KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC
ENGINEERING

EE 489 – INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

INTERNSHIP REPORT: GHACEM LIMITED
TAKORADI BRANCH

BY: EUGENE ASARE-BAFFOUR

INDEX NO: 5921016
JUNE 2019
ABSTRACT
The College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology seeks to become a global college of engineering focused on national
industrial development. This means among other things that the need for students
to have exposure to industrial practice early in their engineering education is one of
the most important pillars of their training. Therefore, as part of the requirements
for graduation in the B.Sc. Engineering Degree programmes, students must
complete a minimum of 8-week industrial attachment programme with a local or
an overseas industrial establishment between May and August. The purpose of the
vacation training among other things is to enable students to translate the theories
they have learnt in the classroom into tasks in a real work environment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to give thanks to Jehovah the Almighty God for seeing me through the entire
vacation training.
I would also like to thank the Provost of the College of Engineering and the entire vacation
training committee for spearheading this initiative and providing the necessary documents that
enabled me intern with an important institution such as Ghacem Limited.
Special thanks goes to all my field supervisors especially the head supervisors of the various
units at the Electrical Department in Ghacem,Takoradi –Ing Solomon Tabi and Ing Moses
Winful for their immense support throughout the training.
I truly appreciate.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................4
1.1 OBJECTIVES OF INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT.......................................................4
2 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION.......................................................................5
2.1 BRIEF HISTROY.............................................................................................................5
2.1.1 Vision Statement........................................................................................................6
2.1.2 Mission Statement.....................................................................................................6
2.2 SECTION/ DEPARTMENT.............................................................................................6
3 ORIENTATION......................................................................................................................8
4 GHACEM SAEFTY POLICY................................................................................................8
4.1 MAJOR SAFETY PROCEDURES CARRIED OUT IN THE FACTORY.....................8
5 THE ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT..................................................................................10
5.1 PLANT MAINTENANCE UNIT...................................................................................10
5.1.1 Motor testing............................................................................................................10
5.1.2 How motor testing is done?.....................................................................................10
5.1.3 Determining motor terminal connection for suitable voltage..................................12
5.1.4 Checking for loose motor terminal connection.......................................................13
5.1.5 Dedusting (aspirating) of electrical motors, safety switches and electrical control
panels 14
5.2 Other Activities...............................................................................................................14
5.3 INSTRUMENTATION UNIT........................................................................................15
5.3.1 Components found in an electrical control panel....................................................15
6 DIRECT ONLINE.................................................................................................................19
6.1 Control circuit of direct online........................................................................................19
6.2 DOL Motor Control Circuit............................................................................................20
6.3 Power circuit of direct online..........................................................................................21
6.3.1 DOL Power Circuit..................................................................................................21
6.4 Proximity Sensors...........................................................................................................22
7 REFERENCES..................................................................................................................23
1 INTRODUCTION
The Industrial attachment as organized by the College of Engineering, KNUST for
its students is a programme that has been fixed in the school’s academic calendar,
therefore making it compulsory for every student. This industrial attachment is
usually expected to be done by the third year students in the school. It is done in
the second semester of each academic year.
The main purpose of the industrial attachment is to help the student to acquire
practical experience at an organization to conform to the theory aspect learnt at the
lecture hall.

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT

The objective of the industrial attachment is;
1. To help students develop positive attitude towards work through effective
supervision by industry.
2. To build the confidence of students in technical operations and problem
solving
3. To expose students to actual field work.
2 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION

2.1 BRIEF HISTORY

Ghacem is the leading cement company in Ghana popularly known as the "The
nation builder" The company was established in 1967. The establishment of
Ghacem Limited marked a major turning point in Ghana’s development. Ghacem
was founded by the Government of Ghana in collaboration with Norcem AS of
Norway, on August 30, 1967. 

In 1993, the Ghana Government sold 35 % of its shares to Scancem (formerly

Norcem). Scancem as a result had 59.5 %, leaving it with 40 % and 0.5 % going to
a local investor. In 1997, the Ghana Government sold 5 % of its 40 % shareholding
to the workers of the company. The remaining 35 % shares of the Ghana
Government was sold to Scancem in 1999 and at present Scancem has 93.1 %
shares in the company, Ghana Government have 5 % shares and 1.9 % is owned by
Dr. J. A. Addison, a local investor. In 1999, Heidelberg Cement took over
Scancem, thus making it a subsidiary

Ghacem has since inception produced more than 30 million tons of cement.
Ghacem wants to continue to be Ghana’s biggest cement manufacturer and supply
the market with good quality cement at a reasonable prices. It has played an
important role of building Ghana through more than 40 years. Ghacem has two
cement grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi, and a network of sales offices and
depots throughout the country. Several millions of dollars have lately been
invested in expansion at both factories. These expansion works have improved the
quality of Ghacem cement, reduced energy consumption at the plants, ensured
efficient production and reduced environmental impact of the plant’s operations.

