The Dangers of Overlooking Preventative Maintenance |
ference but skip the dentist and people will notice bad teeth . |
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Should a brewhouse become contaminated it is possible that many batches of beer will be poured down the drain . In extreme cases , cans and bottles have exploded from a lack of cleanliness . In more extreme examples , when maintenance was not adhered to , breweries have been responsible for the death of a beer drinker .
The consequences of unmaintained industrial valves include fugitive emissions , lower productivity , increased energy costs , potential environmental impacts , legal exposure , and reduced safety for employees and the public . No matter how low the probability or statistical likelihood of a ‘ worst-case scenario ’, recommended maintenance is called “ recommended ,” as it helps mitigate the risk of a worst-case scenario .
While it may seem obvious that preventative maintenance has several benefits , many individuals question why there is a persistent need to revisit the topic . The reason it is revisited is the same reason reminders are sent to go visit your dentist or change the oil in the car – it may be known , but it still gets overlooked . It is therefore beneficial to use beer to raise awareness .
Remember that no one notices when maintenance is performed , but when maintenance is not performed , everyone notices . In the same way , if an individual goes to the dentist no one sees the dif-
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Total Costs
Preventative maintenance is scheduled and calculated . The expense is anticipated and well documented . From a budgeting perspective , this is a fantastic advantage and reason to perform these routines . The downside is that when budgets need to be trimmed , maintenance is often sacrificed . The decision to cut maintenance offers short-term savings and a hope that there is no long-term consequence . Sure , this improves the direct costs of maintenance , but the indirect costs must be considered as well .
The downtime cost of an industrial valve is difficult to calculate given the variables of application , media being transferred , and type of valve . It does however have an expense , which is usually kept separate from the maintenance or lifetime cost of the valve . If one adds the cost of the downtime to the valve maintenance budget , the benefit of routine maintenance is easily justified .
There are two things more costly than downtimes : unexpected downtimes , and catastrophic failure . By performing routine maintenance , the individuals responsible for visually inspecting the valve can establish predictive maintenance procedures . Predictive maintenance differs from preventative in that those maintaining the valve can anticipate when a repair might be necessary and can schedule repairs to avoid the more expensive unex-
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pected downtime . As for a catastrophic failure , this results in a combination of unexpected downtime , unknown costs to resolve , legal exposure , and potential environmental impact .
To stay healthy and drink beer , regular exercise is needed even if the days of six-pack abs are long gone . Experts , therefore , suggest that maintenance personnel routinely check the seating of the valve , inspect the gaskets , look for signs of corrosion , and clean the valves . They also suggest following the lubrication and packing requirements , performing routine torque checks , and opening and closing them frequently to ensure proper working function and to minimize sticking , noise , debris buildup , and corrosion . Despite maintenance being a cost center and expense to the company , the result is savings to the operator and owner over the lifetime of the valve .
Follow Best Practices
‘ Quality ’ is a word companies often like to use , but can it be substantiated ? If industry best practices are adhered to , industry best results will prevail , and ‘ quality ’ is substantiated . Just because a bottle of beer reads ‘ Premium ’ on the label , does not mean the brewer did not use cheap ingredients , take shortcuts in the brewing process , or strip flavor and substance through filtering . If every brewer claims to have an excellent or ‘ premium ’ product , how does a truly premium brewery differentiate ?
For industries that rely on industrial valves , the selection , installation , and
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maintenance all identify the quality of the asset . Selection is a choice , installation is a skill , and maintenance is a decision . Beer drinkers do not make the decision to drink the most poorly made beer ; valve experts should likewise not allow valves to be the most poorly maintained . No one chooses to be the operator of poorly maintained valves ; they just choose to not perform the preventative maintenance and end up with them . Maybe they chose that after all .
What does it take to be the best ? What does it take to stand out ? Beer in many ways is a commodity and brewers are finding it harder and harder to differentiate . Imagine if a consumer discovers that the brewer does not have strict procedures , that they do not treat their water , fail to maintain proper temperatures , or do not subscribe to the brewer ’ s mantra of ‘ cleanliness is next to holiness ’. They would not be surprised when bad beer is brewed or served , on account of insufficient maintenance . Should anyone in the world of industrial valves be surprised by an unexpected shutdown or poor performance when maintenance is not performed ? The simple answer is no .
To the workers who perform routine and predicted maintenance on industrial valves in accordance with the data and recommendations , you have earned the right to use ‘ quality ’ when describing your work , and you have earned a beer . To those ignoring the maintenance , do not even think about putting ‘ premium ’ on your ‘ label ’, and you can have a beer after you are done checking up on those valves !
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