The manipulator of the 28 inch mill is one of the most important pieces of equipment in the Bar Mill (erstwhile Medium Light and Structural Mill). Over the years, the operation and usage of this equipment has undergone many changes in order to meet the customer requirements. In the earlier days when the Bar Mill received blooms from Rolling Mill 2 for converting them to structurals, the manipulator was basically used as a guide and the impact load was low. In order to facilitate changes and to meet the customer's demand of special steel blooms, the Mill started rolling blooms, round-cornered-squares and rounds from smaller ingots. The work load on the manipulator changed -the impact load increased manifold. As result, the condition of the manipulator deteriorated considerably- in the month of July 2001, it developed large cracks.

There were no spares and the lead-time for manufacturing a new one was over six months along with an expenditure of Rs. Five lakhs. The equipment had to be repaired with the facilities available in-house to prevent stoppage of the Mill. The Mechanical Section of the Bar Mill initiated action to repair the equipment during the normal weekly shut downs. The entire activity spanned a period of two months. A total of Rs. One lakh was incurred.