Industrial Cleaning – Recovery, Recycling, Housekeeping

While a coke processing factory would be more concerned with the recovery of valuable raw material at the source of spillage, a pharma or food processing unit would focus on cleaning in place or process fundamentals besides hygiene.

A cement manufacturing unit, for example, said Amrut Bhadale, National Sales Manager, Forbes Pro Cleaning Technology Solutions, a part of Eureka Forbes Limited, always gets flooded with cement. “In a cement unit, there is a lot of cement dust all over the place. Centralised vacuum systems connected by collection hose fixed at strategic points, enables recovery of cement fallen around.”

Several industries even today engage excessive manpower to collect spilt raw material scattered on the shop floor. As against mechanised industrial cleaning, the extent of time required for recovery and the quantity recovered by engaging manual labour is detrimental to any enterprise.

Applications of industrial cleaning differ from industry to industry. Within the pharma industry again, requirement for cleaning differs with different products. A toothpaste manufacturing unit would require high power suction system to suck out the trimmings, dropping after the paste tube gets cut during the production process.

In a typical automobile factory, the need for cleaning arises with the formation of bacteria in the sump containing oil and coolant. Metal chips dropping into the oil during the production process contaminate the oil and coolant, leading to foul smell.

“A suction-cum-blowing machine installed for sump cleaning in various automobile units has helped to a great extent,” said Ajeet Lalwani, Business Head, Del Star Pvt. Ltd. “Around 200-400 litres of oil and coolant in the normal process will have to be discarded in a week’s time due to contamination. The suction-blowing system sucks the entire liquid from the container attached to the production machine, filters the oil and coolant and sprays it back into the sump. This process that takes around 20 minutes, prolongs the life of the oil and coolant to over 15 days,” he added.

Suction-cum-blowing system implemented in engineering and automobile industries is cost-effective and time-saving as it reduces the frequency of oil replacement.

Thus, various industrial cleaning systems are being implemented to recover spillage of expensive raw material and recycle it back into the production system without stoppage of work. Apart from the common systems adopted in various industries, Forbes Pro Cleaning Technology Solutions has introduced certain specific and customised industrial cleaning systems in some of the leading industries which are explained below:

Hydro-jetting System

The hydro jetting system is the surface penetration of steel using high-energy water to remove coatings, corrosion products and other surface contaminants such as oil or grease. It relies totally on the energy of water striking the surface to achieve its cleaning effect. At present, there is a wide and liberal usage of process terminology throughout the marine industry – ship owners, ship repairers, contractors and paint manufacturers – which is confusing and in some instances costly.

Be it automobiles, ship repairs or buildings in the marine industry or oil rigs, contractors are engaged to maintain the structure through regular repairs and repainting. Paint residue in automobile industries or salt scales or rust on the walls of the ship cannot be scraped out. The sediments over a period of time solidify and cannot be removed easily.

Before these structures are taken up for painting, the surface has to be cleaned properly. Sand blasting method uses a compressor that hits out metal shots on the surface, and removes the rust and then the paint. But it has been banned because it causes high pollution.

The mechanised cleaning solution for fast and effective removal of paint deposits from trolleys, conveyor chains, brackets, clamps, grits, jigs sets & alignment frames, fixtures, booth floors, gratings, walls and ventilator inlets in the paint booth, is high pressure jet cleaning system.

The ultra high pressure cleaning machines with build up pressure up to 2500 bars sprays water on the affected surface through a gun fitted with a high pressure jet nozzle and rotating deck cleaner which removes the paint very effectively and fast. This is an internationally accepted method by all the multinational automobile industry.

In a typical paint shop floor, the vehicle body is taken up for spray painting in the booth which is an enclosed chamber. The paint continuously spills on to the floors which have over 100 grills and get stuck to the grills, jigs, fixtures and all the structures which come in contact with paint. Paint gets permanently stuck on the structures as its deposition gets thicker and thicker and becomes very difficult to remove. This is a very critical problem faced by all the automobile manufacturers and they cannot do the cleaning in-house.

Cleaning of these structures are outsourced to contractors who remove the paint by heating the structures in the oven for a long time and then manually scrape out the same. This is a very crude method of removing the paint from the structures as it consumes excessive labour, time (a week) and money as well and the quality of cleaning is not up to the mark. This also corrodes the life of the structures.

