Can maintenance improve the operational performance of the processing plant?

by ESR-A, ESR-B, ESR-C, ESR-D, ESR-E, ESR-F

A smaller group of ESRs is dealing with the development of methods related to the maintenance of the plant or a specific equipment. For example, ESR-A and ESR-B are working on fault detection for induction motor, ESR-F is focused on modelling the effect of fouling on compressors, ESR-E is developing performance monitoring methods and ESR-D is researching methods for plant-wide fault detection.

All these researches were asked the question:

Q: “What can maintenance do for the operational performance of the processing plant?”

They answered:

A: “Maintenance can improve the operational performance if it becomes more effective and more efficient.”

• Effective maintenance is doing the right maintenance: that which brings higher equipment reliability and efficiency and lower operational risks.

• Efficient maintenance is doing maintenance right so that reliability and risk reduction are achieved with the least resources and time.

In order to capture the benefits of new maintenance policies this cluster of ESRs worked together for the definition of a possible KPIs, for example as in Figure 1. 

For the calculation of this KPI the reference value is provided by a model of the equipment or the plant, and the actual value is calculated based on the variables measured on site, as in Figure 2, the calculation of this KPI requires the definition of an appropriate time-span, the ideal reference is provided by a model which estimates one many shut-down and start-up would have been necessary if an ideal maintenance plan was to be followed.