1. Marketing will be dealt in later blogs.

2. To day we will discuss about Site Selection and Layout Considerations

SITE LOCATION & LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS

E    Every engineer shall be given an exposure for selection of site for any new venture whether small, medium or large industry. If due attention is not paid for this, it may have serious techno economic, commercial, social and environmental considerations after the investment is made and the factory/shop/industry is set up. 

      Site Selection & Layout Considerations

Site Selection

Following aspects shall be studied and looked into before any site is chosen.

1.      Location proximity to Raw Materials & Market. Optimization?  Minimization of Total “t-km” route length and cost. (Operation Research Tools, Linear programming, Simplex method, Charts, Statistical methods)

2.      Proximity to Rail connection, railway station for receipt and dispatch of the raw materials/semi-finished and finished products. Also, it is necessary for export and import of goods for transportation to and from nearest Sea Ports.

3.      Road Connection: Proximity to all weather road, State and National Highways for easy access to nearest market/warehouse/ distribution center as well as transportation and receipt of raw materials and finished products. The overall objective is to minimize transportation cost (Both inward & outward Combined)

4.      Proximity to Sea Port. This plays a crucial role in economics of site selection where large amount of raw materials (Like Coking Coal, Thermal Coal, Various types of Ores for ferrous and nonferrous industries,  Pellets, Steel Products, Pig Iron, Non Ferrous Products, Chemicals, Bulk Products like Sugar, Fertilizers, Salts, Refractories Bricks and mortar, Ceramics, Timber & Timber products, Crude Oil, Petroleum Products etc.

5.      Proximity to Airport -This is to be considered for those units needing receipt and dispatch of goods by air.

6.      Water. Proximity to all weather availability of water required for the operation of the industry to be set up. The quality of water also plays a pivotal role. The idea is to locate the industry at a place where required quantity and quality of water is available at the cheapest cost and also it shall ensure meeting future requirements for expansion. This may call for tie up with local/State Government for supply of water continuously for a long period with fixed tariffs. Further the cost of for bringing the water to the plant from the nearest water source by installation of pump house and pipelines to be considered.

7.      Power Requirement is another area which plays a very crucial role in setting up any industry. Uninterrupted Power shall be available throughout the year. The site shall be selected near to the source of required HT or LT Power in required MW/kW and in desired voltage. The cost of drawing/tapping power from the nearest tower/sub Station shall be minimal.  This may call for tie up with local/State Electricity Board for supply of industrial power continuously for a long period with fixed tariffs.

 

8.      Skilled Manpower: Checking of easier availability of skilled manpower in and around the  site is essential for ease of operation of the industry as well as minimizing the cost of hiring as lot of unnecessary expenditure may have to be incurred on training, housing, transport, leave  and high turnover in case of outside manpower.

9.      Metrological data (earth quake, Wind, rain, Temp. humidity, corrosive atmosphere). It is essential to study metrological data thoroughly before locating a plant. The site shall be checked for severity of earth quack (Earth Quake Zone Classification as per IS). Severity of wind, magnitude of rain fall, humidity, high or low temperature  conditions effect the location of plant/industry and a wrong location may result in either higher investment, damage to the plant due to earth quake, hurricane, damage to the product due to high humidity, damage to the plant equipment due to corrosive atmosphere prevailing near sea.

10.  Soil Condition- This is another vital area to be looked before locating a plant. It is necessary to check the soil data by undertaking soil investigations of the site to understand the strata of soil viz. Black cotton, Hard strata, murum, rock etc. as the Civil engineering cost will depend on it. Deep Excavation, driving piles, pile foundation, higher depth of foundation may result in increased cost compared to another nearby site where soil conditions are better.

 

Layout Considerations

 

After the selection of site is finalized, finalization of the layout of plant is an important area which an engineer/entrepreneur shall have to pay attention. Layout shall be planned on basic fundamental considerations which every engineer shall be aware of. If proper or optimum layout is not made, it may result in higher capital cost, higher handling and operating cost. 

Considering the actual availability of land following factors shall be considered for the preparation of layout of the plant.

  1.      The layout must ensure Rational flow of materials. For this many one of the types of layouts can be considered depending upon shape area and topography of the site.  The types of layout can be chosen from following.

Horse Shoe U Type- Best suited for raw mats coming in from one side and finished products from other side of the same road.

Straight Type-Suited for linear land where raw martials enter from one end and finished products get out from other end in straight line)

L shaped Type- Materials come and go in L shaped manner due to two perpendicular road configuration and shape of land.

Parallel/Parallel Type- This is adopted mostly in square size of plot.

Parallel Perpendicular Type -Best suited for multi operations and rectangular plot size and site topography.

Oblique angle, Saw Tooth type layouts- These are adopted for irregular plot sizes.

