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 MAY 2020

SOLUTIONS
25 | Self-service analytics supplier wins
2019 product of the year grand prize
High-tech solutions seamlessly mix with those
addressing plant engineering basics

29 | Five steps to improve your electrical

safety program
OSHA recommends ways to make your electrical
safety program better

36 | Adopt prevention through design

for electrical safety
Leaders and managers need to implement a
Editor’s Insight proactive prevention through design (PtD) program
and track near misses to mitigate electrical safety
5 | The state of uncertainty persists hazards and protect workers in their plant

39 | Optimization of a plant cooling

INSIGHTS system design
7 | Swagelok shares its best practices for Size a feed water pump; consider heat-exchanger
options; determine cooling system power and
essential manufacturing operations energy use
Company ran table-top exercise in recent years to
gauge impact of possible pandemic; key documents
used to define concepts and actions taken 44 | Compressed air audit optimizes
efficiency
11 | Your questions answered: A compressed air system evaluation can provide
Maintenance technology and the owners and facilities engineers with the direction
industrial skills gap they need to ensure their plant is operating
Apply best practices to maintenance operations efficiently and reliably
despite shortages in talented industrial personnel
50 | Basic leak detection with acoustic
16 | Survey indicates arc flash incidents imaging
remain common Consider reaching beyond ultrasonic leak detection
Survey says safety training per employee nears to find pesky compressed air leaks
$1K per annum

INNOVATIONS INSIDE: IIoT FOR ENGINEERS

53 | New Products for Engineers Is the Purdue model still relevant?

PLANT ENGINEERING (ISSN 0032-082X, Vol. 74, No. 4, GST #123397457) is published 10x per year, monthly except in January and July, by CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325, Downers Grove, IL
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www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 3

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GUIDELINES OVERVIEW
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Learn more at:
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INSIGHTS
By Kevin Parker, Editor
The state of uncertainty persists
The U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics admits
it today cannot precise-
ly quantify the effects of
the pandemic on the U.S.
job market for March of
this year, let alone the
impacts of what’s hap-
pened since then.
What we do know is
that, like many others,
the auto industry closed
production facilities in
March and sent workers home to help
stop the spread of coronavirus, which
causes COVID-19. Companies in other
industries and all world geographies
did the same.
Now, as of May 5th, the auto indus-
try is nervous anxious, like the oth-
ers, to get back to work. The South
Korean automaker, Kia, has restart-
ed limited volume production at its
manufacturing facility in Georgia,
according to the RoadShow from
CNet website.
Hyundai restarted production May
4 at its Alabama-based plant. Daimler,
the automaker overseeing the Mer-
cedes-Benz brand, started ramping up
production of its plant in Alabama on
April 27. In Europe plants started com-
ing back online April 30 with numer-
ous safety protocols in place. Daimler
was one of the first major European
automakers to shutter operations.
What we don’t know
Except for a few contrarians that have
subsequently paid the price, the imme-
diate global response to the virus was
to bring everything to a screeching
halt in a kind of global gut check.
We’ve now entered an intermediate
stage, characterized by continuing
chronic uncertainty. In the absence
of knowledge, people feel compelled
to get back out there. Yet no one knows
how we, or the virus will react.
That’s because the analytic mod-
els, as Dr. Fauci has said, are only as
good as their inputs. Garbage in equals
garbage out. All the analytics in the
www.plantengineering.com
world won’t help when
you don’t have the data.
“The shutdowns
haven’t impac ted our
current workloads, but
it’s certainly impaired
our ability to visit cus-
tomers. S ome of our
engineers have had cus-
tomer hardware shipped
to their homes, because
embedded systems can
be hands-on,” said Ed
Kuzemchak, CTO and co-founder of
Software Design Solutions, headquar-
tered in the Pittsburgh area.
“Many of our clients are part of
essential industries, such as oil &
gas or transportation. Their opera-
tions have changed, and things have
slowed down. On the other hand, in
many places we were so close to “lights
out” manufacturing, shouldn’t we start
to think of it as a viable alternative, at
least as a means to achieving needed
distancing?” Kuzemchak said.
International allegory
This editor was once asked to attend a
week’s worth of marketing meetings at
the Swedish software company he was
working with. Participants were Scan-
dinavian, British, and U.S. citizens.
Painting with a broad stroke it went
as follows:
The Scandinavians said, “We are
going to sit here and map out this
process in the most complete detail
possible so that we will all be in com-
plete agreement before we’re done.”
The Brits said: “It’s all ballocks. The
only reason you can keep the lights on
is because we cover for you. Decide
anything you want. In two weeks it’ll
be back to where it was and we’ll be
the only ones that know what works.
The Americans said: “Just make a
decision. If it turns out to be a bad
decision, we’ll just stop and make
another decision to fix it.”
I ain’t going to lie, it’s that propen-
sity to make quick decisions that wor-
ries me. PE
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 5
Lead with integrity.
Insist on independent
electrical testing.
Ensure safety and reliability by engaging third-party
electrical testing contractors.

