reliability engineering for maintenance

Mechanical seals are a great cause of concern and failures in many operating plants. This is especially true of systems that are pumping or compressing dirty fluids. Some examples include bottoms pumps, sulfur pumps, or equipment that is handling abrasive or challenging process media. Mechanical seals are often redesigned, replaced and repaired simply because of the challenging conditions these seals face during operation. This has continually led to excessive costs in terms of repair or redesign, not to mention production loss and cost associated on a critical unspared asset.

A major challenge currently confronting plant staff and management is how to deliver cost-effective and sustainable business practices based on plant performance requirements over the lifecycle of the assets. This can be especially challenging when it comes to recruiting and retaining skilled technicians who can operate and maintain an industrial complex. While it is recognized that a primary cause for this challenge is a shrinking pool of newly qualified technicians to replace the retiring workforce, a second and substantial cause is the inefficient allocation of resources that are here TODAY. What can be done to address this inefficiency? This article suggests a ready solution exists when you stop to recognize that not everything in your plants is of equal importance to achieving your objectives. Think return on investment (ROI). How can you identify those systems and equipment that are most responsible (think critical) for the loss of ROI? In the operations and maintenance (O&M) world, the selective application of reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) to your plants can optimize the use of available resources. This article describes a real-world application of RCM to focus the optimal use of your available resources.