Forbes Pro has installed the ultra high pressure system at GM Motors, Pune, and is in the process of introducing the system at Maruti and Tata Motors. In the shipping industry, high pressure or ultra high pressure system is all the more useful because ships are taken up for painting every five years. The ship is taken to the dry dock where the repair & maintenance is done. The entire structure is cleaned, paint removed and re-painted. Removal of barnacles from the surface of the ship or removal of dust and water soluble salts on the surface which are not possible through sand blasting is done through hydro-jetting systems.

Advantages of hydro-jetting

• Avoidance of spark hazard
• Reduction of dust
• Removal of water soluble salts
• Removal of deteriorated paints, layer by layer if the inter-coat adhesion is bad
• Roughening and cleaning of existing intact paint systems
• Operational in unfavourable weather conditions.

Auto flux recovery & discharge system

This system is applicable in most metal working, engineering and fabrication industry. In certain special applications, where welding flux is being used as a catalyst during the process, a lot of flux gets spilled either on the floor or inside the machinery. The submerge-arc welding process requires continuous discharge of welding flux on the welding torch. During this process, flux gets collected on the floor underneath the machine and it becomes very difficult to reuse this flux. And this gets wasted.

The welding flux being hot cannot be collected manually immediately and put back into the system for reuse. During collection a lot of flux gets wasted and it’s also not reusable because it gets contaminated during manual collection.

Currently, there is no existing system to collect the spill and to re-feed it into the machine during the production process. Forbes Pro has introduced an automatic flux recovery and discharge system which is fitted on line to the flux welding machines. This system does the collection and recovery of flux during submerged-arc welding and recycling the welding flux back into the system during welding process. The spillage is picked up by the automatic machine, collected to a hopper and discharged back into the production system from the other end. Automatic flux recovery and discharge system has various flux recovery and discharge machines like 3A, 3B, 3C, etc. This is a small unit exclusively designed by Forbes Pro which is fitted on to each welding machine. The system operates on induction motor and runs 24/7. It has an inbuilt automatic filtration system with a compressed air line. Every two seconds the filter gets cleaned. Over a period of six months, the filter needs to be replaced. This is a maintenance-free machine that has been installed at Wheels India and other welding manufacturing units. At present, 10 machines are in operation in India.

Operating principle (diagram below):

• The suction unit ‘1’ creates a vacuum inside holder ‘2’ which proceeds into the hopper ‘3’ and lastly, into the flux exhaust hose pipe ‘4’. The granular flux is still hot when it reaches the hopper and carries welding slag along with it.
• Inside the hopper, the flux encounters first barrier ‘5’ that makes it drop into sifter ‘6’.  From there it passes into the zone below in order to be reused.
• The sifter retains the welding slag.
• The finer dust passes into the holding chamber & is retained by filter ‘7’.
• Filter shaker unit ‘8’ on the holder frees the filter and the fine dust that settles there.
• The machine can also be equipped with pneumatic filter shaker. In this way the filter cleaning is automatic and continuous. The machine is equipped with a gravity discharge valve and removable container

Centralised Vacuum System

This system is commonly applicable in all processing industries, be it steel, cement, foundry, power plants, textiles or ceramics. The layout and type of systems change with the application in various industries. It is also determined by the size of the area where the system is to be installed, the dust generating areas and the quality of dust (or the density of the material that has to be picked up). Accordingly, the vacuum system is designed for a certain velocity and the piping system laid out depending upon the amount of collection and the number of collection points.

Forbes Pro is in the process of installing a big system in Tata Steel at Jamshedpur which is engaged in iron ore processing. Application is basically online collection of spillage of dust, sintered powder and granules fallen on the floor, underneath the conveyor belt, in the machinery, structures and all over during processing and transferring the same through the conveyor belt.

During the process of transferring the sintered powder through the conveyor belt, there is spillage on the floor and the entire area becomes very dusty. The process works like this: online suction of dust, powder and granules from various sources through the centralised vacuum system and collection of the same into the hopper and discharge of the collection back into the system. There is 100% collection / recovery and no wastage.

