The system is designed to monitor the plant’s forging equipment, in which melted Titanium is shaped into slabs or large bars (billets) for use elsewhere in the plant.
Six CCTV cameras monitor the equipment, with images transmitted via microwave link to a central monitoring area for live review, and recorded onto a hard drive.
The aim is to ensure that correct procedures are being followed throughout the process, according to Robert Vickers, buyer for Timet UK, and avoid expensive mistakes: “If there are quality issues, we need to identify and capture these in real-time,” he says.
“With each Titanium ingot worth GB pound 35,000, if the system saves just one it will have more than paid for itself.”
If a defect is identified, engineers can take a detailed look throughout the forging process to establish where and why the fault occurred. Recorded images can also be reviewed and compared against previous production runs.
The system comes as part of a wider investment in security across the site, with Chubb installing 20 CCTV cameras throughout the factory earlier in the year and further projects in the pipeline.
Preferred supplier
“Chubb is our preferred supplier, and we have a two-year contract for the provision of access control, intruder alarms, electric fences and barrier control,” Vickers says.
All of the security technologies are controlled via Chubb’s AFx integrated security management system that allows further functionality to be added with ease, Chubb claims.
With the plant open around the clock, seven days a week, Timet is also working with Chubb on a lone-worker and dangerous chemical protection project to enhance all aspects of protection across the site.
“We have developed a good working relationship, and look forward to building on this further to maintain a continued successful partnership,” Vickers says.
Timet is the largest titanium producer in the US and Europe, specialising in melting and forging premium grade billet, bar and fan blade plates for jet engines.
