The cement industry plays a vital role in the global economy. It provides essential building materials for infrastructure, housing, and commercial projects worldwide. According to the Global Cement and Concrete Association, global cement production reached 4.1 billion tons in recent years. Its growth is forecasted to increase by 12-23% by 2050. However, the industry faces significant challenges, including rising energy costs, environmental regulations, and the need to optimize production processes to remain competitive. 

In this context, a leading cement producer sought to address these challenges and improve its cement KPIs by implementing a data historian solution at one of their plants. In addition, the plant’s management team recognized that leveraging data-driven insights was crucial. Moreover, it helps with identifying areas for improvement, making informed decisions, and remaining competitive and sustainable in the growing cement market. 

After evaluating various data historians on the market, the plant chose HanPrism to serve as a central repository for all process data. Additionally, through the implementation of HanPrism, the plant will capture, store, and analyze data from various sources. In other words, it will ultimately enable them to track and optimize their cement KPIs. 

Implementing Cement KPIs 

The implementation began with thoroughly assessing the plant’s data infrastructure and clearly defining the cement KPIs to track. The team identified critical areas such as energy consumption, production efficiency, equipment performance, and environmental emissions as primary focus points for their cement KPIs. 

Cement Parameters

To establish meaningful cement KPIs, the plant first had to define the available parameters that could be measured and collected by the data historian. These parameters serve as the foundation for calculating and tracking the cement KPIs. The team worked closely with process engineers, quality control specialists, and maintenance personnel to identify the key parameters that would provide the most valuable insights into the plant’s performance. 

Some of the parameters identified included:

Cement KPIs

The comprehensive set of cement KPIs defined by the plant, spanning from raw material processing to the final product packaging, enables them to monitor and optimize the performance of each process area. By leveraging the data historian to calculate and track these KPIs in real-time, the plant can quickly identify areas for improvement. In addition, it helps them make data-informed decisions to optimize their operations, ultimately enhancing overall efficiency, sustainability, and profitability. 

Each process area has its own set of critical KPIs that contribute to the overall performance of the cement plant. For instance, in the crusher area, crushing efficiency directly impacts the throughput and quality of raw materials. By monitoring and optimizing this KPI, the plant ensures that the crushing process operates at peak efficiency, reducing waste and minimizing energy consumption per ton of product.

Similarly, the fineness of raw meal (Blaine fineness) is a vital KPI for the raw mill, as it affects the quality and consistency of the raw meal, which is essential for optimal clinker production in the kiln. In addition, maintaining the proper coal/air ratio in the coal mill in the kiln burner is crucial for ensuring efficient fuel combustion, minimizing fuel consumption, and reducing emissions. 

The kiln’s performance is heavily influenced by the clinker burning zone temperature, which directly affects the quality of the clinker produced. Monitoring and maintaining the optimal burning zone temperature ensures the complete formation of clinker phases and helps optimize fuel consumption. Furthermore, in the cooler, the clinker cooling efficiency is a critical KPI that impacts the quality of the final cement product by preventing the formation of undesirable compounds and ensuring the proper crystallization of clinker phases. 

For the cement mill, cement strength is a crucial KPI that directly reflects the quality of the final cement product. In addition, by monitoring and optimizing this KPI, the plant ensures that the cement produced meets the required strength specifications and customer expectations. Finally, in the packing plant, packing efficiency measures the effectiveness of the packing process, and optimizing this KPI helps minimize waste, reduce downtime, and improve overall plant productivity.

Cement Historian Next Steps 

As the cement plant continues to implement and leverage the data historian, it expects to gain more valuable insights into its operations. Moreover, the historian will enable them to track and analyze these KPIs in real-time, identify trends and anomalies, and make data-informed decisions to optimize their processes further. In other words, by continuously monitoring and improving these KPIs, the plant aims to achieve higher levels of operational excellence, reduce costs, improve product quality, and minimize its environmental impact. 

HanPrism: a Data Historian for the Cement Industry 

A data historian is a crucial tool for cement plants looking to monitor and optimize their performance by tracking and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs). HanPrism enables cement plants to make data-informed decisions, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately achieve operational excellence. It does this by providing real-time visibility into the various aspects of the cement production process, from raw material processing to the final product packaging. Additionally, the successful implementation of a data historian and the continuous monitoring and optimization of cement KPIs can lead to significant benefits. In summary, we help increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve product quality, and enhance sustainability, positioning the cement plant for success in an increasingly competitive and environmentally conscious market. 

Reach out to us today to learn more.