In light of the current challenges in production, labor collectives are actively seeking ways to optimize resources and reduce costs. This effort is notably apparent in cold-rolling shop No.3, where comprehensive programs focused on resource economy are under development.
The current situation makes all the labour collectives search for additional reserves to reduce the expenditures on production. In all the subdivisions of Zaporizhstal programmes on economy of all types of resources are being worked out. Such a programme exists in cold-rolling shop No.3.
Irrespective of a significant reduction of orders, the rollers are trying to maintain tight contacts with the main consumers of their production, such as ZAZ, Kramatorsk Wheel Factory, Novokramatorskiy Metallurgical Plant, “Simferopolselmash”, and Kryukov Wagon Building Plant. These plants purchase the most profitable products for the shop and works, including pickled, hot-rolled, and cold-rolled sheet. The rollers are striving to fulfill all the requirements of the consumers.
That is why, when requests were received to indicate in the shipment documents the number of sheets in packs, a special method was worked out in the shop. Additionally, obligations were taken to increase the share of metal to be sorted out and to control more carefully all the parameters of the sheets and surfaces.
Questions regarding the quality of the products and source saving are continuously being discussed at production meetings held by the superintendent of the shop. Thus, a decision was made to engage the shop workers in the repair and maintenance of the equipment. In this way, it was decided to decline the services of subcontracting organizations and reduce the services provided by other shops.
To save natural gas, it has been planned to replace injection burners with two-way burners, which will allow for a reduction in gas consumption of almost 1 million m³. In the future, to cut expenditures on energy resources, it is planned to transfer the heat-treatment furnaces to electric energy heating instead of more expensive natural gas.
The differential tariff on electric energy is fully utilized in the shop; the main shop equipment, particularly mill '2800', will be operated during the evening and night shifts. The introduction of such an optimal schedule will enable monthly savings in electric energy of about 30,000 UAH.
The preparation of the thermal annealing complex for capital repair is being carried out using the shop’s own resources. Here, the annealers clean the foundations and the main tunnels from deposits and slim themselves.
For a more rational usage of waste refractories, they are thoroughly sorted out during the lining of the heat treatment furnaces.
Presumable economy from reusing such bricks amounts to 1,300 UAH per month.
As part of the program on saving energy resources in cold-rolling shop No.3, the development and introduction of an installation for program regulation of annealing solution temperature have been planned. This also includes the operating regimes of administrative building water heaters, which will eventually allow for a reduction in the consumption of heat power by 800 gigacalories per year.
The drive control diagrams of shearing line No.1 and shearing line No.2 will be changed, along with the electric energy regime of the department of polished plates and strips. These measures will lead to the reduction of electric energy consumption by 250,000 KW per year.
The shop specialists understand that only by mobilizing their forces can the set tasks be achieved. That is why they continue working towards the improvement of productive-economic factors.