Currently, Ghacem has a number of accredited distributors through-out the

country. Periodic meetings are held with these distributors to establish the spirit
and partnership. An awards ceremony is held at the end of the year to honor
distributors who have sold the most number of bags.
2.1.1 Vision Statement
To contribute to be Ghana’s biggest cement manufactures.

2.1.2 Mission Statement

To supply the market with good quality cement at reasonable price.

2.2 SECTION/ DEPARTMENT

Ghacem limited is divided into many departments under which they operate. This includes the
Administration department, Health and Safety Environment (HSE), Maintenance department,
Store department, Security department and many more.

1) ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
a. The Administration section steers the affairs of the Authority. It sees to the
welfare of the employees in the company, it also ensures that things are done
orderly and employees work efficiently and effectively to enhance productivity.

2) HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE)

a. The HSE section also ensures the safety of the workers. They see to it that
workers adhere to the safety rules and regulation and thus workers are protected
from working in unsafe and hazardous conditions.
3) MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
a. This department consists of three units and they are the Electrical department,
Mechanical department, Instrumentation department.
 I. The electrical unit carry out preventive maintenance on all electrical
machinery, carry out maintenance on all instrument and control
device, troubleshooting of all electrical control faults including
common faults associated with PLC, SCADA base system and
maintenance and calibration of both dynamic and static weighing
systems (weight meters, weight bridge etc.) among other things.

II. The mechanical unit is responsible for fixing and corrective maintenance
on all mechanical equipment at the plant. These include condition
monitoring of ail plant machinery, periodic maintenance of the plant
machinery and condition monitoring of harbor dust plant and all
equipment during clinker discharge.

III. Instrumentation unit as the name implies is the section that is responsible
for installing, commissioning and maintaining all process control
instrumentation. The whole of the plant from the milling to the
packing plant system are all automated (work with minimal human
intervention).

4) PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
a. Production section manages the milling and packing plant to ensure product are
produced and dispatched according to approved standards.

5) THE SECURITY DEPARTMENT

a. This section sees to the maintenance of law and order in the factory. They protect
the equipment used at the plant as well as the employees also, they see to the
prevention of criminal activities.
3 ORIENTATION
It is believed that all newly enrolled trainees are to familiarize themselves with the safety rules
and regulation as well as the working condition of the organization within which they want to
undergo their attachment training before any further proceedings. In the above mentioned
organization, the following orientation was carried out on the first week where all interns are
taken through the following topics on how the Organization operates.

 Security, Environmental Health and Safety.

 Data base communication in the company.
 Marketing and Production.
 Induction exams on safety at the workplace.

4 GHACEM SAEFTY POLICY

Safety plays a pivotal role in the affairs of any establishment. At, Ghacem, protection and
safety is of a high priority. There are rules and regulations on safety every personnel must
adhere to and practices that must be carried out before one can begin to work on any
machinery in the factory.
4.1 MAJOR SAFETY PROCEDURES CARRIED OUT IN THE
FACTORY

1) SAFE WORK TALK

It is believed that safety lies in our own hand and so as part of the industrial training, there was a
session for safe work talk at the department before the various work roles are assigned. Safety is
the measures put in place to prevent injuries or accident and then personal safety is the process to
ensure the persons who operate a machine or works in the workshop is safe. Some of the topics
treated at the safe work talk are as follows;

1) How to use a fire extinguisher- from the abbreviation PASS, which stands for Pull, Aim,
Squeeze and Sweep, it is believed to be one of the simplest way to use a fire extinguisher
to fight fire before any external help. In using a fire extinguisher, aim at the source or the
ignition point of the fire, don’t stand in the direction of the wind and then be close to the
nearest exit point.
2) Personal hygiene- hygiene is the conditions and practices that promote and preserve
health. Therefore, personal hygiene is the hygienic measures concerning a person’s
bodily conditions and cleanness. As workers, we were shown the need to observe
personal hygiene by washing our hands regularly after work, bathing regularly, choosing
the right body perfumes and washing our working gears as often as we can in order to
preserve our health.
3) Road safety- these are the safety measures put in place to prevent accidents on the road
and even at the work place. People who use the road, including pedestrians and cyclists
are also made to observe road signs in other to prevent any form of accidents.
4) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)- The wearing of PPE’s which includes nose
masks, ear plugs, hand gloves, safety boots, goggles and the overcoat is known to be one
of the ways of observing safety rules of the company since it is a production industry, the
working is being exposed to dust and other falling objects.

