Condition Monitoring of Pumps - Coursework Example

Condition Monitoring of Pumps Name Institutional Affiliation \ Introduction Anticipating the requirement of maintenance of pumps as well as monitoring their conditions to detect the internal wear and tear is an incredibly systematic procedure. There are various methods that are used to monitor the condition of the internal wear of pumps including the head flow test, condition monitoring among other methods. The head –test method is a primary method that is used to investigate some of the reasons why the pumps may not be performing accordingly. In most cases, the head is usually measured; measuring the flow of the plant layout is what appears to be an expensive activity. The method to be used in the process solely depends on the cost benefit, availability of skills, nature if the pump, among other variables. The core aim of this paper is to describe the cost-benefit analysis of maintenance in relation to condition monitoring of pumps by the various companies. In addition will discuss outcome achieved after the numerous examples of cost benefits maintenance. Cost Benefits Analysis of Maintenance in Relation to Condition Monitoring In an effort to understand the cost benefits analysis of support in relation to condition monitoring of pumps, it is imperative to understand condition monitoring. Condition monitoring is a process of observing the various parameters of the state in a pump. Condition monitoring of pumps is conducted to recognize significant changes that result to an emerging fault. Additionally, it is also essential to understand some of the basic operations involved during pumping. A pump has various parts that are inter-related to have a common goal. One of the most noteworthy points of a pump is the BEP (Best Efficiency Point). A BEP is the rate of flow where the pump is considered to have the highest efficiency. A BEP is one of the key elements that determine whether the pump is operating properly or not. There are few pumps that operate an exact best efficiency rate throughout their operations since the process inconsistencies in the environment of production are believed to be less than 100 percent (Kernan, 2012). If a pump is properly sized for its application, it is believed to maintain a flow that is nearing the peak efficiency. It is recommendable to maintain a flow that is within the range of 80-100 percent of the Best Efficiency Point. This range will increase the efficiency, as well as, increasing the risk of pump failure or excessive wear. Nevertheless, few pumps achieve the required level of efficiency. For this reason, these pumps require to be monitored to ensure that the efficiently meet their requirements. Primarily, condition monitoring is considered to be one of the major components of predictive maintenance. Predictive maintenance is a technique that is used to establish the form of operating equipment so that a forecast can be made on when support is required to be performed. Forecast enable companies to save on time-based preventive or over routine maintenance as tasks are carried out when they are necessary (Beebe, 2008). Additionally, condition monitoring allows organizations to schedule the maintenance. Time is a very significant element for companies. In most organization, the performance of employees is determined by the number of hours worked. Additionally, most organizations pay their employees wages depending on the number of hours they have been working. Therefore, most organizations make every effort to ensure they do have a downtime due to a fault. The scheduling technique available for condition monitoring of pumps ensures that organizations protect the general performance of the organization by reducing any downtime (Kernan, 2012). Additionally, condition monitoring of pumps improves the overall performance of the companies. The performance of the corporation is appraised by the various ways. It can be assessed by the number of units produced in the organization, especially if it is a manufacturing company or the utilization of organizational resources. Also, performance can be evaluated by taking into account the profit margin of different departments in an organization, as well as, the overall corporate profits. Therefore, if an organization uses condition monitoring of pumps, the overall performance is improved because downtime is reduced. Reduction of downtime result in improved production, hence the efficient utilization of resources (Beebe, 2012). Outcome of using Condition Monitoring on Pumps Some organizational equipment is incredibly significant. Some equipment are considered to be the heart of the company, and most organizations can do everything to ensure that the driver of the organization is not affected. Pumps are exceedingly significant to a water treatment company. Fundamentally, a pump is considered to be the heart of the company. Almost every aspect of a water treatment organization originates from a pump. In a circumstance where the pump is not functioning in any way or the pumping system is operating inappropriately, the organization can suffer a significant loss. This loss can be in terms of low productivity, inefficient utilization of resources, among others. Most water treatments use various condition monitoring techniques to ensure that their pumps are and other equipment function appropriately. Some of these techniques include lubricant analysis, acoustic emission, and Ultrasound testing, motor condition monitoring, diagnostics and vibration analysis among other techniques. These technologies have enabled most water treatment companies to have significant achievement (Roylance & Rąjan, 2007). For the last decade, a pump system had been overlooked as it is implicated that the system was designed without having in mind the installed pump. Also, it is assumed that the pump’s operation is in accordance with the specification of the model. Today, there are various achievement that are associated with condition monitoring of pumps and especially from the economic point of view. The central idea of condition monitoring is providing intervallic maintenance before the whole system fails. The process works by analyzing the characteristics that may cause the pump system to fail. In addition, the process calculates the duration that is required for a failure to occur. Therefore, organizations are not necessarily required to have spare parts inventories as far as the pump is concerned. In other words, since the system frequently monitors or continuously monitors the performance of the pump (Beebe, 2008). Mostly, engineers consider condition monitoring as reliability centered analysis due to its efficiency regardless of the company that is implementing the system. For instance, condition monitoring was used by the Deer Water treatment plant. Before the process was implemented the member of staff who was responsible for maintaining the plant was performing various activities. Some of these activities include Ultrasonic thickening testing, acoustic ultrasound detection, oil analysis, spectral, infrared thermography, laser alignment among other tasks. After the implementation of the process, the company introduced an acoustic Ultrasound detection that is responsible for monitoring the pump as well as the motor to provide advance warnings in case of potential failures. According to the condition monitoring engineer responsible for the project, the noise levels are also expected to change. Therefore, Deer water treatment plant is a clear indication of the various direct cost benefits that are related to condition monitoring. The example also highlights the significance of employing such strategies in the context of water treatment where their exclusive operational concerns develop abnormal strains and stresses. Additionally, condition monitoring of pumps has improved utilization of resources. A company’s resources may include employees, finances assets among others. Every minute spent inactive in an organization is considered to an unrecoverable cost. Apart from just incurring the maintenance cost, spare parts cost, electricity cost among others, a company may pay heavily for the having its employees being unproductive. From an economic perspective, the company is considered to have a double cost when its employees are not performing due to a machine breakdown or any uncontrollable means. In other words, a company is considered to incur a personnel cost for unproductive employees and at the same time, the company is expected to suffer heavily for the damaged equipment by either replacing or repairing. Conclusion In recap, avoiding unexpected downtime, realizing performance, understanding energy saving, among other considerations, the users of pumps require a tool, a method or process that will determine the exact time for the repair of the pump. Since pump, just like any other machine, tends to rotate in their response to various forces, they experience tear and wear. Condition monitoring is the challenge being faced by pump used regarding maintenance. References Beebe, R. (2008). Experiences in Pump Condition Monitoring by Performance Analysis. Maintenance & Asset Management, 12-34. Beebe, R. S. (2012). Predictive Maintenance of Pumps Using Condition Monitoring. Chicago: Attribution is Non-commercial. Kernan, D. (2012). Pumps 101: Operation, Maintenance, and Monitoring Basics. New York: Monitoring and Control Group, ITT. Roylance, B. J., & Rąjan, B. S. (2007). Condition Based Maintenance - The benefits of counting the cost. Swansea: Glaxo Wellcome Operations. Read More