Quality Improvements

AltaSteel, Canada, is an industry leader in the production of heat-treated rods for use in rod mills by the mining industry. Critical aspects of grinding rods are hardness, which resists wear, and toughness, which prevents premature breakage. To ensure that rods are acceptable they are subjected to ultrasonic inspection prior to shipping. Hardness is measured daily to ensure consistency.

Joseph Henke, metallurgy supervisor, Bar Mill, says, “In early 2008 a sudden increase in ultrasonic rejects was noted, as was an increase in customer reports of broken rods. This resulted in a major review to identify and correct any problems in order to ensure that we shipped only the best quality products to our customers. Through a structured 10 month programme of trials and adjustments, a significant improvement in quality was achieved. The result of these efforts has been a reduction in ultrasonic rejects back to the very low historical levels achieved previously. Coaching of operations’ personnel and on-going process improvements continue, with the goal of maintaining the most reliable heat-treated grinding rods in the world.”

An inspector completing ultrasonic ‘endshots’ of heat-treated grinding rod.