The energy of innovative ideas
Samruk-Energy JSC has announced the results of its traditional competition, ‘Best Innovative Idea’. The competition was timed to coincide with World Energy Saving Day. It was attended by innovators from all regions of the country representing Samruk-Energo Group companies.
As noted by the competition organisers, the participants demonstrated creativity, engineering ingenuity, responsibility and a desire to improve the efficiency of production processes. The ideas presented by the innovators prove that even small steps can lead to big results.
Among the winners of the competition were innovators from AlES’s CHPP-2, who took third place. The group consisted of Beglan Razkul, Deputy Head of the Production and Technical Department, Kenzhebay Baizakhov, Head of the Fuel and Transport Department, and Shalkar Nurmukhanbetov, Deputy Head of Operations at the Fuel and Transport Department.
Their joint proposal was aimed at improving operational efficiency and reducing commercial electricity costs, and took third place in the Samruk-Energo competition. All winners were awarded diplomas and prizes. But the main result of the competition was that the example set by the participants and winners, whose work has been put to use in production, showed how each employee in their own position can contribute to improving the work of the entire enterprise and helping to conserve resources. And… make the world cleaner – in the literal sense. This was also the aim of the Almaty energy workers’ project.
When asked why they were interested in this topic, Beglan Razkul replied: “Every day we deal with the process of unloading coal and see how even small design features of the equipment affect productivity. Therefore, the problem of repeated overturning of wagons due to the return of coal on board seemed to us to be a significant waste of time and resources. And we decided to find a simple and effective solution that could be implemented without significant costs”.
We suggested reducing the area of the support legs of the car dumper vibrators, leaving only the part that contacts the side of the semi-car. Thanks to this, the coal does not get stuck on the legs and does not spill back into the car. This eliminates the need for repeated overturning and speeds up the unloading process.
According to the Almaty innovators, the work took several weeks, from observation and analysis to manufacturing and testing. The main difficulty was to reduce the area of the legs without compromising the strength and reliability of the structure. We had to select the optimal dimensions and test them in practice, explained Kenzhebay Baizakhov. He added that several people worked on the idea. The team came together naturally, as all three are involved in operating the equipment and are familiar with the process. Their roles were also distributed naturally.
Shalkar Numa Khanbetov added: “One was responsible for analyzing the technical parameters, another for design, and the third for manufacturing and implementing changes. We worked together enthusiastically because we were united by the goal of improving the operation of the plant. This is our first joint project. Previously, each of us had put forward separate proposals, but this idea became our first joint project, combining our efforts and experience.”
The innovators’ proposal made it possible to increase productivity, reduce wear and tear on mechanisms, reduce energy consumption and improve the quality of the coal unloading process.
‘The economic effect has already been calculated. Energy savings and reduced equipment operating time ensure an immediate return on investment. There is also a financial effect – savings exceeded 36,000 kWh of electricity per year and reduced equipment operating time by more than 300 hours per year,’ Beglan Bakytzhanuly cites the data. “At the same time, the implementation costs are minimal, as the modernization was carried out in-house. No investment was required; we used our own resources and capabilities.
When they entered the competition, the innovators, who based their work on practical tasks, did not expect to participate in the competition, let alone win. To be honest, we did not expect to win – we just wanted to make our work more efficient, says Kenzhebay Ilyasovich. “So the recognition came as a pleasant surprise. The main thing for us is that the idea really works, brings benefits and has been appreciated by our colleagues and management.”
But the creative mind is such that one implemented project leads to new ideas. ‘We try to apply the habit of thinking rationally and innovatively in our everyday lives. We love to improve things, to make them more convenient, whether it’s a tool, a watering system at the dacha or small household appliances. The habit of looking for simple solutions has become part of our thinking, both at home and at work,’ admit the power engineers.
Now they plan to focus on the vibration system of the car dumper. ‘We have ideas on how to make it more energy efficient and reduce vibration loads. We are also considering upgrading the fastening assemblies to improve reliability and ease of maintenance,’ Beglan Razkul shared his plans. ‘Winning the competition is our first award, and it is very significant for us. We haven’t thought about patents yet, but now we have an incentive to develop our ideas further and, perhaps, formalize them in the future.’
However, many AlES employees are accustomed to thinking rationally. This is a historical development. And practice is a good school for developing engineering thinking. Especially considering the age of the Almaty energy complex’s stations and the difficult stages of history that they have gone through with honor, when they had to find solutions to the problems of worn-out equipment and a lack of spare parts and components in conditions of broken ties with suppliers. It was a tough school, but it laid the foundation for engineering and design thinking at all levels of the company’s production. The figures reflect this fact.
It is important to add that since 2024, this work with the ideas of innovators has been standardized and unified for all companies of the Samruk-Energy JSC group, and group rules with clear criteria and approaches to evaluating effectiveness have been developed. All of them are considered at a meeting of the expert and technical commission of Samruk-Energy JSC. Prior to this, there were simply provisions on rationalization at each enterprise. The new conditions for working with innovators are designed to strengthen this activity. For example, in 2024 alone, 12 proposals from innovators at AlES JSC were approved. In 2025, innovators at AlES JSC had already submitted 15 rationalization proposals, seven of which were approved and seven more are currently under consideration…