LEARN MORE AT
NETAWORLD.ORG
input #5 at www.plantengineering.com/information
INSIGHTS
COVID-19
By Kevin Parker
Swagelok shares its best practices for
essential manufacturing operations
Company ran table-top exercise in recent years to gauge impact of possible
pandemic; key documents used to define concepts and actions taken
M
ore than 200 manufacturers attended
a Zoom call briefing from Swagelok
Co., the maker of fluid system compo-
nents, that outlined with considerable
clarity the steps the company is taking to continue
operations as an essential manufacturer amidst the
Coronavirus crisis.
The briefing, which took place on April 8th, was
hosted by MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and
Growth Network), a consultancy that supports manu-
facturers in northeast Ohio.
Swagelok Co. is an approximately $2 billion private-
ly held developer of fluid system products headquar-
tered in Solon, Ohio. Its manufacturing operations
include about 5,500 employees at 20 manufactur-
ing facilities in the U.S., Isle of Man and China. The
company’s products and services are sold through a
network of authorized sales and service centers in
70 countries.
Swagelok is an essential business as defined by the
Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity
and infrastructure security agency (CSIA).
Steps taken by Swagelok to continue operations
include:
• Enforcement of social distancing measures
• Associate self-check prior to entering sites
• Enhanced hygiene protocols in production and
operations areas based on Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) guidelines
• Mandatory remote work for all office associates
and, as feasible, support associates, to a total of
about 800 associates
• Quarantining of associates reporting potential or
confirmed exposure to someone with the virus
• Staggered shifts to reduce population overlap
• A structured approach to communications within
the management team and with its employee asso-
ciates, customers and supply chain.
Throughout the presentation, Swagelok managers
described a highly deliberative approach that relies
on an abundance of caution, key documents and
individual responsibility.
www.plantengineering.com
Swagelok’s preparations for the possibility of a pan-
demic began some time ago as part of the activities of
its long-standing strategic risk committee. “Several
years ago, we did a table-top exercise for the even-
tuality of a pandemic that served as a good tool for
guiding our initial actions,” said Ward Dumm, vice
president of operations.
Having a Swagelok facility in China helped the
corporate management team to better understand
some of the profound implications of the virus’
spread. Realization of what was coming led to the
formation of a crisis response team that includ-
ed three sub-teams, for 1) associate impact, 2)
business continuity for customers and the supply
chain and 3) communications, both internal and
external.
Its most immediate actions, which Dumm
described as values-based, included associate well-
being and safety and taking needed actions regarding
customers and the supply chain. Daily executive man-
agement meetings and leadership communications,
and bi-weekly communications with all associates
drive the process.
Associate impact
The sub-team on associate impact included repre-
sentatives from human resources, operations and
communications.
“The guidelines we’ve enacted are based on recom-
mendations from WHO [The World Health Orga-
nization], the CDC and medical experts. In cases
where medical experts wouldn’t hazard an opinion,
we exercised an abundance of caution,” said Hannah
Delis, director of global human resources.
At first, work-at-home was optional for employees
able to do so but was subsequently deemed man-
datory. The IT and communications department
addressed the technical challenges involved.
Associates working at production sites were issued
a letter that verified their role as part of a critical
manufacturing enterprise, available in the event they
were questioned by authorities, which has happened
in at least several instances.
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 7
INSIGHTS
COVID-19
“Several years ago, Swagelok ran a table-top exercise for the
eventuality of a pandemic that served as a good tool for guiding
its initial actions in response to the spread of Covid-19,” said
