Block Machine Installation and Operator Training in Iraq: The Commissioning Week

Block machine installation and operator training in Iraq is a seven day sequence, and the order of the days is not negotiable. The foundation is signed off before the crane is booked, the frame is levelled before the mould goes in, and the first mould is not run until the hydraulics hold 31.5 MPa and the vibration head delivers 280 kN. Skip a day and the machine still runs, but every block from the first month carries that error.

The schedule fits a large automatic machine: 15,500 x 5,500 mm footprint, 34 t dead weight, a 15 to 25 second cycle. A smaller machine keeps the same seven days in the same order; only the lifting plan and the crew size change.

1. Day 1: Foundation, Level and the Lift Path

The concrete foundation is signed off against the general arrangement drawing before any steel arrives. Three checks matter: flatness under the main frame, the position of the embedded plates and anchor pockets, and a clear apron around the 15,500 x 5,500 mm footprint for the low-bed trailer. Flatness is read with a straight edge and a feeler gauge along both axes, because a foundation can be level and still be dished in the middle.

The lift plan is written for 34 t: four lifting points on the frame, shackles matched to the load, no sling under the oil tank. The machine is set on steel packers, levelled there, and only then are the anchor bolts grouted. Bolting a twisted frame onto one high corner drags the guide columns out of line.

2. Day 2: Mechanical Alignment, Guides and the Pallet Line

The main frame is levelled in two directions with a precision level, and the corner readings are written down for Day 7. Guide clearance is checked with a feeler gauge at the top and bottom of the stroke, and the mould is walked through its full travel by hand before the hydraulics are powered. A mould that binds cold binds harder when it is warm and full.

The hopper outlet is set over the mould box, and the batching belt is aligned to the hopper centre so material falls in the middle. The pallet conveyor is squared to the machine centreline over its full length; one that is out by a few millimetres at the far end walks each pallet sideways and jams it at the press.

3. Day 3: Hydraulics at 31.5 MPa and Vibration at 280 kN

The tank is filled, air is bled at the highest point, and pressure is raised in stages up to the rated 31.5 MPa. The relief valve is set and sealed at that figure, and the reading is taken from a gauge on the pressure line, not from the panel. Cold oil reads high on pressure and low on flow, so the first hour is a warm up, not a test.

The vibration head is checked before it runs: mounting bolts torqued to the drawing figure, rubber pads seated flat, no gap under any corner. The exciter then runs unloaded at 3,800 to 4,500 vibrations per minute, and only then is it brought to its 280 kN working force. Every function is jogged in manual with the mould empty, limit switches and interlocks confirmed one at a time, and the emergency stop tested from each station.

4. Day 4: The First Mould and the Cycle You Actually Get

The first mould is run as a continuous series, not as single strokes. The line is set inside the 15 to 25 second window and left to run, first for 20 cycles, then for a full set of pallets. Two numbers are recorded side by side: the cycle the PLC reports, and the cycle a stopwatch shows from one mould close to the next. The gap points at pallet exchange or the feed stroke.

Blocks are pulled from the first, fifth and last pallet and checked for height, length and edge quality. Height spread across one pallet matters most, because it shows whether feed and vibration were even across the mould. Day 4 blocks are not sold and not counted as production; they are dated, labelled and kept as the reference set for the 7 day and 28 day checks.

5. Days 5 and 6: Who Must Be Able to Do What?

Training is built as a matrix of tasks against roles, not as a list of attendees. Four roles sit on the sheet: machine operator, batching, pallet and curing, maintenance. Each task is marked one of three ways: performs it alone, performs it under supervision, or must know it exists and call the right man. A signature on an attendance sheet proves nothing; a man changing a mould alone at night proves the training worked.

Mould change belongs to the operator and the fitter together, because the mould frame, the guide clearance and the first pallet after the change must be read by someone who knows what correct looks like. Alarm reading belongs to the operator: he opens the alarm page and names the three alarms that mean stop. Stopping the line belongs to every man on it.

The batching role carries the mix: aggregate and sand weighed to the set ratio, water added against sand moisture. The pallet and curing role carries edge crush checks before a pallet enters the press, stacking so the bottom layer bears the load, and sample blocks set aside on the day they are made.

6. Day 7: Acceptance, Files and the Two Recheck Dates

Day 7 is a measured run, not a demonstration. The machine runs a full shift with the crew that will operate it, and the commissioning team does not touch the controls. The acceptance sheet records the cycle achieved, the pallets produced, the block dimensions and their spread, the pressure held, the vibration setting, and every alarm that appeared.

The handover file is what the plant keeps when everyone has gone home, and it is assembled on Day 7 in front of the buyer:

• Foundation and general arrangement drawings, marked with the revision actually built on site.
• Hydraulic schematic and wiring diagram, updated with every change made during commissioning.
• PLC program backup on a labelled storage device, plus the alarm list printed in Arabic and English.
• Mould drawings for every block size ordered, with the changeover sequence written step by step.
• Spare parts list split into first wear items and long lead items, and a maintenance schedule with bolt torques and oil intervals.
• The training matrix signed by name and role, and the acceptance protocol with the reference block set.

7. What Should the Buyer Have Ready Before the Crew Arrives?

Two recheck dates are fixed before the crew leaves: 7 days and 28 days. On the first, the frame is re-levelled if the foundation has settled, the anchor bolts are re-torqued, the oil is checked for water, and production blocks are compared against the Day 4 set. On the second, the comparison repeats, the mould is inspected for wear, and the cycle is timed again. A machine that held tolerance on Day 7 and lost it by Day 28 has a foundation or a mix problem.

The crew can only commission what is on site. Before Day 1 the buyer needs the foundation cured and signed off with the drawing revision at hand, power live at the panel, water, cement, sand and aggregate for a week of trial running, pallets in the ordered size, and lifting gear for 34 t. The men to be trained are released for all seven days.