Operating principle

• The Centralised Vacuum System consists of a vacuum unit ‘1’ which creates vacuum inside the hooper ‘2’ into the piping ‘3’ & ‘4’ and finally, into the hose & floor nozzle ‘5’.
• The material spilled on the floor is sucked into the nozzle through the hose ‘5’into the pipings ‘3’ & ‘4’ and discharged into the hopper ‘2’. From the hopper, the material can either be collected in big bag ‘6’ or back into the system ‘7’ for recycling.
• The size of the system depends on the number of operators working at a time, the farthest distance of the material to be transferred, the rate of transfer required, the density of the material, the characteristics of the material, etc. The system runs continuously 24×7 with automatic discharging, cleaning of filters through pulse jet cleaning at a desired frequency which can be set by the operator.
• The piping could be of Zn plated, galvanized or SS connected by junction sleeves with smooth bends connected with spring loaded flap opening at the end coupled with a micro switch which automatically starts the machine once the flap is opened and shuts of the machine immediately when the flap is closed by the operator.
• The vacuum system ranges between 2KW to 100KW with a transfer rate for 50kg/hr to 10 tonnes/hr depending on the requirement of the customers.

Trim Extractors

For OEM’s packaging machines, handling bulk waste generated during the continuous process of trimming becomes difficult to handle. Be it a tablet manufacturing unit or other packaging units, the trim extraction system helps collection of bulk trimmings.

Trim extractor vacuum unit R-models are recommended to extract trim parts (paper, plastic, fibres, etc.) from the production or packaging machines in the industries as follows:-

Packaging – Extraction of various kinds of trim from packaging machines.

Textile – To extract continuous trim of threads cut from garments during manufacturing process in order to avoid machines stoppage and periods of inactivity.

Paper – For continuous extraction of paper trim and dust during finishing process in the production of paper goods.

Operations

The trim is extracted continuously and enters into the container ‘1’ through the inlet ‘4’ and recovered in the nylon liner ‘2’. Thanks to the position of the motor ‘3’ at the bottom of the machine. The liner is spread out and completely open and all products vacuumed in are neatly compacted at the bottom optimising the capacity of the container ‘1’. To empty the container it is sufficient to open the lid and remove the nylon liner.

Benefits of R-Trim machines

Improved production time – The trim extractor avoids all stoppages caused by the need to clean the machines.

Cleaner environment – the R models prevent waste products from contaminating the environment and working areas.

Top quality products – By removing the trims as soon as they are generated, allows to verify in real time if the finished products meet the high quality standards without clogging the cutting machines with waste materials. At the same time, the working environment is thoroughly de-dusted.

Better production organisation – The speed and ease with which the waste material can be disposed of allows to accurately calculate the amount of time required for this operation, improving the quality and organising of the manufacturing process.

Features

• Maintenance free
• Possibility to tightly compact of the long cuts, trims in the liner
• Wide range of induction motors for 0.85 KW to 4 KW
• Easy and quick disposal of waste material
• Quick visual level control thanks to the port hole on the lid.

Housekeeping in industries

Cleaning of the general areas of thportant as cleaning the production area of an industrial unit, as it enhances the overall perfe shop floors and offices is as imormance of the unit.

The decision to engage industrial cleaning equipment or services arise out of the necessity and urgency to implement solutions to factors decelerating the production process. Most industries in India, though are made aware of the industrial cleaning technology available at their disposal, are constrained by lack of cost provision and restraints in making an investment.

In the case of housekeeping, industries measure the cost of resources consumed, while in engaging industrial cleaning systems, they evaluate the methodologies that could enhance the competitiveness of the production process in the long run. Hence, an industry approaches both the needs differently.

Ajeet Lalwani, quoting the example of Industrial Jewels, a company engaged in jewellery manufacturing, said that when dust pollution emanating from the grinding process rose to alarming levels at the jewellery processing unit, the company instantly installed dust collectors to avert health hazard. “This is directly related to the production process and has a statutory binding too; hence, there are no two options to it.”

Probably it is not the same case with choosing a floor cleaning machine in a production unit. Definitely the consumer has to be appraised of the implications of engaging floor cleaning machines. One needs to enumerate its advantages and explicate its indirect relation to the production process or in short, convince the consumer on the need for such machines, he explained.

