First ABB Power Care customer service agreement with NLMK
ABB Power Care is a revolutionary concept of customer support agreement, to deliver complete and tailor made service solutions on a single plant’s requirements
A customer snapshot
NLMK Group is a Company committed to manufacturing and sales of steel products with operations in Italy, USA, France, Belgium, Denmark and Russia.
As part of the Group, NLMK Verona plant runs an electric arc furnace, press forging and a rolling mill in a sophisticated stream of processes. The facility produces 450,000 tonnes/year of steel in ingots, forged plates and hot-rolled heavy plates.
ABB medium and low voltage breakers are integral parts of the operations as they protect critical line equipment, including the furnace, fume extractors, conveyor belts, pumps and cranes.
NLMK Verona background
The plant is set to run 24/7 and equipment downtime needs to be avoided as far as possible: ABB circuit breakers guarantee continuity of operation in this and all high critical applications.
ABB Power Care
Jointly developed by low voltage and medium voltage Service, ABB Power Care is a revolutionary concept of customer support agreement, to deliver complete and tailor made service solutions on a single plant’s requirements.
Marketing and Sales Efforts
In a coordinated effort, low and medium voltage Service teams secured a three year Power Care Customer Service Agreement with NLMK Verona. The biggest challenge for our team was to put much efforts on changing the mindset of the pre-established maintenance team – from a scheduled maintenance approach to a customized and valuable solution that would have met all NLMK plant’ requirements.
The contract value for low and medium voltage breakers service is 260 kUSD and it is the first Power Care agreement for Low Voltage Service Division, in Italy.
The delivery
After a customer project evaluation, the ABB sales team could estimate all the agreement requirements and the Power Care Customer Support Agreement was presented to NLMK management.
Benefits
Some of the specific benefits for NLMK plant are the following:
- Efficient operation and maintenance of ABB circuit breakers.
As part of the Power Care Agreement, maintenance personnel from NLMK undergo training for a better use and understanding of ABB equipment, as well as carry out maintenance actions according to our maintenance guidelines. Practical maintenance training took place in our training center in Dalmine, so that the customers could learn more about the products through ABB e-learning modules.
- Preventive and predictive maintenance to minimize chances of equipment failure.
Special maintenance actions - including replacement of some breaker components - is execute by ABB technical specialists, every 3 years.
Preventive maintenance is executed according to ABB guidelines, minimizing chances of failures. LEAP predictive maintenance is regularly used to access the likelihood of failure so that NLMK maintenance personnel are able to take decisions on maintenance actions, both immediate and for the future.
- Pre-emptive steps to minimize effects of failure, should it occur.
After a thorough technical audit by qualified ABB personnel, the most critical spares parts were proposed. NLMK will keep a stock of critical components for quick replacements in case of emergencies.
The Power Care Customer Service Agreement provides NLMK with a single point of contact that ensures the customer to be always reached on time by ABB. If required, on-site intervention is guaranteed within 12 hours of the acknowledged call, thereby keeping downtime for NLMK to a minimum.
An overall peace of mind
Above the standard Power Care offerings, ABB also offers an item of Extended Warranty on products that have been maintained by ABB personnel. Here, the customer is ensured that, in case of any failure, the direct costs will not be not unexpectedly high, and the components can be promptly replaced.