Removal of Filter in sand trap louver plenum, on Waste bunker Roof fans:

A. Frequency of cleaning – Quarterly as minimum – frequency could vary depending on the dust
storms etc. (DPS mounted at 1.5 m from grating level and the sensing tubes between inlet/outlet
of the filters on the plenum are installed at 2.5 m from grating level. This DPS will indicate the
condition of the filter and raise alarm when dirty. DPS will be connected to the BMS).

DPS Model P233

B. No. of operatives – 3 operatives total. 2 operators inside the plenum (1 for dismantling the filters
and the other 1 for collecting the filters), and 1 standing outside the plenum for HSE requirement.
C. Filter arrangement inside plenum (Typical):
Total 32 filters (4 in one section – 8 total sections) each filter size: 1450 x 825 mm – 32 Nos. (Refer
Fig. 1 Below) weight of 1 filter – 2 Kg (approx.)

Figure 1 – Filter arrangements inside FA intake plenum

Note: Before proceeding with filter cleaning and entering the plenum the operators must make sure they
have the following items with them:

 Face mask to protect operator against dust.

 Battery operated mobile lights.
 PPE comprising full body harness.
D. Procedure for Cleaning STL Filters:

1. Switch off the fans identified for sand trap louver filter cleaning requirement.
2. Additionally, turn each fan’s isolator in “OFF” position and apply lock. Keys to be held by the
HSE operator standing near the access door.
3. Open the access door on sand trap louver plenum (refer to figure 2 one here below). Door size
– 2000 x 600 mm with frame and lockable sliding bolts on top and bottom to ensure the door is
fastened all the time during the fan operation.
Note: As soon as the fan is switched off – there is no negative pressure inside the plenum – as
the face of sand trap Louver are open to atmosphere, and therefore, the pressure inside
plenum is considered as atmospheric pressure. Hence, there is no issue in opening the access
door.

Figure 2 - Access Door on Plenum – 2000 x 600 mm – Door opening to the outside and with two lockable
sliding bolts for fastening securely to the frame.

4. After entering the plenum through the access doors, dismantle wire mesh and filters on lower
section first (up to 2 M height).
5. Once lower level filters are removed and replaced with the clean filters, prepare for removal of
the filters from top and middle section considering the safety precautions listed here below.

Safety precaution:
Since the ladder on guide rails is 7 meters tall (this is for the worst-case scenario), the operator,
which is carrying out the filter cleaning, must follow the following procedure:

 Wear a full body harness and clamp the harness hook while climbing up the ladder.
 Reach to the upper section of the ladder progressively by clamping the harness hook on the
ladder to prevent fall
 Place the custom-made platform (refer to figures 3 and 4 here below) at 1.8 M height from the
topmost end of the ladder
Figures 3 and 4 – Sliding ladder with custom-made clamp-on platform for the operator to stand and
remove the filter from top and middle sections.

 Stand on the platform and provide fall arrester device model 8173 (refer to Figure 5 here below)
to install on the lifeline.

Figure 5 - Fall Arrester Device (Model 8173 – Make: Miller-Honeywell)

 Step 1 - Open the device by rotating the locking lever upward (refer to Figure 6 here below).
 Figure 6 - Illustration of fixing rope arrester device

 Step 2 - Opening up the side plate.

 Step 3 -Place the device on the appropriate lifeline with the arrow pointing upwards toward the
lifeline anchor point.

WARNING: NEVER attach the device on the lifeline with the arrow pointing downward; it will
not lock onto the lifeline should a fall occur.

 Step 4 - Close the device around the lifeline, tighten thumbscrew.

 Step 5 – Close the latch
 Step 6 – Connect device to full body harness as per the following procedure:

Connecting the fall arrestor hook to the full-body harness:

Rope grabs should be connected to either the back D-ring on the full-body harness (refer to Figure 7 here
below) using an approved lanyard, or to the front chest D-ring on the full-body harness using a connector,
such as a locking carabiner. (According to ANSI standards, a front D-ring attachment element may be used
for fall arrest only in applications where the personal fall arrest system limits the maximum free fall
distance to 2 ft. (0.6m) and limits the maximum arrest force to 900 lbs. (4.0kN).)

Fi
Figure 7 - Illustration of Full Body harness hook fixing to the fall arrester device (The harness shown
above prevents the fall and allows both hands to be used safely, as the D-Clip is connected to the ladder
when on the platform, and to the safety cable when climbing).

Note: The maximum lanyard length is 2 ft. (0.6m) for use with trailing rope grabs.

 Step 7 - Once the fall arrester device is secured to the hook on the back of the body harness, the
operator on the ladder can start dismantling filters from top section using the custom-made
platform on ladder and repeat the procedure of fixing the fall arrester at requisite height for
dismantling filers from the middle section.

6. Use a pulley system to raise and lower filter panels (refer to figure 8 here below).

Figure 8 – The top guide rail and pulley block for lowering the filters from top and middle sections
7. A clean set of filters will be placed near the plenum where dirty filter removal operation will be
conducted before starting removing the filter, in order to save time in replacement and
putting the ventilation fans back in operation.
8. Starting from the top filters, unfasten the wire mesh backing and using temporary hooks attach
to adjacent filter mesh.
9. Move left to right (and right to left for next row down) to reduce platform level movements.
Complete a full row before lowering the platform. The ladder movement is ensured by means
of U-profile channel at the bottom and double-wheel and guide rail on top of the ladder.
Therefore, when pulling the ladder, it cannot cause it to twist and unseat from its rail.
10.Take out the filters on one section and then slide the ladder to repeat the filter removal
operation.
11.The operator standing on the platform clamped to the ladder will remove the dirty filter and
hand it over (by Pulley system) to the fellow operators in the plenum at lower level. And
reciprocally, the clean filter will be handed over by the operator at lower level, to the operator
on the ladder and platform using the same pulley system.
12. Ensure several spare sets of filters are available – this will enable several filter set changes
before the crew need to descend to ground level to clean filters (for steps 8 to 12, refer to
figures 9 to 21 here below).
Figures 9 to 21: illustration of filter replacement procedures

13. The filters removed and collected at the bottom of the plenum will then be taken out through
the access door on the side of the plenum.
Figure 22 – Removal of filter through the access door to a location on roof for further shifting it to the filter
cleaning designated area.

14. Take the filters away from the operational fans at a designated place at ground floor level for
filter washing and cleaning.
15. Visually inspect the plenum / fan inlet cone etc… to ensure no hand gloves, hand tools, items
etc… are left behind inside the air intake plenum. The inside plenum must be completely
cleared.
16. Slide the ladder at the end of the plenum and secure it using mechanical clamp in order to
prevent any movement/ vibrations of the ladder inside the plenum when the fans are
operational.
17. After visual inspection inside the plenum and fan inlets, close the access door and secure it in
place with lockable sliding bolt on top and bottom.
18. Check the surrounding of fan, ducting, and switch on the fan power supply.
19. Turn on the isolator and observe the fan operation.
20. After the fan set is operational, repeat the same filter removal operation on other fans.