2. PERFORMING LOTOTO

LOTOTO is a procedure performed when working on a particular piece of equipment

which has power supplied to it. This is done by turning off the safety switch which
supplies power to the equipment. The equipment can either be an electric motor, a dryer
or a compressor. The term LOTOTO Stands for lockout, tag out and try out.
 Lockout- this is the process of blocking the flow of energy from a power source
to a piece of equipment. This is done by using a safety lock. The aim is to
 prevent someone from unknowingly supplying power to the equipment of which
a person is working on in order to prevent injury.
 Tag out- placing a tag on a power source that warns others not to restore power.
 Try out- this is the last procedure of the LOTOTO. This is done by trying to turn
on the start button of the power source to know whether the equipment will
start. Also, the mechanism or the handle of the safety switch is consciously tried
whether it will be turned on. If both of these procedures do not supply power,
then the LOTOTO is complete and the equipment can be worked on.

5 THE ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

Throughout the three-month period of industrial attachment at Ghacem limited, I was allocated
to the Electrical department which consists of the Maintenance and Instrumentation units.

5.1 PLANT MAINTENANCE UNIT

The major maintenance usually carried out at the plant maintenance unit are preventive
maintenance and corrective maintenance. Preventive maintenance is a maintenance task
performed for the purpose of maintaining equipment and facilities in satisfactory operating
condition by providing for systematic inspection,detection and correction of incipient failures
either before they occur or before they develop into major defects On the other hand, corrective
maintenance is maintenance which is carried out after failure detection and is aimed at restoring
an asset to a condition in which it can perform its intended purpose. Listed below are some of the
activities carried out under preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance.

5.1.1 Motor testing

After bearing failure,electrical faults are the most common mode of motor failure, so in addition,
a properly planned electrical testing scheme is important for making sure of plant reliability.
Diagnostic tools like clamp-on ammeters, temperature sensors,megger can help illuminate these
issues and the main tests that were carried out were ground and continuity test.
5.1.2 How motor testing is done?
For three phase motor, this is how the testing is done;

 You make sure the link for power supply is in decent state. Verify the
connection bar for terminal (U,V,W);either star or delta
 Confirm the power supply voltage for electric motor.
 With the help of multimeter,verify the continuity of winding from phase-to-
phase ( U to V, V to W, W to U). Every phase-to-phase must should have a
steadiness if winding is ok.
 Check from phase to earthing ( U to E ,V to E, W to E)
 With the motor running, check the running amps of the motor using clamp-
on meter
 Match up to the full load current on the nameplate of motor
 After completion of every step choose the condition of electrical motor
either the need to repair or run.

Figure 1: Motor Testing

5.1.3 Determining motor terminal connection for suitable voltage.
The key to determining this is the motor nameplate.

Figure 2: Motor name plate

We can find the motor connection and their suitable voltage from this motor
nameplate, we can see it has 2 connections and 2 voltage values. If our power
supply voltage is 415 VAC for 3 phase, we need to set the motor terminal in STAR
connection. It means terminal cooper plate W2, U2 and V2 connect in one line.
Here I attached picture about motor terminal in STAR position

Figure 3: Star connection

If our power supply is 200 VAC 3 phase, we need to connected the cooper bar
terminal in DELTA position. It means the connection will be U1 with W2, V1 with
U2 and W1 with U2. It just needs to follow the diagram shown in motor
nameplate.
 Figure 4: Delta connection

5.1.4 Checking for loose motor terminal connection

Electrical connection needs to be mechanically tight to ensure that the resistance
across that connection is as low as possible, ideally 0 ohms. When a connection
becomes either loose or corroded, it develops resistance. This resistance dissipates
power in the form of heat when current flows through it. Even a resistance as low
as 5ohms can produce more than enough heat to burn up the connection and
surrounding wires. So as part of our routine preventive maintenance, we ensured
that all loose motor terminals were firmly tightened to ensure the effectiveness of
the electrical motor.
 Figure 5: Checking for loose terminal connection

5.1.5 Dedusting (aspirating) of electrical motors, safety switches and electrical

control panels
Dirty motors usually run hot when thick dirt insulates the frame and clogged
passages reduce cooling air flow. Since the factory is a cement manufacturing
company, it’s impossible to take dust away from the picture, cement dust will
eventually be produced. So as part of the routine preventive maintenance, we were
tasked to aspirate(blowing) the cooling fan blades, fan covers and cooling fins with
an air blower. We did the same for the safety switches and control panels by
blowing cement dust away from them.

5.2 Other Activities

 Replacement of faulty safety switches at silo under supervision.
 Replacement of control boxes on loading conveyors under supervision.
 Replacement of faulty 3-pole and 4-pole circuit breakers under supervision
  Checking of loose terminals of a current collector on crane 1 and crane 2

Figure 6: Current collector

5.3 INSTRUMENTATION UNIT

At the instrumentation section, there wasn’t really much work to do. So our
supervisors took the chance to lecture us on the following;

5.3.1 Components found in an electrical control panel

1. Contactors
This is an electrically controlled switch used for switching a power circuit,
similar to a relay except with higher current ratings. Again a contactor is
controlled by a circuit which has a much lower power level than the
switched circuit.

