Machinery Lubrication May June 2011 - Welcome to ECN Digital ...

VIEWPOINT
approach is objective; it seeks explanations but
does not tolerate compromises and excuses.
It is fitting, then, to conclude or recap by
pointing to a very simple illustration, figure 1.
This illustration tries to convey that many parameters
interact to cause repeat failures in pumps.
Many of these are classified as hydraulic issues
and much work has been done to improve pump
hydraulics.
However, the majority of what we chose to call
elusive failure causes is linked to mechanical
issues. We have become accustomed to maintenance
routines that rarely question the adequacy
of a vendor’s design. Failure causes have become
elusive because we, users and vendors, sometimes
overlook or forget (and even disregard) the laws
of physics.
In this article we have also alluded to process
pump vendors that often merely furnish barely
adequate designs. Users may unwittingly
contribute to the propagation of marginally
acceptable designs. They create the impression
of being unwilling to pay for a superior design.
Add also the possibility that vendors and pump
manufacturers benefit from the sale of replacement
parts and are in business to generate
income.
We must not forget that pump manufacturers
have right-sized, down-sized and economized the
way they do business. Few (if any) of these organizational
re-alignments benefit the user and a
preponderance of repeat failures attests to it.
Some vendors and manufacturers no longer
employ process pump experts and diligent
craftsmen. The user-purchaser may belatedly
come to realize that he has become the manufacturer’s
quality control inspector. Many allow
hundreds of failures before they accept this fact.
When they learn the hard way, they must allocate
money to ward off this eventuality by suitable
pre-delivery inspections.
Timely and competent up-front action by the
owner-purchaser is one of the keys to failure
avoidance. This up-front action includes development
of detailed specifications for process
pumps and for some of the key components that
go into good process pumps. Once a process
pump arrives in the field, it must be properly
installed and maintained. To be effective, the
facility must adopt work processes and procedures
that harmonize with best-of-class thinking.
To avoid repeat failures, pump owner-operators
must deliberately push certain routine
maintenance actions into the superior maintenance
category. Superior maintenance efforts
will lead to (or are synonymous with) pump reliability
upgrading.
In essence, the course of wisdom demands
that we move away from “business as usual.”
Before one can apply practical wisdom one must
acquire knowledge and understanding.
References
1. Bloch, Heinz P. and F. K.Geitner; “Machinery Failure
Analysis and Troubleshooting,” 3rd Edition,
Butterworth-Heinemann Publishing Company,
Woburn, MA, 1997, ISBN 0-88415-662-1
2. Bloch, Heinz P., and Allan R. Budris; Pump User’s
Handbook, Fairmont Press, Lilburn, GA, ISBN 0-
88173-517-5, Second Edition, 2006
3. Bloch, Heinz P.; “Pump Wisdom: Problem Solving
for Operators and Specialists,” John Wiley & Sons,
Hoboken, NJ, 2011, ISBN 978-1-118-04123-9
4. Barringer, Paul; “API Pump Curve Practices and
Effects on Pump Life from Variability About BEP”;
Weibull Analysis Course (see also Ref. 1, pg. 621)
April tornado just misses manufacturing facilities in Tuscaloosa
A tornado that hit the Tuscaloosa,
Ala., area on April 27 is captured on
camera near the BF Goodrich
plant. The photo was taken by
Terry Oswalt of Hunt Refining
Company, located just across the
street from the Goodrich facility.
According to Jerry Sanders of BF
Goodrich, the tornado missed the
plant by just a few miles, but soon
destroyed many neighborhoods
and homes in the Tuscaloosa area.
30 May - June 2011 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication