Rotating Equipment: Reliability-Driven Maintenance and Ongoing Improvement

Introduction:

Over the past decade, most process companies have extensively studied the distribution and optimization of rotating equipment reliability. Engineers have moved beyond solely relying on traditional maintenance and redundancy, instead analyzing and resolving how to achieve the minimum required reliability for each component at the lowest cost without compromising overall equipment reliability objectives.

Reliability improvements for each major design element are made based on whether it's more cost-effective to achieve the required reliability through failure avoidance or redundancy. Predictive maintenance is a key challenge in ensuring rotating equipment reliability, particularly in asset-intensive industries such as oil and gas.

Rotating equipment engineers must be skilled in preventing equipment failures, conducting root cause analysis, and improving condition monitoring for machinery such as pumps, turbines, and compressors. Achieving maximum reliability requires saving time and money by accurately identifying and permanently eliminating recurring issues.

The purpose of this rotating equipment maintenance and reliability course is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to monitor component health, focusing on failure prevention and root cause analysis. The course covers failure root causes, global best practices in root cause analysis, and preventive maintenance techniques during installation, pre-commissioning, functional testing, commissioning, and maintenance.

By addressing equipment failure diagnostics and preventive measures, this course will enhance plant maintenance, increase efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve overall plant availability.

Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the Rotating Equipment Maintenance and Reliability course, participants will be able to:

• Comprehend the concept of organizing for world-class operational performance, including identifying the steps and characteristics of achieving pacesetter performance.
• Differentiate between repairable and non-repairable equipment failures, identify failure modes and causes, and apply failure minimization measures.
• Gain a comprehensive understanding of how maintenance impacts reliability and its influence on equipment performance.
• Enhance knowledge and understanding of Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), its various types, and approaches within the rotating equipment sector.
• Describe the procedures involved in the 8-step RCFA process.
• Understand the fundamentals of condition-based maintenance and the application of predictive maintenance strategies to rotating machinery.
• Analyze the elements and components of condition monitoring and maintenance systems for rotating machinery.
• Appreciate the importance of reliability optimization strategies, particularly condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, and their key components.

Training Methodology:

• Expert-led interactive lectures
• Case studies and examples
• Group discussions
• Role-play sessions
• Root cause failure analysis exercises
• Demonstration of predictive maintenance tools
• Condition monitoring practicals
• Problem-solving activities
• Experience sharing

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Reliability Overview:

• Defining the objectives of reliability for end users.
• Strengthening the foundation of reliability principles.

Unit 2: Major Causes of Machinery Breakdown:

• Understanding the typical failure patterns of rotating equipment.
• Identifying the primary causes of machinery breakdown.

Unit 3: Machinery Breakdown Prevention Strategies:

• Defining the specific purpose of each component.
• Highlighting the importance of condition monitoring for components.
• Implementing Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Predictive Maintenance (PDM).
• Encouraging effective troubleshooting practices.
• Emphasizing the role of reliability as a shared responsibility.

Unit 4: Maximizing Benefits from CCM and PDM (Component Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance) Systems:

• Overview of major machinery design.
• Exploring Component Condition Monitoring (CCM).
• Delving into Predictive Maintenance (PDM) techniques.

Unit 5: Accurate and Effective Predictive Maintenance (Including Root Cause Analysis Techniques):

• Understanding the role of troubleshooting in predictive maintenance.
• Engaging in a fact-finding approach to equipment issues.
• Defining equipment, component, and system functions.
• Identifying abnormal conditions and addressing root causes.
• Formulating an action plan to resolve underlying issues.

Unit 6: Root Cause Analysis Example Problem:

• Analyzing case history examples.
• Discussing solutions and feedback for the case history.

Unit 7: Root Cause Analysis Techniques (Improving Component Function Knowledge Base):

• Defining key components and understanding their function.
• Reviewing component failure causes from reliability reports.
• Exploring the control of operating conditions for components.
• Enhancing knowledge bases as needed for troubleshooting.