capable of meeting rising demand in infrastructure and housing. NCB will continue to coordinate programme delivery and quality assurance while industry partners provide practical exposure and technical inputs. The collaboration is expected to support long?term capacity building and more sustainable construction practices nationwide.

Concrete

JSW Cement Commissions Nagaur Plant, Enters North India

New Rajasthan unit boosts capacity to 24.1 MTPA and expands reach

Published

2 weeks ago

March 30, 2026

admin

JSW Cement has strengthened its national presence by commencing production at its greenfield integrated cement plant in Nagaur, Rajasthan, marking its entry into the north Indian market.

With this commissioning, the company’s installed grinding capacity has increased to 24.1 MTPA, while total clinker capacity, including its joint venture operations, stands at 9.74 MTPA.

The Nagaur facility comprises a 3.30 MTPA clinkerisation unit and a 2.50 MTPA cement grinding unit, with an additional 1.00 MTPA grinding capacity currently under development. Strategically located, the plant is positioned to serve high-growth markets across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the NCR.

The project has been funded through a mix of equity and long-term debt, with Rs 800 crore allocated from IPO proceeds towards part-financing the unit.

Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement, stated that the commissioning marks a key milestone in the company’s ambition to become a pan-India player. He added that the project was completed within 21 months and positions the company to achieve its targeted capacity of 41.85 MTPA by FY29.

Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement, highlighted that the expansion aligns with the company’s strategy to tap into rapidly growing northern markets driven by infrastructure development. He noted that the company remains focused on delivering high-quality, eco-friendly cement solutions while progressing towards its long-term capacity goal of 60 MTPA.

The Nagaur plant has been designed with sustainability features, including co-processing of alternative fuels and a 7 km overland belt conveyor for limestone transport to reduce road emissions. The facility will also incorporate a 16 MW Waste Heat Recovery System to improve energy efficiency and lower its carbon footprint.

JSW Cement, part of the JSW Group, operates across the building materials value chain and currently has eight plants across India, along with a clinker unit in the UAE through its joint venture.