Operation & Maintenance of Power Plants
Maintenance: plan and be proactive
Richard Hale discusses the importance of planned maintenance in avoiding costly downtime at power generation plants.
Richard Hale analiza la importancia de un mantenimiento planeado para evitar costosos periodos de inactividad en las centrales generadoras de energía.
Richard Hale erläutert die Bedeutung geplanter Wartung zur Vermeidung teurer Ausfallzeiten in Kraftwerken.
F
Fig. 1. With a proactive approach to maintenance, it is possible to reduce the risk of equipment failure.
or plant managers and engineers in the power industry, the pressures are greater than ever to provide reliable, cost effective results that adhere to the industry’s strict health and safety and
environmental standards. Planned and proactive maintenance of equipment should play a key role in the drive to avoid downtime, maintain high standards and keep repair costs down.
Implications of forced outage Putting a figure on the cost of unplanned downtime can be difficult, but the most significant factor in this downtime is often the loss of revenue that the outage causes – according to InTech, downtime costs a plant on average at least 5 per cent of its productive capacity, and many lose up to 20 per cent. Couple to this the cost of repair, and the financial implications are considerable.
Te continued function of equipment in
power generation plants is all the more important because of the stringent health and safety criteria and environmental considerations that have to be met. With the vast number of conditions in place from the UK Government, and internal
safety programmes and assessments in place, the risk of equipment failure must be reduced as far as possible. Te failure of any number of pieces of equipment, from cooling equipment to pumps and valves, could result in a failure to meet these criteria, leading to legal or financial implications. So how can plant managers ensure that this does not happen?
Planned maintenance Tere are a number of ways that plant managers can reduce the risk of failure to their equipment, including predictive analysis technology and costly equipment replacements, one of the most effective is planned maintenance. By taking a proactive approach to maintenance, and where necessary strategic redesign, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of equipment failure. By planning maintenance programmes, it is not only possible to maintain the condition of equipment, but plant managers can also foresee future problems and understand how machinery is behaving. Tis in turn means that it is not only possible to reduce the risk of failure, but to improve the efficiency and productivity of equipment.
Te maintenance of motors and pumps,
in particular, can be carried out quickly and efficiently through a planned programme, without major disruption to the ongoing function of the plant. Deritend has carried out such work in the
power industry at facilities including Coryton refinery in Essex and Baglan Bay power station in South Wales. By taking pro-active action to maintain equipment, these power plants have been able to keep equipment running smoothly and efficiently, avoiding costly repairs and meeting environmental and safety requirements.
Baglan Bay Working with GE Power Systems, the owners of the site, Deritend undertook work to overhaul cooling tower motors at the Swansea site. Te Deritend engineers created a bespoke plan for the power station that involved working concurrently on the cooling towers’ gearboxes, so that the work can be carried out with minimum disruption to the plant.
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