No personnel in hazard zones

Abstract

The inherent risk associated with direct chill casting is well known in the Aluminium business. During the last decades numerous innovations have been made to limit and control this risk and avoid injuries and damages to equipment. Anti-explosion coatings are now industry standard, and many design and process standards are widely accepted and used. Automation of many of the manual tasks is now common in the industry. However, some manual tasks in hazard zones are still common. This includes preparation of casts, taking samples for chemical analysis and inspect starter blocks prior to casting and ingots during casting. Hycast and Hydro are now starting to utilize new digital technology to eliminate unwanted manual tasks. This paper describes some of the new technologies Hycast and Hydro are developing to achieve our goal “no personnel in hazard zones” and some results and experiences from these technologies.