Northern Strands AG Terminal Division was contacted by Grain Terminal asking if we could provide a solution for what had become a consistent issue. The telescopic grain spout that loads railcars consistently fails after a period of time and the customer wanted to know if there was potential for a better design.
Our Project Manager was sent to the terminal to investigate and see if there was potential for a better design. The cause of failure was the grain spout going up and down repeatedly, causing the cable to wear in the same spot as it travels back and forth past the guide pulleys. Eventually, the cable breaks, and the spout ends up in the rail car. Resulting in an emergency repair and unplanned downtime
.
Northern Strands designed a system to address this problem for what is considered a critical asset.
The new design included:
- Upgraded to a single grooved drum winch with special end devices to monitor even cable distribution.
- Larger high-quality snatch blocks were installed for a better D/d ratio.
- Improved fleet angles.
The customer was very satisfied with the end result. They now have an improved system that will last indefinitely, is safer, and now has a system in place that will not require frequent emergency grain spout repairs.
Northern Strands can create similar custom grain spout systems like this for any AG Terminal or industry that uses similar systems.
Northern Strands AG Terminal Equipment and Services Division
Email: cprogresssioner@northernstrands.com
Phone: 306-242-7073
