Across a refinery
site there can be
thousands of assets,
some more important
than others, some
more expensive than
others.
www.sulzer.com
Reactive and Preventative
Maintenance
Historically, many refineries have taken a
decision to employ a reactive maintenance
policy whereby assets are replaced or
repaired on a fix-as-fail basis which in the
short term can deliver some cost savings,
unless a more serious failure occurs.
Reactive maintenance relies on the skills
of the on-site maintenance team and the
availability of spare parts. If either of these
factors fails to meet expectations, there is a
real possibility of substantial losses due to
lost production.
The purpose of preventative maintenance
is to use all available information and
techniques to build a maintenance
program that will identify assets that
require some form of service intervention
and schedule the works to be completed
as a preventative measure. In this way
the work can be scheduled to cause
minimal disruption and countermeasures can be used to reduce or
even avoid lost production costs. In a
number of cases some of the equipment
may be overlooked in terms of regular
maintenance and inspection schedules for
a variety of reasons, but this can develop
Developing even the most
rudimentary scheme for
preventative maintenance can pay
dividends in terms of reliability and
productivity.
A preventative maintenance program
that will reduce the costs associated with
repairs caused by unexpected failures
can be developed to include all the key
assets within the refinery and may involve
procedures such as thermography and
It is common for the refinery to have a well
vibration analysis. However, complete
developed relationship with a local service
service providers such as Sulzer can
and maintenance provider that can offer
also provide design improvements to a
skills and services that are not available
number of larger rotating components
within the facility itself. Sulzer has many
such as pumps, compressors, motors and
years' experience in providing skilled
generators that will deliver improved
engineers and engineering technology
reliability and efficiency.
to the refinery sector and so has built-up
an in-depth knowledge of the demands
within the industry.
Developing the relationship between
the technical engineering department
within the refinery and the local service
agent, that may also be on-site, is crucial
for improving the processes within the
facility both in terms of operation and
maintenance. Local Sulzer locations for
example have access to a worldwide
network of engineering and repair
sp ecialists that are supported by modern
design facilities, the latest manufacturing
technology and skilled teams of site
engineers.
into a false economy.
Issue 21 PECM
97