Team up - Pump up

Universal geniuses. If you hear this term, you will probably immediately think of names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle or Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz. Since the 19^th century this “species”, however, seems to be extinct. Nowadays, it is hardly possible for scholars to completely grasp even the knowledge of a single discipline such as history or physics. The knowledge in various fields has grown to an enormous size too fast. In addition to the knowledge per se, it is also simply the dimension of tasks, research, and projects that exceeds the abilities of an individual human being. Instead, it needs a brilliant team.

Similarly, behind every ANDRITZ pump operating successfully somewhere in the world is a team. It was only because of this teamwork that these hydraulic machines were able to see the light of day. In 2017, ANDRITZ was awarded the contract to design, manufacture, and supply ten vertical line shaft pumps for the largest flood protection station, Yen Nghia, in Vietnam. Take a look behind the scenes with PUMPS and find out how our team executed this major project...

3D model of the flood control station Yen Nghia in Vietnam

Design phase and project management

After a project contract has been awarded and signed, the project management and the design team take care of the actual processing.

The project management team starts with the detailed planning of time schedules for all technical and commercial issues such as kick-off meetings, design phase, production time, assembly time, payment milestones, etc. up to the final acceptance by the customer. During the entire project cycle, the team also takes care of the project progress and keeps an eye on costs. This is why it is in regular contact with the customer.

Teamwork is essential for the sale and for the handling of a project. The team is composed of people with different expertise and each team member has his/her part to play. Only if the entire team works well together the project will become a success. This was the case with Yen Nghia.
One advantage of this project was that the sales and processing team was partially identical. So there was no loss of knowledge during the handover and at every stage, everyone knew what had been sold. There was also already close contact with the customer. The fact that a very experienced engineer was part of our team made it possible to react quickly, easily and cost-effectively to problems. This had a very positive effect on the order result.

Elisa Wielinger, Sales and Project Manager, ANDRITZ Pumps

The design team, on the other hand, begins with the design of the pumps and performs stress and strain calculations. Based on this, all drawings necessary for the manufacturing of the various tailor-made parts are prepared and the corresponding documents for the parts to be purchased are completed. In this phase, the technical specifications of the contract are closely monitored. The technical planning for the assembly in the workshop, test runs, transport issues and finally, the assembly of the pump itself on site is done by the design team as well.

Additionally, it is in close contact with the in-house quality assurance department. In cooperation, a specific list of all necessary destructive and non-destructive tests of components and raw materials is done to ensure that the pumps will operate safely and reliably in the long run.

When you say that you are a mechanical engineer by profession, most people think of someone who is sitting in a quiet little room, drawing lines from day to night and doing a few calculations. But this picture does not correspond to reality at all.
In the execution of the Yen Nghia project, we were involved as early as the sales phase and throughout the entire project to ensure that the machines fully met the customer's requirements and could also be manufactured cost-effectively.

Winfried Schoenbacher, Principial Engineer, ANDRITZ Pumps

Shopping

The second step in every project process is the purchasing phase. It is divided into two main sections: the purchase of raw materials and the purchase of components and standard parts.

For the purchase of raw materials for tailor-made pump parts, the production engineering department determines the number of materials required, such as castings, steel sheets, round steel rods, and various other items. This purchasing list is based on the drawings and parts lists prepared by the design team. The purchasing department uses this information to buy the required materials.

However, pumps are not only made of tailor-made parts. They require standard parts such as screws, nuts, bearings, and seals too. The type, quantity and other data are provided for purchasing either by the design department or the technical department of the production department.

ANDRITZ sets high standards in procuring materials for use in our final products. Hence, everything is purchased from approved suppliers only. This means that current suppliers are regularly checked by the quality assurance department to ensure that the first quality is used for our products. Global procurement, however, is continuously looking for quality-focused, cost-efficient, and reliable suppliers of modules, systems, and single components on a worldwide basis in order to optimize cost, constantly improve the quality of ANDRITZ’s products, and provide innovations to customers.

Creation of the jigsaw pieces for the pump puzzle - Manufacturing

Similar to the purchasing process, the manufacturing consists of two main tasks. First, the basic parts are produced either by casting or welding. These are then further processed and finally painted.

Continue reading the magazine to find out more about the two parts of manufacturing, why lacquer plays an important role for our pumps and how the assembly, shipping and test run are done!