In every industry, time is money. But as Emerson’s Doug White explains, chemical and petrochemical producers in particular can pay for improving equipment reliability by reducing costly unscheduled slowdowns and shutdowns—if they invest smartly.
Time is money. And as Emerson Principal Consultant Doug White explains, chemical and petrochemical producers can easily pay for improving equipment reliability by reducing costly unscheduled slowdowns and shutdowns—if they invest smartly.
White believes that companies can reduce operational, safety and environmental problems that outweigh and help justify the cost of reliability improvements. While maintenance costs are typically low relative to other costs of goods, such as raw materials – availability losses due to unscheduled maintenance issues can be expensive.
White says, studies show that reliability and safety go hand in hand. Along with maximizing the time that complicated and large plants are operational, we want to make them safer. We believe that safety is paramount and everyone benefits.The American Petroleum Institute’s latest data* estimated that the average cost of one serious incident such as a fire costs $600,000. About five percent of incidents cost more than $5,000,000.
The difference between an average industry performer and a top performer can be the loss of availability due to unscheduled shutdowns. Automation can increase plant operational time, generating greater output and decrease unscheduled turnarounds and shutdowns and the related costs.
There are four approaches to maintenance: reactive, preventative, predictive and proactive. Previous research shows that 55 percent of companies continue to rely on reactive maintenance and the number of companies that are proactive has gone backwards, dropping from five percent to two percent since 1988. Overall, shifting from reactive to planned maintenance – preventive, predictive, proactive – can lead to more productive plants.
Predictive analytics uses current and historical data together with system models to predict future trends. When applied to plant asset management, it is used to schedule corrective maintenance or replacement. Less plant downtime equals greater potential production and cost savings. Many industries, such as automakers are moving to predictive maintenance, with an increased number of sensors in cars. The technology used to predict the possibility of a flat tire due to low tire pressure can be applied to pump health monitoring for detecting cavitation in refinery pumps. Early problem detection can help avoid a unit failure and the subsequent reduced throughput. Potential maintenance cost-saving benefits of automation add up through:
White developed a case study based on data collected from a leading Middle East chemical company. It includes four large integrated plants. By implementing a complete integrated maintenance program, the company reduced maintenance costs by 12 percent and increased plant availability by two percent. Using a typical 250,000 BPD refinery as an example, White developed a spreadsheet showing the expected savings through implementation of predictive diagnostics and having a planned maintenance process in place. With implementation on only ten pumps, the refinery could increase its margin by at least $93,992 through greater plant operating time and save $60,300 in direct costs and reduced incidents in a year. Total benefits were $154,292 per year.
Emerson consultants, like Doug White, can help evaluate whether your company would benefit economically by implementing reliability improvements. With an analysis of plant data and actual plant operating situation, Emerson consultants can help determine if and how much your plant would benefit with automation and preventive maintenance improvements.