Electricity + Control December 2017

TRANSFORMERS + SUBSTATIONS

plan activities, do the work, write a report and send it off, with no further involvement.This of- ten leads to steps being missed in completing the typical Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. “We believe there needs to be further en- gagement and meetings are proposed after each shutdown,” says Smorenburg. “Here, we discuss, in detail, the recommendations that need to be addressed, depending on the severity, by the next intervention, or as soon as possible. It is also necessary to check if those recommendations from the previous intervention have been carried out.” He emphasises the skills transfer and field training that occurs when Marthinusen & Coutts technicians are on site with a custom- er’s maintenance staff. “We strongly suggest that the customer involves their own teams in the maintenance activities that we conduct, so there is a skills transfer and training from the specialist,” he says. “In effect, they are getting hands-on training on how the maintenance should be done without any additional cost.” The ongoing skills-sharing input pays div- idends due to high staff rotation at relatively junior levels of maintenance work, as custom- er employees develop skills and move on to other roles in the organisation. This makes it necessary to conduct training quite regular- ly, and the six month inspection becomes an important opportunity at which to do this. Smorenburg says Marthinusen & Coutts has applied this approach on a number of sites around Africa, and has noticed a significant improvement in machine condition when they go back to conduct the six month inspections. “While doing these inspections, we can identify the level of skill on the workshop floor, and include this in the report and fol- low-up action,” says Smorenburg. “We can then provide input on what we see as the customer’s skill limitations, and suggest the necessary training from suitably qualified en- gineers, or even develop fit-for-purpose train- ing programmes on their behalf.”

and annual maintenance interventions are com- pleted by both specialists and plant personnel ensuring that every critical machine and its components’ condition are known. “In some cases, customers outsource maintenance functions when, in fact, they could perform it themselves,” he says. “With the absence of in- house skills, there is sometimes also a lack of understanding of what is required for regular in- ternal maintenance.” Indeed, Smorenburg con- siders it unwise for customers to employ out- side specialists to deal with weekly or monthly maintenance. “This can lead to the customer losing touch with their equipment, and they lose the necessary skill completely,” he says. “Rather, the intervention from a specialist should be at six monthly or annual intervals.” Condition monitoring tests Smorenburg highlights the value of condition monitoring activities in this maintenance pro- cess. Condition monitoring tests provide useful information that can be analysed over a period of time, helping to improve the quality of en- gineering decisions such as when equipment needs specific maintenance or when it should be removed for repairs. “The maintenance plan which we help customers develop provides them with detailed information on what needs to be done as a planned intervention to prevent future equipment failure,” he says. “This is real- ly the core purpose of our service.” To further focus their technical capability, Marthinusen & Coutts has developed its own level based maintenance schedule. This in- corporates OEM guidelines, taking the best of each, resulting in a maintenance schedule suitable for all makes of equipment. “The next important element is ensuring the main- tenance programme is correctly implemented following the reporting stage,” he says. “Hav- ing conducted our intervention, it is vital that the information reaches the correct people in the customer engineering team, and that the corrective action is taken.” Plan-Do-Check-Act He says that what often happens in this type of service arrangement is that the technician

Marthinusen & Coutts completing the on-site rewind of a 70 MVA synchronous condenser in the DRC.

Rewinding the exciter in-situ on a 20 MW 4 pole synchronous alternator for Hippo Valley in Zimbabwe.

Drilling holes in the short circuiting segments for rotor damper bars to fit into a 70 MVA synchronous condenser in the DRC.

Enquiries: Richard Botton.Tel :+27 (0) 11 607 1700 or email richardb@mandc.co.za

Tel: +27 (0) 11 613 3801 admin@parnis.co.za www.parnismanufacturing.co.za