2.      Provision for future expansion must be kept in finalization of layout.

3.      Shortest possible communication network.

4.      Predominant wind direction. It is important to know the Windward and Leeward direction of the wind mostly prevailing at site during the year. This is an important aspect as the units emitting chimney gases/smokes shall be located towards windward side so that the harmful gases do not travel towards residential area, township, administrative offices during predominant wind directions during the year.

5.      Existing road around the plot & exit & entry gates. Planning of exit and entry gates are an important consideration which is often overlooked. It is essential that separate gates must be planned for entry of Raw Materials and exit of finished products for smooth flow of transport vehicles. Separate weigh bridges can be planned accordingly. It is also necessary to plan separate entry and exit gates for movement of workers and staff in case large manpower is deployed to ensure uninterrupted flow and security.

6.      Existing Terrain and slope shall be carefully considered and every endeavor shall be made to avoid large scale cutting and filling of soil. It is not necessary to have a common Ground/Finished Floor Lever for all the units of the plant. Different Ground Floor levels can be planned for different units to minimize cutting and filling.

7.      Roads & drainage system inside the plant. Nearest nullah for disposal of drainage.

8.      Soil conditions- Heavy foundation can be planned in the area having hard soil and light foundation can be planned in loose soil area of the site to minimize cost and time.

9.      Direction of possible railway link, railway yard shall be considered for receipt and dispatch of goods.

10.   Landscaping & Green Belt-This is another area needing great attention. The layout shall be planned in such a way that at least one third of the area of the plant shall be left free for plantation and green belt as per statutory requirements.

11.  Water Reservoir, Rain Harvesting. It is essential now-a-days to plan rain harvesting and storage of water in the plant for conservation of water.

12.  Switch Yard- It shall be planned near to the external HT tower so that no HT lines pass over the plant area.

13.  Vaastu Requirements – These days some entrepreneur prefer layout to be made as per Vaastu. Hence it would be advisable for engineers to understand Vaastu requirements so far, they are applicable for layout planning.

14.  Space for Construction, Fabrication, Steel storage & Pre assembly yard

15.  BIS:8091 Code of Safe Practice for Industrial Plant Layout shall be referred while planning the layout

16.  Segregation –Explosives/hazardous to be isolated. It is essential to plan separate area for storage of explosive and hazardous solids/liquid/gases away from main units, office, buildings as safety measure.

17.  Minimum Over head & Ground Clearances: This is often missed while planning the layout. Statutory requirements stipulate minimum overhead clearances for any overhead structures like conveyor and cable galleries, pipe lines, flyover etc. for passing of Road, Railway Lines inside the plant. These shall be strictly followed.

18.  Seismic design of buildings shall be considered if the plant is located in such zones.

19.  Environmental factors. Environment clearance shall be obtained from local/State/Central Govt as per the requirements and type of industry. Other factors to be considered are Socio-Political, Labour unrest, extortion etc.

20.  Miscellaneous Facilities such as fire station, fire water pump house, fire water tanks, fire fighting network, security office, medical post, parking facilities, welfare facilities like Canteens, rest rooms, recreation rooms, crèche shall be planned

2.      Technological Considerations

Selection of technology plays crucial role for setting up of any venture/plant/industry as there may be many available technologies, processes, methods to produce the desired end products. It is imperative for an engineer to study and work out a most cost effective, technical and viable solution which results in lowest procurement cost, optimum capital and operating cost as well as to achieve the required quality and quantity of end products with the locally available raw materials and skilled manpower.

For example, sponge iron can be produced by Coal Based or Gas Based DRI Plants.

Iron ore pellets can be produced by either Straight Grate technology (Lurgi) or Grate Kiln Technology (Mainly Chinese). Further it may adopt dry or wet grinding of iron ore fines.

Coking coal can be produced either by Recovery Type Coke Ovens or Non-Recovery Type Coke Ovens. Again, there may be variety of Non-Recovery Coke Ovens using various types of bricks (Silica, High Alumina), stamping and blending of coals, vertical or horizontal charging, 4 or 6 linked flue channels etc. Further there can be dry or wet quenching of coke.

Sinter can be produced by straight line or circular grate, annular or circular cooler, use of BF Gas, producer Gas, Pulverized coal, LD/HD/furnace oil.

Steel can be produced by adopting Blast Furnace-BOF Route or DRI -EAF (Solid Charge) route or DRI BF EAF (With hot charging of metal with DRI) or using Corex route.

Steel can be produced in EAF, BOF, EOF or Induction Furnace.

            Refining Technologies can be LRF, VD, VAD, Desulphurization, De-Phosphurization

            Rolling Mills can be Hot & Cold. Flat and Non-Flat types.

            Coating of Sheets can be Galvanized, Color Coating or some other coating.

Buildings, Junction Houses, Conveyor Galleries, Bunkers may be constructed out of 100 % structural Steel, 100 % RCC or mix of RCC and Steel.

Various types of technologies are available in the market from China, Russia, Europe, Japan, US, South Korea for the same type of end product.

Charge of Blast Furnace may consist of Iron Ore, Sinter, Pellet, CDI, Oxygen Enrichment in various proportions.

