During a routine ladle deslagging operation at a foundry, molten metal spilt into the pouring spout and onto the deck via a cleaning hatch that had been left open. The molten metal burnt two hangers and produced a thick smoke. The three technicians present put out the fire with extinguishers. Emergency services treated three people for smoke inhalation. The foundry’s nurse treated the deslagging technician for first-degree burns to his forearms.

The spill occurred while the ladle was being tilted. The group’s electrical and automation experts did not find any malfunction of the automatic casting system. The most likely cause is an operating error in the ladle tilt controls.

The operator halted production, welded the hatch closed, and replaced the hydraulic control valve used to tilt the ladle. It then implemented the following corrective and preventive measures:

• the warped deck was replaced;
• the oil in the deslagging trolley’s hydraulic system was analysed;
• hydraulic and automation experts were brought in to analyse the root cause;
• a supply disconnecting device was installed on the ladle tilt control console so that the pourer can immediately cut off the casting stream. Before the incident, the emergency stop was located two metres away from the console.

Installing an electrical or mechanical stop on the ladle’s tilting system was not feasible due to the ladle’s various positions during deslagging and pouring. Instead, the operator plans to install a supply disconnecting device on the ladle tilt control console so that the pourer can immediately cut off the casting stream in the event of a problem (the nearest emergency stop is currently located on the trolley control console, which is 2 m away from the tilt control console).