GBP 202 Under Furnace Slag Pit Digging

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202 Under Furnace Slag Pit Digging
1. Scope

This Group Best Practice details the systems, equipment and practice required to execute
under furnace slag pit digging in a safe and efficient manner.

2 Safety/Hazards

In using this Group Best Practice, all relevant local and national laws and regulations must
be complied with.

A formal and documented risk assessment must be carried out on this operation to identify
actual or potential hazards.

The digging of under furnace slag pits exposes the operator to the hazards of burns from
molten slag, explosions, falling material from upper levels and overhead cranes, hot dust-
laden air, excessive noise and collisions with structures, other vehicles and pedestrians.

PPE
Personnel directly involved with pit digging operations must at all times wear fire-resistant
jackets, trousers, and a dust mask in addition to normal safety equipment. Synthetic fabrics
such as nylon and polyester must not be worn as these will melt.

Signals for pit entry

An effective means of communication, face-to-face with the furnace operator or via 2-radio,
must be established so that the MultiServ operator knows when he can safely enter the pits
and the furnace operator knows of his presence in the pits.

A red/green signal system must be installed at the entrance to the slag pit in full vision of
the loader operator. The signal should ideally incorporate lockout of the furnace tilting
control circuit, or alternatively the MultiServ operator must lock out the furnace from ground
level, prior to digging. There must be a suitable method established to inform the furnace
operator of the presence of the machine under the furnace, eg close circuit TV / radio.

Safe Work Instruction with mill

The defined under furnace slag pit digging Safe Work Instruction must always be
established in writing and formally agreed with the mill.

The slag pit area must be indicated with clear warning signs placed on all approach ways,
which must always be kept clear.

Water or oil in pit

Molten slag must never be poured into a pit containing water or oil to avoid explosions or
fires. The pit area should be dry and protected from entry of rain or water. Should there be
any leaks of oil or water into the pit area, the operator must immediately communicate this
fact to the responsible mill personnel. If the necessary steps are not taken to eliminate
such leaks, pit digging must stop.

Under furnace slag pits must never be cooled by water. The slag must be removed to
a safe, remote pit before cooling water can be applied.

Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 2007 Author: Engineering Page 1 of 8
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GBP 202 Under Furnace Slag Pit Digging

When digging under furnace, the machine must be operated with doors and windows
closed and a seat belt with a quick release mechanism must be worn.

Steel Mill Specification

All under-furnace digging machines must comply with the attached specification for ‘Steel
Mill Specification’ machines, this is an agreed standard for the MultiServ group.

Fire suppression
All machines working under the furnace must have a minimum of 2 portable fire
extinguishers in working condition (minimum 6 kg (13 lbs) powder capacity), one readily
available near the operator’s seat and the second on the outside of the machine within
reach from ground level.

All machines used for under furnace slag pit digging will be fitted with a company approved
fluid type fire suppression system. The system will include:

• Operator initiated in-cab system

• Operator escape system
• Machine suppression system

Additionally, following a risk assessment, and where necessary, a fluid type tyre spray
system is to be fitted to wheeled machines used for under furnace slag pit digging.

Essex VRU
Essex Victim Rescue Units (VRU’s) will be fitted inside the cabs of all machines used for
under furnace slag pit digging. Essex VRU’s are a self-contained smoke hood providing 5
minutes of breathable air under a moderate to heavy workload.

Hot work windscreen

The machine must be equipped with a hot work specification windscreen.

Fire hose
There must be a fire hose, solely for emergency use, connected to an adequate water
supply located in close proximity to the slag pit i.e reachable in 10 seconds when walking or
30 metres from the hazard area.

Collisions
An operating Safe Work Instruction to avoid collisions and interference between the
machine and other vehicles or pedestrians must be previously established by management
and the instruction must be consistently followed.

Precautions must be taken to avoid working or travelling below overhead cranes which
have a suspended load.

3 Training

Operators must be made aware of the dangerous nature of an under furnace slag pit
digging operation with specific emphasis on the danger of explosions.