Ward Dumm, vice president of operations, Swagelok.
Entering facility premises is governed by a self-
check process, defined by a key document. In brief,
the process verifies the individual is:
• Not under quarantine at that moment
• Not experienced COVID-19 symptoms in the
last 72 hours and more than seven days have
passed since the onset of any symptoms (the 7/3
rule for symptomatic associates) including fever,
cough, respiratory illness or difficulty breathing
• Not waiting for COVID-19 test results or been
in contact with someone waiting for results
• Not had close contact with or cared for someone
diagnosed with COVID-19
• Not engaged in Level 2 or Level 3 travel, as
defined by the CDC
• Not returning to work without a release to return
to work from a medical provider.
On the plant floor
Once in the facility, achieving social distancing
required cessation of all large group meetings. Limits
were placed on the number of people allowed to con-
gregate in common areas. And shifts were staggered
by one half hour to avoid congestion and allow for
area cleaning, according to Wayne Ostrosky, director
of operations, fittings group.
“Work cells were separated from each other,
or where that wasn’t possible, plexiglass barriers
between work cells were installed,” said Ostrosky.
8 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
“Managers' desks were moved. All interior doors
were propped open. And in rest areas only one chair
is permitted per table.”
The CDC defines close contact as being within six
feet for a prolonged period, i.e., for one-half hour, or
subject to exposure to another person’s excretions.
“It’s not our culture to distance ourselves from
each other so we’ve put tape on the floors, we’ve
posted signage and we have bi-weekly communica-
tions with all associates to emphasize and remind
ourselves of the need to comply with these steps,”
said Dumm. “Just demonstrating what six feet of
separation looks like is important.”
The cleaning protocols used within the facilities
for suspected or confirmed cases of contamination
are based on CDC guidelines. CAD drawings were
used to define the areas to be cleaned.
In some cases, where work had been performed
by two associates working in tandem, the less opti-
mal alternative of having it performed by a single
person was adopted. Rather than a collective heave-
ho, heavy lifts are accomplished using machines
whenever possible. Where collaboration among
shop-floor associates is essential, video cameras
and other technology is being used so that details
of work being performed can be shared.
Document and communicate
It is important to have documents that define the
terms used in policies and the protocols that outline
procedures, said Delis.
Documents that Swagelok shared with other
manufacturers on the call included close contact
guidelines and how to maintain the six-foot guide-
line, good hygiene practices and cleaning protocols
by security level, return-to-work policy and hardship
paid time off policy.
One factor influencing company policies and their
execution is how difficult it is for anyone to see a
doctor now, Delis said.
At Swagelok’s China facility, the government
required that those entering the facility have their
temperature taken. At its Ohio and Pennsylvania
facilities, this step was investigated per Gov. Mike
DeWine’s requirement, which was subsequently
amended. Swagelok instead implemented the associ-
ate self-check, which involves temperature monitor-
ing prior to start of shift and a more comprehensive
checklist, based on medical recommendations.
Swagelok will provide masks for all employees,
but their use will be optional. The company is pro-
viding guidelines on the proper use of homemade
masks but will not allow scarves due to potential
entanglement issues. PE
www.plantengineering.com
SOLVE >
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input #6 at www.plantengineering.com/information
 COVID-19 UPDATE
At Spiroflow, we have adapted our process
amid the COVID-19 crisis, but we will not
stop working for you. As a critical
infrastructure supplier, Spiroflow will remain
open and continue to manufacture hygienic
equipment essential for your operations,
now more than ever. We're in this together,
even if it's six feet apart. - Jeff Dudas, Spiroflow CEO
input #7 at www.plantengineering.com/information
Scan to view a
video of the AMC

