Perceptiv™ Services Helps Brewery Avoid Catastrophic Downtime
Wireless Vibration Monitoring System Detects Excessive Vibration in Boiler Feed Pump
The Problem
A brewery was having issues identifying the problems with a critical boiler feed water pump. The maintenance manager was inspecting the unit frequently to ensure it continued to operate. If the boiler feed pump failed, it could damage pipes and other equipment, resulting in expensive repairs and lost production. The brewery had limited resources to troubleshoot the issues. With no redundancy for this pump, the brewery turned to the Perceptiv™ team for assistance.
The Solution
The Perceptiv™ team installed a wireless vibration monitoring system to remotely monitor the boiler pump. The system was easy to install: no wires or conduits needed to be attached to the vibration point. Within the first month of monitoring, the data revealed abnormally high vibrations in the boiler feed pump were leading to accelerated motor and pump deterioration. The root cause of the issues was misalignment of the pump head to the motor. This was a relatively new piece of equipment and unlikely to be identified as the source of the problems. The Perceptiv™ team generated a report based on their findings and provided detailed recommendations to correct the issues. The customer corrected the misalignment issue, as well as replaced the motor and the pump to avoid future problems. The monitoring system and insights provided by the Perceptiv™ team prevented unnecessary downtime, saved 400 barrels of production, and reduced labor costs, as well gave the brewery the tools to implement proactive maintenance strategiesBenefits Seen by the Brewery Included:
- Reduced cost of downtime – avoided losing a day of production which would cost the brewery 400 barrels, equaling 5600 cases and $100,000 in lost production.
- Reduced Inspection Labor Costs – Perceptiv™ services reports pinpointed problems and suggested inspection targets.
- Transitioning to Proactive Maintenance – Maintenance team has begun to perform asset criticality rankings on brewery equipment to move towards remote monitoring and more efficient planning.
- Enhanced Maintenance Practices – Vibration amplitude trend data improved maintenance practices.
- Low cost wireless systems are easy to deploy and capable of covering a large variety of equipment types.
- Vibration and temperature are most common parameters measured.
- Low cost wireless systems are easy to deploy and capable of covering a large variety of equipment types.
- Vibration and temperature are most common parameters measured.
- Spectral data on the unit showed broadband energy between 500 and 1000hz.
- This broadband energy was usually due to lubrication or bearing stress.
Solution Summary
- Application: Steel Mill Roughing Stand Spindle
- Industry: Metals
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