Top 3 Benefits of Routine Maintenance
When everything is going smoothly, it’s easy to forget routine maintenance and justify that you don’t have the time to inspect and replace parts. Yet most plants and facilities have several pumps performing many critical operations – and corrosion, friction and vibration are just a few of the factors that can affect their successful long-term operation. If a pump malfunctions, it can cause the entire plant to shut down.
Routine maintenance allows your business to remain profitable and compliant with safety regulation, and lets you anticipate and avoid potential problems that could lead to unexpected downtime. Here’s our top 3 benefits:
1. Increased safety
Whether you have your own maintenance team or outsource maintenance tasks, the most important thing you can do to ensure the safety of your equipment and staff is to let properly trained and qualified technicians perform routine maintenance.
If the workers who conduct maintenance checks don’t have proper training, there’s a high chance of pump breakdowns and workplace injury. By keeping your pumps working efficiently, this preventative maintenance helps you avoid malfunctions that could have significant consequences for your facility and your staff.
2. Minimize downtime
With current condition monitoring and technology, most routine maintenance checks and monitoring can happen while pumps are inline and under pressure. Thus, there really is no excuse not to carry out planned maintenance. By keeping your equipment in peak operating condition there is less chance of experiencing unplanned downtime due to emergency shutdowns.
3. Prevent fugitive emissions
Pumps not operating in peak condition can be a major cause of fugitive emissions, the unintended release of gases or vapors into the air. Even small leaks can pose threats to the health of your workers, surrounding communities and the environment. Fugitive emissions can be particularly dangerous when your facility deals with volatile compounds such as those in oil refineries and chemical plants. Costly EPA fines, legal ramifications, the risk of long-term environmental and health hazards and plant shutdowns should be enough to ensure plant managers commit to routine maintenance checks, yet fugitive emissions still occur.
The easiest way to prevent fugitive emissions is install valves properly the first time. Once installed, routinely check packing and stem sealing. Where necessary, replace valves, especially if they are old and becoming outdated.
With the help of automated software, predictive maintenance is starting to replace routine maintenance to minimize the cost of unnecessary replacements or inspections. Predictive maintenance uses smart sensors and real-time data analytics to predict any issues with performance or potential performance, allowing system operators to investigate and replace or repair parts before any issue occurs. By combining routine maintenance with predictive, you’re covering all your bases to ensure your pump operates at peak condition, saving on downtime, decreasing leaks and emissions and ensuring the safety of your employees.
Are you unsure what kind of maintenance you should be doing, or if you should be doing it all? Call our toll-free number on 1-800-367-4180. We have experts on hand to help you maintain a variety of equipment. And to answer questions about things you’ve previously tried gone wrong.