OIL & GAS INDUSTRY FOCUS
Test equipment helps offer new value to customers Q
uartzelec is a major provider of electrical engineering services for offshore oil and
gas industry customers around the world. Quartzelec has continually evolved and
upgraded its capabilities to meet the changing needs of its customers, and one of the most significant changes in recent years has been the introduction of advanced condition monitoring capabilities designed to improve the reliability and productivity of assets by predicting and preventing failures before they occur. “Until around three years ago, maximising output was the key concern across the oil and gas industry,” says Paul Oliver, general manager of the company’s Aberdeen unit. “But since the downturn in the oil price, the industry has started to look far more closely at reliability. Operators now understand the value of condition monitoring to help them conduct their maintenance activities in a more predictable, planned manner.” For Quartzelec, that change in focus by its customers presented a big opportunity. “Increasingly, we want to be seen not just as a company that can repair equipment when it breaks, but as a partner that can help ensure assets continue to operate reliably,” says Oliver. Over the past two years, the company has
developed a portfolio of condition monitoring services for electrical machines, including temperature and vibration monitoring, online electrical monitoring and partial discharge testing.
One important tool in the
company’s armoury of test equipment is the SKF Static Motor Analyser Baker AWA. The compact, automated machine is used to conduct a battery of tests on electrical machines to evaluate the condition of their winding’s insulation and electrical connections, identifying weaknesses or developing problems that might lead to failure in service. Quartzelec’s engineers already have plenty of experience with the Baker AWA analyser, as it is used as a standard part of the company’s motor overhaul procedures, to evaluate the condition of machines that come into its workshops for maintenance, and to check that repairs have been completed successfully prior to despatch. “The AWA analyser is a very user friendly device, with a simple structured menu that guides our engineers through the required series of tests,” says Oliver. “It also produces detailed reports on the condition of the machine, and that’s something our customers also appreciate.” These days, however, the company’s Baker AWA
analyser spends around 40 per cent of its time away from the workshop, conducting on-site tests on offshore platforms, oil industry support vessels and other customer assets. “Typically, our engineers will conduct tests on every machine on
a customer vessel on an annual basis,” explains Oliver. “Those tests allow us to identify problems immediately, and by comparing the results from different tests on the same machine over time, we can spot trends that might indicate the need for planned maintenance the next time the asset is scheduled for overhaul.” The global nature of its customers’ businesses
means Quartzelec may be called to conduct tests almost anywhere in the world. Oliver notes that engineers have recently worked on vessels in Turkey and Spain, for example. An oil service vessel may carry more than a dozen critical electrical machines, and the company’s test regime regularly identifies issues for customers.
SKF
www.skf.com
INSTRUMENTATION | MARCH 2018
21
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