2. Overload relays
 This is a relay in a motor circuit that disconnects the motor from its power
source if the current that feeds the motor surpasses a certain predetermined
level.

3. Timer and Emergency Relays

Timer relay have a timing range of 0.05 seconds to 10.0 hours. The Multi-
Function version helps reduce your spare part inventory and standardize
your design.

Figure 7: Emergency relays

Figure 8: Motor control panel

4. PLC (PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROL)
A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a digital computer used for
automation of electromechanical processes, such as control of machinery on
factory assembly lines, amusement rides, or lighting fixtures. PLCs are used
in many industries and machines.

5. SOLENOID COIL
This converts electrical energy into linear motion. It creates a magnetic field
from electric current and uses the magnetic field to create linear motion.

Figure 9: Solenoid coil

6. FREQUENCY CONVERTER
Frequency converter is an electronic or electrochemical controlled device
which varies frequency thus motor speed.
 Figure 10: Frequency converter

7. CIRCUIT BREAKERS
The circuit breaker is a mechanical switching device 
•Capable of protecting the circuit wiring, 
•Capable of making, carrying and breaking currents under normal circuit 
conditions.
•Capable of making, carrying for a specified time and breaking currents 
under specified abnormal circuit conditions such as those of short 
circuit.

All circuit breakers have common features in their operation, although
details vary substantially depending on the voltage class, current rating and t
ype of the  circuit breaker.
1. The circuit breaker, fulfils the following functions:
2. Short‐circuit protection
3. Motor protection
4. Protection of connecting leads
5. Protection of installations
6. Signalization of the switching state
7. Tripping indication
8. Switching under normal service conditions
 9. Remote switching
10.Disconnecting
11.Locking out with padlock (mandatory for main switch)

Figure 11: Circuit breakers

6 DIRECT ONLINE

6.1 Control circuit of direct online

Direct on Line (DOL) control circuit is an electrical control system which is
intended for controlling the DOL power circuit. The electrical schematic
diagram below illustrates the operational system of the DOL
control circuit used in every electrical industry involving industrial
process automation control technology.
Figure 12: Schematic diagram of direct online starting

6.2 DOL Motor Control Circuit

The DOL control circuit consists of a combination of switches and auxiliary
contacts where the operational behavior of the main contactor coil relies
from.
When the RUN push button switch is pressed down, the control circuit is
complete which causes the electricity to proceed down to the coil of the
main contractor, this activates all contact points of the main contactor
including the three pole open contacts previously shown on the power
circuit which when closed would result in a current flow going directly to
the motor terminals to run the motor.

The drawing above shows the open auxiliary contact from the main

contactor connected across the RUN push button switch which provides a
holding contact to maintain the main contactor coil energized even after the
release of the RUN pushbutton switch, thereby allowing the motor to run
uninterrupted without having to keep the RUN button pressed down
continuously.
 The control circuit provides two interrupting contacts, one is the OFF
push button switch which is manually pressed by a human operator to stop
the motor when necessary, and another one is the thermal overload contact
which automatically opens the control circuit upon detection of motor
overload current.

6.3 Power circuit of direct online

 The electrical diagram below shows a typical 3 phase DOL motor control
power circuit diagram used in every electrical industry involving industrial
process automation control technology.

6.3.1 DOL Power

Circuit

 The DOL motor starter consists of the most basic electrical components for

motor operation, these components includes switches and motor circuit fault
detection devices.
 The main circuit breaker serves as the main connecting switch for the main
supply source voltage to power the whole motor control system. The circuit
breaker is also fitted with overload and short circuit protection to detect
faults in the load circuit, which when detected would instantly disconnect
the system from the main power source to protect the motor circuit.

The main magnetic contactor serves as the motor operation switch which can
be turned ON and turned OFF to connect or disconnect power to the motor
which results in the running and stopping of the electric motor.

The thermal overload relay acts as over current protection that switches OFF
the entire control circuit to prevent burning of the motor upon detection of
high load current that exceeds the motor's rated capacity as a direct result of
excessive load driven by the motor.

6.4 Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors are sensors which are used to accurately detect the
presence or absence of an object, to count objects, or in positioning
applications. The one used at Ghacem is the traditional one which requires a
lever or plunger to be pushed against the moving cement bag to adequately
register the presence of the cement bags and count them.
Figure 13: Proximity sensor

7 REFERENCES

www.solenod-valve-info.com

www.controleng.com

www.engineersedge.com

www.maintenanceworld.com

www.carelabz.com

www.stilesmachinery.com

www.ghacem.com