Operators must be trained until they fully understand the co-ordinated operating practice
and procedure for digging slag under the furnace which has been agreed with furnace
management. They must also be trained to look for, and recognise, furnace hot spots and
report them immediately.

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Operators must be licensed to undertake under furnace slag pit digging, and trained on
what action to take in the event of a fire.

Operators must be trained in the action to take in the event the machine fails under the
furnace. This includes regular viewing of the 'Under Furnace Digging - Driver & Operator
training' DVD issued with the GBP Manual.

Operators must be retrained whenever the under furnace slag pit digging practice or the
machine being used for under furnace slag pit digging changes in any way.

4 Equipment

The specifications for machines used in hot work applications are detailed in
GBP 201 : Hot Work Audit.

The digging and loading from under furnace slag pits is to be carried out by a rubber tyred
front end loader specially adapted for hot working, ie. a steel mill special. See also sections
4.4 and 4.5 below.

A steel mill special machine must be used. This machine must be fitted with slick tyres and
close knit protective tyre chains on all 4 tyres. Care must always be taken that the size and
type of tyres chosen permits the installation of chains, because problems may arise with
inadequate wheel clearances.

If access dictates that a smaller machine than a Caterpillar 980 size must be used, then the
specification must adhere as closely as possible to the Steel Mill Special specification and
include all the safety elements specified in GBP 201 : Hot Work Audit.

A decision to use a smaller machine should be made in conjunction with senior

management.

In cases where access is a problem, track loaders may be used. The minimum size of
machine recommended is a CAT 963 or equivalent.

The windscreen must be fitted with a protective grid.

Buckets must be heavily hard-faced and reinforced, and must be straight blade equipped
with heavy-duty teeth.

Hot digging machines must be operated with a fire resistant hydraulic fluid. Please refer to
GBP 201 : Hot Work Audit.

At no time must a machine be allowed to operate with oil or fuel leaks.

No plastic fuel or airlines must be used as these are potential fire hazards.

If the machine is equipped with an automatic brake lock, in the case of loss of pressure, a
manual override must be provided.

The machine must have a ground level engine shutdown facility.

Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 2007 Author: Engineering Page 3 of 8
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An emergency tow rope or chain must be

affixed to the rear end of any machine which
digs under the furnace to enable it to be
dragged from the furnace area without delay
in the event of a breakdown.

The machine must be equipped with a cab-

mounted hazard flashing warning light wired
to the ignition, and an audible reversing alarm.

Additional lighting must be fitted to the

machine to ensure full 360° coverage.

Headlights must be turned on at all times to

ensure machine is highly visible at all times.

Grab irons and handrails must be painted in a clear contrasting colour to the rest of the
machine and be kept free of oil, grease and other contaminants (Refer to MultiServ
Standards Manual).

5 Layout

The basic principle for the efficient layout of under furnace slag pits is to slope the pits to
spread the liquid slag and steel as thinly as possible, making it easier to dig and to increase
the rate of cooling.

The slope at the beginning of the pits must have a gradient of approximately 1:1, which will
decrease down the pit to a final slope having a gradient of approximately 1:10. A small slag
dam must be constructed at the lower end to avoid run-out beyond the pits.

The 1:1 slope has the advantage of spreading the layer of slag optimally and provides
material to dig against. In the absence of that slope, some other type of back wall must be
provided to assist digging.

A correctly prepared slag pit will ensure safe, efficient and cost effective operation.

Whenever possible, ground level and slopes must be such that any water would flow away
from the furnace area.

The layout of the pit and slag run must avoid, whenever possible, the location of any
overhead or adjacent pipework or cabling to minimise damage from the heat of the slag in
the pits. In the event that pipework or cabling cannot be diverted, heat protection must be
installed with suitable insulation, ie rock wool.

In principle under furnace pits should not be constructed over concealed underground
services such as electricity, oxygen, drainage, sewage, telephone, water, etc.

