High-tech pumps from pilot plant Techport now teaching material for students
Techport's Fieldlab Smart Maintenance is the pilot plant for maintenance. This pilot plant is located next to Tata Steel's Academy. "Companies can do tests here for improving their maintenance. For example, we recently received the Navy for vibration measurements. For students at our school, the trials themselves are less interesting. But the frequency-controlled pumps that are in the field lab are interesting," says Albert-Jan Butter, Process Technology Training Coach at Tata Steel's Academy.
Albert-Jan: "At the Academy we have pumps with control valves that students are taught with. This while controlling pumps with a frequency regulator is the future. You can regulate this pump more efficiently. Ultimately, this is a lot cheaper and more sustainable. At Tata Steel we are also going to use the new pumps more and more. I expect that the control valves will eventually disappear altogether. In collaboration with Techport, we have now created teaching materials on this new configuration. This is how we prepare our students for the new technologies." The new teaching material is a broadening of the existing material. "With the new material, the students learn about the operation of electrical engineering (frequency controlled processes), the saving of energy and they learn a whole different form of startup. It's really a very nice curriculum we've created. Unfortunately corona is throwing a spanner in the works for now, but when we get back to school soon I'll be the first one jumping at the chance to get started with the teaching material!"
