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27th InternationalConferenceofthe
TOCPractitionersAlliance TOCPA
www.tocpractice.com

August1618,2016Johannesburg,SouthAfrica

Exploitationofthe
CriticalChain
Thuso Machaba, Babock, South Africa
17th 18th August, 2016

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THUSO
Thuso Machaba was born on August
20, 1987 in Limpopo. He studied
Metallurgy Engineering at University
of Johannesburg. In 2011, he started
working at Crown Cast foundry, where
he was introduced to TOC. In the year
2013, he joined Rapid Allweiler pumps
where he worked as a Metallurgist. In
2014, he Joined Babcock as a Bill of
Material coordinator. He is currently
involved
with
boiler
shutdown
projects, where he is using CCPM
technology to run the sub-projects
assigned to him.

Placeforthephotoofthe
presenter

Cell: 071 362 2424

E-mail: machabathuso@gmail.com

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INTRODUCTION
Extended damage to boiler tubing was found during tube
thickness inspections in the primary reheater, resulting in
significant more work-scope than was predicted.
It extended the outage duration by one month.
The estimated cost ramification, due to the increase in time, for
the client, is in the order of R 70 000 000
Project:
Re-planned duration, catering for additional welding scope: 71
days
It forced the Primary reheater path to become the critical chain
of the project
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INTRODUCTION
TOC five focusing steps:
1. Identify the constraint
2. Exploit the constraint
3. Subordinate to the constraint
4. Elevate
5. Repeat / go back to step 1

20

25

30

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Constraint 1

One of the main measures in boiler construction is weld repair

rate.
As a result, on a tube with multiple welds, the weld in the boiler is
done first, it is then x-rayed and only the next day the second butt is
welded. If both welds were done on the first day and the first butt
fails, both have to be cut and will count as weld repairs. Because of
the measure people will not risk it.
It was then decided to run the risk, and the welding policy was
waived. With the policy constraint lifted we could plan 32 butts per
day, potentially pulling the due date back by 18 days.
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Constraint 2
Limited space to work in was identified as the second bottleneck, as
we had to wait for butt welds to be x-rayed, before we could gain
access to the next set of elements.
Four work areas pulled open, between the elements, were
considered optimal by the workforce, and they had done
calculations to support the claim.
Investigation revealed that more areas could be opened at times,
and the work areas were later increased to 7.
Average production per area was increased to: 49 (7 butts /welder X
7 areas)

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Results

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ButtWeldGraph

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Constraint3

Bottleneck number 3, was identified as the construction method.

By changing the methods we manage to eliminated having to
weld 150 butts inside the boiler
Weld number 2 (black) was done in parallel, a buffer time ahead,
in the workshop, which effectively increased daily production
achieved by 50%.

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Results
By changing the construction methods we manage to pull back the path
so that it was no longer the critical chain of the project.
Project finished well before the project due date- more than a month
earlier than planned.
The client had no additional replacement cost, due to time overruns,
and saved in maintenance costs as the path was completed early.
All of which, can directly be contributed to the exploitation that was
done, very good ideas generated by the team and the team work that
was established in the area.

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I THANK YOU!!!!

27th InternationalConferenceoftheTOCPractitionersAlliance TOCPA