“At one end, many Indian companies are market leaders with global presence,” said Martin Frandsen, GM-India, Nilfisk-Advance. “And the awareness of cleaning properly is growing with companies beginning to see the great benefits these machines can offer. However, one factor which affects the purchasing decision is the almost nil returns on capital investments made on an equipment, at least for a few years.”

On the other hand, there is a league of such industries that still do not care much about maintaining cleanliness standards. Many dyeing factories visited by CIJ do not engage in any kind of daily cleaning. Ironically, mechanised cleaning is not understood. Stagnant colour pools below the dyeing table are a common sight in some of these units in Gujarat. These units are largely ridden with algae, moulds and contamination.

In the West, unclean facilities directly reflect on the quality of the products manufactured there, said Martin. “While there is no direct correlation, it simply emphasizes the professionalism and the perceived quality & consistency levels of the organisation.

“Moreover, cleaning in India is still looked upon negatively as a menial job; often, even the most basic understanding of cleaning is absent.”

Unskilled manpower is one other reason why industries today are looking at mechanisation besides increased awareness, said Ralph Sunil, VP-Administration, Essar Steel Ltd, Hazira. “Initially at Essar, we had over 70 people engaged in road cleaning but now along with machines, we have around 24 cleaning staff working on the premises. That’s a reduction beyond 50%.

“Cleaning machines with just a couple of people can bring about effective cleaning results. Big machines like road sweepers can work wonders.” At Hazira, road cleaning is usually taken up during the night which gives a fresh & clean welcome to all in the morning. “We have the Canadian-made \Pelican heavy duty water spray-suction-road sweeping machine. In the domestic range, we have TPS machines like the Super sucker vacuum machine and also the indigenously home-made mobile-tractor broom for cleaning the project areas where there is a lot of dust and heavy particles on the road.”

The steel plant also has a variety of machines like high pressure jets and industrial vacuum cleaners for industrial cleaning at the shop floor. In certain areas, the company has outsourced cleaning contractors who bring in their machines.

“Though we have imported machines, we would like to have local machines like the ones made by TPS and Kam-Avida. However, we could do better with more support in maintenance and spare parts. Despite spare parts not being an issue, the waiting period is inevitable with imported machines.” On a scale of 10, Ralph gives a 6 on 10 for the services provided by the suppliers.

“Cleaning & maintaining the cleaning machines is a key to obtain the desired performance and to extend the life of the machine. Indians have always been acknowledged for this. However, we still need to improve to be able to reduce the down time and man-hour loss,” said V. Baladhandayutham, Manager-Product Support, Roots Multiclean Ltd.

Besides spare parts, maintenance is important for any mechanical equipment. “A minimum of regular maintenance is required whether it is a premium product or a cheap low end product,” said Martin. The cleaning machines are generally easy to maintain, especially the premium quality products which have good design. Most manufactures deliver a user manual with the machine, but few read it and it is usually the first thing to get lost. The standard in India is to do with on-site training and commissioning, however, since the staff changes frequently, it is not always enough.”

Industries use varied mechanised cleaning equipment – from ultra high pressure machines for cleaning spray paint booths and large industrial vacuums for removing cement or debris to general cleaning equipment for road & office areas.

“Most factories buy high pressure cleaners for general cleaning as well,” said Martin. “However, I still think there is a lack of knowledge in this field. I have visited many factories where they ask for a high pressure cleaner to clean washrooms, production areas and more. But, for all these applications, industries should invest a little more and buy a ‘hot water’ high pressure cleaner. Hot water will not only clean all these areas much better and faster but also kill germs. This is especially beneficial for the washrooms where many diseases could spread among the workers.

“In the production area, cold water cannot remove oil or grease. Only hot water can do the job. Further, in high pressure machines, many look at ‘how high’ the pressure of the machine is (bar). Sufficient pressure to “cut” through the dirt is of course important but the water flow is just as important, as you need ample of water to push off the dirt. Lastly, the companies should consider the number of hours the machine is being put to use on a daily/weekly basis. There are a plenty of cheap high pressure machines in the market but these are all meant for maximum one-two hour weekly operations and they will not last for long if the water supply is insufficient or the water is very hard. Expensive machines have what is called the ‘low speed pumps’ and give a much longer lifespan with zero or few maintenance requirements.”

