MD DESK
The month of October is dear to me.
As there is a culmination of the event which comes together this month. Celebrating birthdays to start the month of festival season here in India.
This start has been an inspiring one personally as I have received an award in recognition of the social activities. Thanks for all your support. I dedicate this award to my father Mr.T.P.Thangaraj.
There are a lot of other interesting achievements which we achieved during this month. To list a few.
We applaud the successful launch of India’s first drilling rig delivered on a BS-VI truck for Indian Water Well market. This has opened ways for us to see the new and look over the horizon into the future. This event was telecasted by local media.
Export front, we developed a new and improved blast hole for the Middle East market, which completed its field trial and ready for dispatch. We applaud the achievement of the team in making the quick and much-needed adaptions to the Mammoth Rig. Looking forward to the feedback for the site on its performance.
Overall, I wish every family involved in the environment of PRD a Happy Ayuda Pooja and Dasara festival.
“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are” – Roy T. Bennett
INTERNATIONAL NEWS - THE 6 BIGGEST OFFSHORE STRUCTURES IN THE WORLD
Oil platforms are some of the biggest structures in the world. Reaching down hundreds of feet to the seabed, the “height” of deepwater oil platforms puts even the tallest skyscrapers to shame. And the platforms that sit above the water, full of technical equipment, storage facilities, and accommodation for workers have their own impressive scales. Oil rig jobs are unlike any other workplace, just as the structures are unlike any other build.
To showcase the incredible nature of the largest manmade structures, here’s a list of the six biggest oil platforms in the world.
DOMESTIC NEWS
FIRST MARKET VISITED POST LOCKDOWN
After lockdown with the relaxation of state government travel regulations, as a part of our regular site visit, Mr.Naveen – Sales Head South India visited Andhra Pradesh & Telangana region to survey the entire market, we set targets to find happenings in the field, explore the new opportunity for existing product and opportunities for new product requirements.
To meet our existing customers, new customers to get our market survey report.
They stated the following
• The Performances of the PRD machine are meeting the expectations of productivity and uptime.
• After-sales & service support was good, and that we were able to deliver even during the lockdowns.
• Importance of having spares shop at Telangana region to support the necessary market of our various applications.
Mr. Naveen Bagged a number order for PRD HC 500 series on this trip.
He was also able to identify the good potential for new products to support faster and more productivity in what we term as DSI segments. Frequent visit like this will helps us to update ourself on the current happenings & also understand the market dynamics which will be a leverage for our business development and product researches. We extended an arm of appreciation to the Mr.Naveen and his team.
EMPLOYEE INNOVATION AWARDS
TAGLINE – “WORK SMARTER WORK FASTER”
To promote a culture of innovation & continuous improvement – M/s. PRD Rigs India conducted a program to recognize the concept/ideas changes made by the employees.
This award is a special recognition of employees who make a valuable contribution to the innovation process with their commitment. Totally-33 individuals have been awarded for concepts Namely: Jig for Tractor/ Engine Mounting, Rope Tensioner, Electrical tapping machine, Mobile Oil Pump, Guide for Centralizer settings, and many more process improvements with has been effectively implemented and shared among our employees.
Thanks to Mr. Arul Production Manager who encouraged shop floor employees to try something new. Special thanks to our respected Chairman Sir and Beloved Managing Director for Honouring the Awards and Successful Program.
We would like to see more and more awards received by our Employees for their brilliant ideas and achievements.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE FACTORY - SOLAR POWER PLANT
PRD is officially climbing the ladder of sustainability. We congratulate Mr.Thejash- Manufacturing Engineer and Mr. Shekar – Head electrician for their assistance and completion of the project.
This Solar power plant (Phase I) – 50KW has been installed with an assumption of a 40% reduction in electricity bills and sustainable green energy. At Paranthaman Exporters our total power consumption currently is around 160Kw which has been increasing with In-house manufacturing implementation and increasing production capabilities. This was well understood and captured by the ME team. We have estimated that with a 40% reduction we shall achieve the ROI in just half a decade. We have used one of the best in world systems for generation of power, we involved brands like Panasonic and European made inventors from Solar edge. Combine with optimizers it has a state of art individual panel generation and monitoring capacity.
This can also be monitored through your mobile app at an individual panel level. we appreciate also the very professional and dedicated team from M/S. Green Hi-Tech who had been awarded the turnkey for the implementation of this power plant and 210 KW plant in erection in M/S. Sona Tex PRD’s textile division. We thank the management for their wise investment to promote a sustainable future choosing solar power for all future projects to come.
“It’s time for the Human race to enter the solar system” – Dan Quayle
SERVICE. SUPPORT. SATISFACTION - THE MASTERY OF ENGINES
During the month of September and October, PRD RIGS Lanka was picking up its pace as it was to work on many engines. With a faster delivery to satisfy customers who have suffered during the pandemic and was stuck between the expecting rains and crisis of cash crunch.