www.spiroflow.com/knows
(704-766-8065)
INSIGHTS
SKILLS & SERVICES
By CFE Media editorial staff
Your questions answered:
Maintenance technology and the
industrial skills gap
Apply best practices to maintenance operations despite shortages in talented
industrial personnel
O
n April 2nd, Plant Engineering hosted a
webinar, sponsored by Advanced Technol-
ogy Services (ATS), that focused on the
results of a recent survey of manufacturing
executives and operations personnel regarding issues
and challenges, trends and likely future developments
for the manufacturing maintenance function.
The survey results represent a snapshot of efforts
devoted to achieving best practices in maintenance
operations. Key survey findings included the following:
• Seventy-six percent of manufacturing facilities fol-
low a preventive maintenance strategy; 60% use a
run-to-failure method and 52% have a computer-
ized maintenance management system (CMMS).
• The leading cause of unscheduled downtime within
respondents’ facilities remains aging equipment
(34%), followed by mechanical failure (20%) and
Jim Freaner, operator error (11%).
senior
director, The prospect of increased reliability and productivity
Advanced — and therefore profitability — remains an incentive
Technology to optimize maintenance operations. Adoption and
Services implementation of new and emerging strategies, includ-
ing digital technology tools,
while challenging, continues
to move forward.
To review the survey results
in full or access the archived
version of the webinar, please
visit www.plantengineering.
com.
The webinar presenters, Jim
Freaner, senior director, and
Jeff Kosiorek, vice president,
both from Advanced Tech-
nology Services, answered a
series of questions related to
technology, the skills gap evi-
www.plantengineering.com
dent in today’s industrial marketplace and importance
of training. A healthy selection of those questions and
the presenter’s answers follow.
Q. How can manufacturers compensate for
an aging workforce and what are some ways
to transfer knowledge from an older genera-
tion to the younger generation?
Jim Freaner: There are several things we are doing
and have seen other manufacturing organizations do
in this regard:
1. Start hiring inexperienced people with good apti-
tude who are willing to learn. Many companies still
use tests as part of their hiring criteria, which is
fine if you only want experienced people who don’t
need training. Organizations need to get comfort-
able hiring people who need some development.
2. We find that a mentorship program can work very
well. Senior technicians who are either close to
retirement or have retired can be great mentors for
new employees. You need to spend some time put-
ting the program together and be selective about
choosing mentors, but this can be a good way to
transfer knowledge, reinforce good work habits
and impart sound organizational values.
3. Use technology to leverage the experience and skills
resident across your entire organization. We, and
maintenance and repair leaders, need to be creative
in addressing these problems. Enlist support from
human resources and information technology folks
or anybody willing to help.
4. In addition, we transition some of our most expe-
rienced, veteran technicians into instructor roles,
which greatly extends their working career, as it is
less demanding physically, has a more appealing
schedule and pace and makes them proud to be
mentoring and coaching younger and less expe-
rienced technicians. Now, 90% of our instructors
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 11
INSIGHTS
SKILLS & SERVICES
are former ATS technicians
and 100% are former skilled
tradesmen.
Q. My plant seems
to have a reactive
approach to training.
We cover topics with
the technicians only
after some gap in our
readiness has been
exposed. How can we
make training more
predictive?
Jeff Kosiorek, Jeff Kosiorek: Technical training is essential to a
vice president, skilled, efficient workforce. An investment in main-
Advanced tenance training is an investment that pays valuable
Technology returns in higher output. The consequences of inad-
Services equate training can have a material effect on a plant’s
bottom line, with 70% — 80% of equipment shutdowns
across industries caused by human error as a direct
result of rushed, incomplete or nonexistent training.
The training gap is real, with 60% of manufacturing
facilities recognizing that their companies do not make
an adequate investment in employee training, mainly due
to cost pressures and turnover rates among employees.
At ATS we proactively assess our technicians within
90 days of hire with a statistically validated and EEO
compliant technical assessment. This assessment rates
our technicians in 57 different technical subjects. The
techs are then rated based on five technician levels.
From that a career path is created for each technician
based on their current role as well as their desired career
destination. From a safety training perspective, we are
committed to an injury-free workplace through our
“Live Safety 24/7” culture — mitigating maintenance
and production risks.
Q. How do you feel industry and more spe-
cifically the maintenance function will be
influenced by the introduction of machine
learning technology into software applica-
tions? (Note: machine learning allows com-
puter programs to adapt to new data based
on pattern recognition and advanced statisti-
cal methods.)
JF: Technology advocates are saying that machine learn-
ing and other forms of artificial intelligence will create
the next industrial revolution. Other, more pragmatic
folks believe adoption of technology is going to be a
long, protracted evolution due to challenges related to
IT security and people in the workplace being resistant
to adoption.
12 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
I believe the advent of AI and machine learning
will be good for manufacturing and the economy
in general. AI and machine learning will, like other
technologies, have applications that grow significantly
and help industry become more flexible and nimbler.
But, much like when the first industrial robots came
onto the scene, I don’t see this rapidly transforming