The cleaning process, machines deployed, chemicals mixed or the methodology adopted vary from industry to industry. Industrial cleaning is vital for hospitals and health clinics too. In hospitals, hygiene is integral to health and safeguarding life. Cleaning services for areas with unique hygiene requirements need highly developed cleaning techniques and well-trained, qualified personnel that only professional cleaners can provide.

Professional industrial cleaning companies supply a huge amount of cleaning solutions which are customised to suit the particular industrial needs. These cleaning companies also incorporate advanced methods for abrasion control and restoring machinery to its optimal working condition.

The methodology engaged to remove compaction of oil and dirt of the type formed on industrial shop floors is that of dry scarifying using a wire or nail brush in the scrubbing machine. A simple nylon brush will have no impact on the greasy surface. Post compaction, the loosened slime can be swept away easily, said Ajeet Lalwani.

Housekeeping usually uses wet scrubbing with suitable chemicals to disengage slime from the floor. Oil spills are common to most automobile and other engineering industries.

Housekeeping in a textile industry directly affects the production quality. Cotton fluff, the main raw material in any weaving unit, can inundate the entire production area if it is not curtailed at source. “The high capacity centralised vacuum system sucks in fluff from strategic points and collects them in 100-litre tanks,” said Ajeet. Vacuuming is imperative to this industry, as a miniscule cotton fluff during weaving could lead to the rejection of the entire lot of material produced.

Enarcon India Ltd manufactures wings for windmills. These wings are taken up for painting and during buffing excessive dust are released. A centralised vacuuming system sucks the dust through the hose attached to the buffing machine thus arresting the spread of dust to other areas, said Ajeet.

Industrial cleaning such as cryogenic cleaning, commonly called with dry ice, a cleaning substance which does not leave any trace of moisture to its passage. This peculiar feature makes the system very suitable for cleaning in food industry and also finds wide use in cleaning electrical installations. Such professional systems that require the use of special machines are offered by specialised industrial cleaning companies that are increasingly developing equipment for preventive maintenance. This is done to ensure optimal degrees of hygiene and deep cleaning of industrial equipment within a few hours of work.

One of the most challenging aspects of industrial cleaning is tank cleaning in the production unit. A good cleaning company uses advanced methods like direct injection which results in overall cost cutting as well as complete product recovery with minimal downtime.

Ultra high power water jetting equipment ranging from 70 to 750HP in strength and a variety of combinations can be used for cleaning purposes. There are several other services also like drain and sewer cleaning, sludge management and catalyst handling besides others.

Manufacturers, wholesalers, exporters and those in any business that requires bulk storing, need warehouses. Warehouse cleaning becomes an exacting job because these are large buildings, which go up to considerable heights and so the surface to be cleaned is substantial. Warehousing cleaning without the aid of industrial cleaning machines can take days, depending on the size of the warehouse.

In the healthcare industry, mopping could be good for small areas but it will not remove the dirt and bacteria hidden in cracks, corners and between the floor tiles. Scrubber-driers and floor cleaning machines maintain the cleanliness and hygiene standards in the healthcare, hospitality and food processing industries.

The Government hospitals of Maharashtra recently made a statement in the press that it would be adopting mechanised cleaning and outsource housekeeping. In a recent interaction with CIJ, some of the leading deans expressed the need for battery operated machines for cleaning the long corridors of the hospitals.

Training in handling and operating the machines is one more aspect in industrial cleaning, as the machines involved are bigger and multi-faceted. Suppliers of imported machines, like in the case of Essar Steel, Canadian engineers come down to give essential training on the operations of the machine.

“A multi faceted training which includes operation and maintenance is vital to improve cleaning standards,” said Baladhandayutham. “We are working on this perspective which will help us to meet the customer expectations, motivate workers and enhance the quality of work.

“Nonetheless, setting goals and improvising cleaning methods in par with global cleaning technology would help the cleaning industry overcome the challenges of the Indian market. Moving from semi mechanised machines to fully mechanised machines, improving the quantity & quality of services, training the staff and retention of skilled staff would be the challenges facing the future of Indian cleaning industry. Indian industry has always proved that they are second to none and we are confident that we will move forward steadily,” he added.