However, we were determined to provide their support across the country with ambitious standards of on-site services, with this we gained an extremely challenging engine swap in the bushes. Our customer was 320km away from our workshop so they opted for an on-site instead that the service happening at our workshop. It was up to Mr.Vijay- Service Head and his team to coordinate and complete the task. The engine was loaded in our yard at the back of our pickup and transported by road.
Once they reached the site. The compressor canopy was first dismantled, to do the uncoupling of the failed engine. The new engine was fixed by using the bushes and tree truck as their hoist frame to lift the uncoupled engine. With tremendous effort, this task was completed. The crew managed their swapped in 24hrs which a record-setting time. This was a bare engine and the fuel pump, fan, and other accessories were till to be fixed before the engine could be commissioned.
The following day the crew managed all the installations and was ready for the field test. The customer had started drilling in 48hrs which was at a record pace. The customer was happily satisfied and also said that the performance was equal to the new engine. He also congratulated Mr. Vijay and his team for the effort and achievement.
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see”. – Arthur Schopenhauer
TECHNICAL CORNER - AUGER DRILL METHOD
Environmental drilling occurs in many different types of geologic settings and the project objectives are often very diverse. The drilling methods differ depending on a number of factors, such as the kind of project, the soil at the site, and whether water sampling is involved. Two common forms of drilling are solid stem auger and hollow stem auger.
SOLID STEM AUGER
Solid stem augers (SSA) use continuous flight augers which mechanically excavate and continuously transport cuttings to the surface. Augers are available in diameters of 3 to 14 inches. Solid stem augering has a number of advantages. It produces a moderate amount of easily contained cuttings and little or no fluid is required in the drilling process. Thin wall and split barrel sampling operations are supported. Because of lower torque requirements for solid stem augering, smaller drill-rigs can be used. Doing so simplifies site maneuvering and often incurs lower costs.
However, this drilling method also has a number of disadvantages. In order to obtain soil samples, the solid stem auger must be removed from the hole. Therefore, this technique is limited to stable soils that will not collapse when the augers is removed. Soil sampling during solid stem auger drilling is labor intensive, especially in deeper holes because the augers must be removed from the hole during each sampling procedure.
HOLLOW STEM AUGER
Hollow Stem Augers (HAS) are commonly used to set ground water monitoring wells for environmental and geotechnical applications, but can also be used to obtain soil samples. Hollow stem auger drilling uses large tdiameter (up to 14 inch outside diameter) continuous flight augers which mechanically excavate and continuously transport cuttings to the surface. A center bit, which is attached to the drill rod and bolted to the auger drive cap, is inserted through the cutter head to excavate the center of the boring. As the boring is advanced by adding sections of auger, sections of drill rod are added, maintaining the center bit at the face of the cutter bit.
Hollow stem augering has a number of advantages. The augers act as a temporary casing during and at the completion of drilling. This facilitates the soil and water sampling and the installation of monitoring wells. It is relatively rapid and little or no fluid is required in the drilling process. Additionally, this drilling method readily supports thin wall and split barrel sampling.
Hollow stem augering has a handful of disadvantages. For example, it is limited to drilling in poorly lithified to unlithified sediments. It also is limited to a maximum depth of 150 feet. Shallow bedrock or other hard to drill materials may reduce this depth significantly. High hydrostatic pressures when borehole drilling can cause problems with sand heaving up into the auger during soil sampling and well installation.
TECH FUTURE - BATTERIES POWERING THE FUTURE
The world needs more power, when fossil fuels are burned for power, it reflects in global warming and climate change. Our energy-storage strategies are currently shaped by lithium-ion batteries – at the cutting edge of such technology. Batteries have a significant impact on our world and are changing the way we are looking to the future.
There are many potential “replacements” for lithium-ion batteries, and the technology that will eventually replace it may not yet have been discovered. For eg: Extensive research in graphene, lithium-sulfur, and solid-state. Researchers are actively looking for next-generation batteries to take energy storage to the next level in increasingly demanding and complex applications from wearable consumer devices to electric vehicles.
Why energy storage?
The change in energy generation and consumption is being driven by three powerful trends: the arrival of increasingly affordable distributed power technologies, decarbonization of the world’s electricity network through the introduction of more renewable energy sources, and the emergence of digital technologies.
‘By enabling energy storage technology you can move away from a localised system with wires and
inefficient transition.’
Tesla’s latest big unveiling isn’t a car or truck: It’s the battery tech that could power its future
Tesla is already the industry leader when it comes to squeezing range out of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, but its ability to continue to innovate on its battery technology Tesla unveiled plans to develop a “million-mile” battery that could last an electric car’s entire lifetime on the road. It also outlined plans to dramatically reduce the cost of its battery cells and packs to $100 per kilowatt-hour, at which point experts believe electric cars will become comparable in price to combustion engine vehicles.