General area lighting must be to a minimum of 150 Lux.

Pit walls must be heavily protected using a minimum of 75 mm (3 in) plate or slabs, billets
or mould stools in order to protect the concrete structure from spalling from heat and from
undercutting and damage by the loader bucket.

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The layout should be designed in such a way as to provide space for the slag haul truck to
be parked, loaded and manoeuvred without interfering with other operations in the area.

All access ways used during under furnace slag pit digging operations must be dedicated to
this operation and kept clear of other vehicles and personnel.

6 Operating Procedure

A formal written Safe Work Instruction must be established for this operation which
addresses fully the hazards highlighted in the risk assessment.

The operator must follow Group Best Practice 801: Start-up / Shut-down of Mobile
Equipment at the beginning and end of each shift or operating period.

A full inspection of the machine and completion of the Operator’s Daily Pre-Shift Inspection
Checklist must be carried out.

A hot slag pit digging machine must never be refueled in or near the slag pit or near hot
material.

Operate and test all engines, drive and bucket controls to ensure correct operation before
moving to dig hot material.

The operator should always avoid operating the machine over red hot slag in order to
prevent heat damage to the machine. This can be accomplished by digging and loading
from the front end of the slag pit and working towards the back of the pit, removing all red
hot slag as the digging proceeds. Maintaining the bucket down and level with the prepared
pit will ensure removal of red hot slag ahead of the machine as digging proceeds.

Under furnace slag pits should be dug after each heat.

Digging must only commence in accordance with the established and agreed under furnace
slag pit digging Safe Work Instruction.

The first bucket load of slag placed in the slag haul truck must be cooled slag which will
insulate the body from the heat of the hot material and decrease wear and damage to the
hot bed. Cool slag would come from the dam at the end of the pit or from a special
stockpile accumulated for bed insulation purposes.

In certain operations, slag may be dug from under the furnace and stockpiled at the melt
shop prior to hauling to the site. In the case when this stockpile is watered for cooling, care
must be taken not to take wet slag back under the furnace for mixing or to construct the
dam.

After loading each heat, the pits must again be prepared and sloped as described in section
5.2 above. Dressing of the pit floor, where possible, should always be done with the
machine moving in the forward direction and finally raked back with the bucket teeth in
order to channel the flow of slag and to increase the surface area for faster cooling and
solidification.

In the event of a furnace breakout or excessive metal being poured into the pit, it is
essential that its removal be carried out as quickly as possible while the metal is still in a
plastic state.

Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 2007 Author: Engineering Page 5 of 8
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GBP 202 Under Furnace Slag Pit Digging

After each pit digging, the operator must inspect the machine to ensure no hot slag has
become trapped in any of the components, eg. sprockets, track frames, tyre chains, bucket
rams. Any such trapped slag must be carefully cooled with water and removed.

In the event of the operator noticing a furnace hot spot, the operator must withdraw from
the area and inform the furnace operator immediately. He must not return below the
furnace until it is safe to do so.

In the event of the operator noticing water or steam under the furnace, the operator must
withdraw from the area and inform the furnace operator immediately. He must not return
below the furnace until it is safe to do so. If the problem persists, the mill management
must be notified in writing.

Bucket pins must be lubricated frequently with high temperature grease. Even high
temperature lubrication will deteriorate very quickly from the heat of hot slag digging.

Page 6 of 8 Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 07 Author:Engineering
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7 Maintenance

Machines must always be maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and

the MultiServ Preventive Maintenance Practice.

Any hydraulic or other leaks must be corrected immediately.

Damaged windscreens must be replaced immediately.

8 Appendices

8.1 Under Furnace Track Loader

Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 2007 Author: Engineering Page 7 of 8
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8.2 Emergency Fire Hydrant located on Slag Pot Carrier route

8.3 Personnel Emergency Shower located near to slag pits on Slag Pot Carrier route

Page 8 of 8 Issue Date: Feb ‘04 Reviewed by: Cameron Hunt Review date: Jun 07 Author:Engineering