JCB India Ltd– A case study

When it comes to housekeeping in industries, it involves more than just cleaning up an area. Industrial housekeeping is one important factor in stabilising a process by making continual efforts to reduce waste, by keeping the work area in a clean, safe and orderly state. The industrial cleaning schedule and intensity vary from industry to industry.

The complexity of housekeeping in any automotive manufacturing unit begins with the shop floor which is usually stained with oil spills or paint sprays. Cleaning becomes even more challenging a task, when more than 100 vehicles incessantly drive in and out of the shop floor…

Forbes Facility Services Pvt. Ltd has been diligently wiping out these stains off the floors of Asia’s largest construction equipment manufacturing centre of JCB India Ltd at Ballabgarh, Haryana. Spread over seven acres of green land with 60% covered by the manufacturing facility, this unit produces the world’s largest number of backhoe loaders.

The JCB Ballabgarh facility consists of two units, an exclusive area for testing machines, store area, washroom area and facility for the security officers that are cleaned and maintained by Forbes Facility.

In keeping with the company’s international policy – Save Electricity, Save Cost, Save Environment – JCB India has installed CFLs and power generation systems, said Harish Kerpal, GM-General Affairs, JCB India Ltd.

“We are working towards making this facility world-class. The first step in this direction is engaging the right housekeeping services, as the first thing to catch the eye of anyone walking into the premises is cleanliness & hygiene. With the commissioning of the new state-of-the-art unit and regular international guests, including dealers and vendors, coming in, we have taken up mechanised cleaning even more seriously. We are constantly adopting newer technologies along with Forbes Facility for cleaning solutions.”

Systematic scheduling and constant monitoring of various housekeeping activities all through the week is compiled and compared at the end of the month. Dalbir Singh Dahiya, Operations Manager-North, Forbes Facility, explained, “On a daily basis, we get customer feedback from the respective area in-charge which is compared on a weekly basis and a graph compiled. At the end of the month, we get a customer feedback on the performance and a comparative graph is drawn.”

In every department, a person has been made responsible to give his feedback on the cleaning performance of the housekeeping staff. “Thus, the whole idea is to bring about improvement and create a benchmark,” said Harish Kerpal.

“We also have the cross functional team of four-five staff from every department doing a surprise visit to other departments and recording their feedback. This helps us to understand the loopholes and also to advise the housekeeping on how to use better technology or equipment to enhance performance in any particular grey area,” said Kerpal.

“We have recently introduced the ride-on scrubber drier in the plant area to clean up oil spills,” said Dalbir Singh. The backhoe loaders are loaded on to the conveyor belt before being test driven. Oil spills from these vehicles stain the shop floor. Vehicles, rolling over oil, make the entire area dirty. The floor gets slippery and there are tyre stains all over the place. Earlier, walk behind scrubber drier was deployed to clean the area. But with constant equipment movement, Forbes Facility has introduced ride-on scrubber drier in the plant area. “We already have a ride-on road sweeper which is being used to the clean the roads within the premises.”

Besides the floor, the high glass façade needs regular cleaning. “We clean the façade under a separate contract where workers have been hired exclusively for this task. Our workers go up the walls carrying the backvac vacuum cleaners and do deep cleaning every three months.

“On a weekly basis, cleaning of verticals up to 20ft is done with the help of telescopic rods from Unger. We also use Sparkling chemical from Eureka Forbes.”

The general cleaning of the premises is done in two shifts where in 70% of the workers come in the morning shift and the rest in the evening shift. At least 50% of the workers in the morning shift are engaged in the plant areas.

The office floor and other areas are cleaned using squeegee and floor cleaner Marboline. Mechanised cleaning is taken up after the working hours in the evening. The office and cafeteria areas are cleaned using single disc scrubber. “In the cafeteria, after scrubbing we follow it up with wet and dry vacuuming to ensure the floor is absolutely dry.”

Every day, 30-40 drivers who visit the facility have a separate shed with restrooms, resting place, drinking water and also recreational facilities. JCB along with TCI and Castrol organises programmes every month on hygiene and safe driving for them.

Championing the cause of pragmatic responsibility in managing one of development’s most volatile by-products – solid waste – JCB has initiated competent compost production.

Kicking off the campaign, JCB has hosted seminars addressing the issue, focusing on policy planning and strategy, management of municipal solid waste & treatment, solid waste management, and operable alternative methods.