There may be different methods adopted for beneficiation of ores.

Though their may be many technologies, manufacturing process and methods for production of the same end product, but on close scrutiny and by applying basic technical knowledge it can be discovered that not all alternative technologies/methods are suitable for the intended product. Some technologies are not suited for the given capacity planned, some not suitable for the quality of raw materials being used, some not suited for the type of fuel locally available, some not suited due to land size and shape, some not suiting for the higher specific consumption of raw materials, energy, water, fuel, power etc. Some technologies are suitable for a particular raw material or standalone plant

For example, Blast Furnace-BOF route of steel making is generally chosen for annual capacities range of 1.5 Million Tonnes and above.  DRI -BF- EAF is chosen for mid-range capacities from 0.5 MT to 1.5 MT. Whereas DRI-EAF or DRI-IF route is chosen for capacities below 0.5 MT.

Similarly, Recovery Type Coke oven plant is chosen for an integrated steel plant where the bye product coke oven gas can be utilized for reheating of furnace. Non-Recovery Coke Ovens are chosen for stand alone plant for production of coking coal for sale or for smaller plant not needing bye product plant or for minimizing pollution abetment cost. The bye product in this plant is waste heat power which can either be utilized in house or can be sold.

Straight Grate Technology for pellet plant is most suited for Indian conditions as the predominant quality of iron ore is of Hematite whereas Grate Kiln Technology is more suited for Magnetite iron ore mostly found in China.

Similarly, wet grinding of iron ore is suited where input raw materials is in slurry form or where water is easily available. Else dry grinding is adopted though power consumption per t of grinding may be higher.

In some cases, not all the units are installed initially. In some cases, units are installed for production of semi-finished products (For example Pig Iron) and later steel making and rolling mills can be added (Forward integration). In other cases, backward integration can be adopted by installing Rolling Mills first and then install hot metal and steel making facilities later. Technology selection is chosen accordingly.

Technology selection for standalone plant and integrated plant will be different. For example, for production of Ductile Iron Pipe in stand Alone Plant, Ductile iron is made from 100 % of the solid charge consisting of recycled iron scrap, iron castings and Pig Iron. The solid charge is melted in conventional Cupola using low ash coke (LAM coke) to make the hot metal. The liquid hot metal is then transferred to induction furnaces of duplexing.

In an integrated plant  DI Pipe plant is part of Iron Making Complex consisting of Coke Oven (Non Recovery or Recovery), Sinter Plant, Mini  Blast Furnace along with all the auxiliary & associated facilities the hot metal produced from Blast Furnace is transferred to DI plant and after desulphurization/dephosphurization, and kept in dual track holding furnace for further processing.

SELECTION OF PROCESS ROUTE

The selection of process route depends on the following factors:

                Technology selection shall be made considering following main parameters

Ø  Grade and quality of finished product desired. For example, there are two grades of pellets, namely BF grade and DR Grade. As per IS: 11092-2001 (2nd revision), DR grade pellets require superior pellet specifications with plus 66.5% Fe- content to ensure adequate solid-state metallization with minimum gangue. Hence, beneficiation of iron ore fines is mandatory to bring down the total Al2O3, SiO2 content. BF grade pellets have less stringent a specification as compared to that for DR grade pellets

Ø  Higher Productivity

Ø  Process Control & Equipment Design

Ø  Desired Mechanical, Chemical, Metallurgical properties

Ø  Flexible to suit change of fluctuations in input raw materials quality

Ø  Selection of single machine/unit carrying multiple operations. For example, Drying, preheating, induration & cooling process are done in single unit in case of Travelling Grate Technology and are done separately in three units (Pre heater, Kiln and Cooler) in grate kiln technology for production of iron pellets.

Ø  Economics of scale of Production

Ø  Better yield of product

Ø  Less Downtime resulting in higher annual working hours

Ø  Capital Cost

Ø  Production Cost

Ø  Minimum Specific consumption of Raw Materials, Water, Energy, Fuel, Power, auxiliary facilities,

Ø  Minimum Generation of waste materials. If generated it shall be able to recycle.

Ø  Minimum Air Water and Noise Pollution and its Control.

Ø  Zero discharge Technology.

Ø  Well established Commercially Proven Technology.

Ø  Minimum Space requirement

Ø  Gestation Period

 

Selection of Know how supplier

Following steps are generally followed for selection of know how supplier

·       Selection of product mix, capacity and quality of product

·      Preparation of brief technical specifications of various packages for global tender enquiry for optimum performance and selection of cost-effective supplier

·        Evaluation of technical bids of various foreign/Indian suppliers

·        Selection of Competent & cost-effective Know-how suppliers

·        To check completeness of drawings & documents supplied by Know-how suppliers

·    To take care of Indian statutory norms/standards/steel sections/soil & wind conditions while finalizing the contract with foreign know how suppliers

·         Draft finalization of contracts with selected Know-how supplier.