MechChem Africa March 2018

⎪ Pump systems, pipes, valves and seals ⎪

Pump maintenance is key to efficiency

Through a range of pump maintenance solutions, FLSmidth is implementing sustainable productivity-enhancing solutions including lifecycle costing, pump audits, condition monitoring and wear analysis.

S cheduledmaintenanceisasimportant for operational continuity as it is for performance excellence, according to Willie van Wyk, general manager responsible for Krebs pumps at FLSmidth. “Ensuring optimum performance of our pumps is our number one priority at FLSmidth,” says van Wyk. The preventative maintenance carried out on customers’ pumps helps to avoid any unnecessary plant stoppages or premature failures, ensuring an immediate financial benefit to the customer. “The Krebs millMAX™ slurry pump – de- signed for heavy-duty output and abrasive slurries – can be fine-tuned while it runs,” he says. “This feature, which is conducted on the suction-side sealing through an adjustable wear ring, avoids any recirculation and grind- ing of slurry which could lead to power loss.” This fine-tuning means that the pump does not have to speed up tomaintain higher levels of production. By closing the gap between the impeller and suction liner, the flow and head stays constant in the pump. And by avoiding a plant stoppage every time an adjustment is required, efficiency and throughput remains high. FLSmidth can draw on global experts in its Pump Technical Group, who bring their experience in a vast range of applications fromaround the world. VanWyk emphasises that scheduling maintenance interventions at regular intervals allows worn parts to be replaced in time, extending the lifespanof the equipment. An added benefit is that a large inventory of spare parts can be avoided, as change-outs and repairs can be planned. “This also eliminates the need for techni- cians to be called out unexpectedly, or possi- ble stock-outs that could prolong downtime,” he says. “Rather, the scheduling we do with the customer is in line with our aim of pro- viding an overall lower lifecycle cost – which also comes with reliability, reduced cost of ownership and lower power consumption by the equipment.” Througha rangeofmaintenance solutions, FLSmidth can improve sustainability and en- hance productivity. “These include a lifecycle cost focus, pump audits, conditionmonitoring andwear analysis,” says vanWyk. “Customers can choose from a number of options such as performance-based agreements, spare parts agreements,customisedtrainingprogrammes and tailored maintenance packages. “With the lifecycle cost focus, the goal

is for the service teams from both FLSmidth and the customer to devel- op ongoing programmes to improve pump performance and reduced operating costs. “This approach is generally directed at improving performance on a number of fronts, suchasreducingpowerconsumption, increasing bearing life and getting more life out of gland seals,” he adds. The aim of pump audits is to es- tablishabenchmarkforimprovement programmes by measuring system andpumpcharacteristics – suchas in- let and discharge pressure, flow rate andsolids concentration. Particle size is also analysed, along with the wear on individual pump parts. Condition monitoring of pumps is done to eliminate the occurrence of unscheduled maintenance. This is conducted by estimating the con- dition of bearings, evaluating the pump duty operation, documenting any severe vibrations that have been detected, and providing central- ised records for pump maintenance activities. The wear analysis function is to predict the wear life of pump com- ponents, andusually requires a pump to be stripped after a trial period to assess improvements. It would involve observing and correcting any unpredicted or unusual wear patterns, drawing on FLSmidth’s ex- perience in wear analysis. Individual part thickness needs to bemeasured andmonitoredas part of this process. “Our goal is to establish perfor- mance-based agreements with spe- cific measures to document results, andwehavehadahighsuccess rate in this regard,” saysVanWyk. “Webegin by measuring a customer’s existing Total Ownership Cost (TOC) and we use this as a basis for lowering this

A Krebs millMAX pump being used with a Krebs Technequip™ knife gate valve.

A Krebs millMAX pump being assessed by members of the maintenance team. optimal performanceof FLSmidthequipment, helping to build long term customer relation- ships based on FLSmidth’s strong position as a productivity provider. VanWyk emphasises the value of FLSmidth’s customised training programmes offered to customers, and how these improve overall pump knowledge and pump maintenance outcomes at the cus- tomer’s site. q

cost as a long-term customer benefit. Then, we establish key performance indicators to measure and document the results that we find in our trials, and identify the appropriate corrective action,” he says. “We then set goals and objectives for improvement, and report regularly on the progress that is made as we apply this corrective action.” Maintenance programmes impact on the

March 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 13