all our factories and having them run “lights out” in
the very near future.
AI for maintenance applications has a way to go yet.
First, if you have a robust CMMS with good data there
are some really great software analytics packages which
can help identify trends. If you have the budget (and
good data) I would consider one of these packages while
you wait for the AI solutions available in the market to
mature a bit.
Technology has created a lot of jobs in our economy
in the last 20 years and I believe this will continue. It’s
something we need to stay current with because, as for
other technologies, the rate of change is increasing, and
we will see more advances in the next five years that we
have seen in the previous five years.
Traditional roles seen in manufacturing today will
change and some functions may be combined as tech-
nology simplifies work and helps to reduce redundant/
low value tasks.
Q. You discussed employee training to
improve retention. What other recommenda-
tions do you have to improve retention of
skilled maintenance personnel?
JK: That’s a broad question! Let me start by saying that
compensation is important, but I don’t believe simply
increasing wages will solve this problem entirely. Sure,
wages and benefits need to be competitive, but simply
paying more than the company across the street won’t
“fix” retention.
In my experience people generally don’t leave com-
panies, they leave poor leaders and organizations with
poor cultures. People want to be respected and they
want a work environment where they are valued and
where they see value in their work. Skilled technicians
are no different.
Our leadership team has spent time working to
improve emotional intelligence among our business
and site leaders. We have also spent time reinforcing
our organization’s culture. I spoke during the webinar
that the ATS culture is built on four foundational pil-
lars – Live Safety, Value Employees, Engage Customers,
and Drive Results – on which every employee works
to build upon through ownership of their personal
well-being and professional development. I believe
company culture directly impacts retention more than
most other things you can do. Work to build a culture
www.plantengineering.com
 of transparency, mutual respect and trust and you
will go a long way toward retaining your top talent.
In summary, 1) treat people with trust and respect 2)
engage people in developing solutions 3) communicate,
communicate, communicate.
I believe the Covid-19 crisis will bring good leaders
to the top. Leadership is key in managing a crisis. Good
leaders will rise to the challenge. Given the magnitude
of the impact of COVID-19 I don’t believe any organi-
zation’s leadership or culture will remain unchanged.
Q. We have a very well-known CMMS in our
facility that has been in place for some time.
We struggle every year to get funding to
approved to make improvements/upgrades.
Do you have any suggestions for other
things we can do to improve with a very lim-
ited technology budget?
JF: We see this in plants using CMMS packages
deployed many years ago. We occasionally see some
in use that are no longer supported or updated by the
developer. There are also companies that have done a
stellar job of developing, launching and fully utilizing
their EAM/CMMS systems.
However, most systems we see are under-utilized
for all kinds of reasons. For example, if spare parts and
materials are maintained and managed in a separate
system this can limit how effectively teams can use
CMMS. Using CMMS data (including bill of materi-
als) and maintenance planning to prepare material kits
for jobs can significantly improve performance. Also,
having technicians provide input to those kits to add
items that may be missing will help improve planning
accuracy and technician utilization.
Maintenance job plans should not be static. We regu-
larly see big gaps in work execution management. This
can create gaps in how maintenance jobs get done and
impact quality of work, especially regarding precision
maintenance tasks. Having these job plans detailed and
standard work clearly identified (and illustrated if pos-
sible) can really help.
Most older CMMS systems do have these capabilities.
I would evaluate how fully you are using the current sys-
tem and find ways to take full advantage of the current
capabilities. I’d do this while also working to frame a
business case that supports an upgrade or replacement.
Q. What is your opinion regarding integrat-
ed predictive maintenance?
JK: Few breakdowns happen without warning. The
challenge is spotting the signs early enough to plan
and schedule repairs! Predictive maintenance services
(PdM) provide that insight and should be a part of
www.plantengineering.com
any maintenance strategy. The technology available
today provides ample options to reduce the cost and
complexity of implementing a PdM program. Predic-
tive maintenance technologies include thermography
testing, vibration and oil analysis, and ultrasonic leak
detection. Before there’s any obvious sign of impend-
ing failure, replacement parts can be put on order and
the work can be scheduled for a time that minimizes
production losses.
A predictive maintenance program can supple-
ment a preventive maintenance program. However,
industrial machine predictive maintenance represents
a more advanced approach with several differences from
preventive maintenance. Most importantly, preventive
maintenance occurs on a set schedule — whether or
not issues with equipment are present.
Although there are learning and personnel curves
involved in implementing a predictive maintenance
plan, the efficiencies of a more targeted, more effective
maintenance practice prove themselves worthy of the
investment.
A predictive maintenance program reduces
unplanned production downtime by allowing bet-
ter maintenance scheduling. It improves equipment
safety and product quality through early identification
of changes in operating conditions. Capacity increases
when less time is spent on reactive maintenance and
costs go down because there’s less need for overtime
and rush orders.
PdM can also help improve safety by reducing the
technician’s exposure to hazardous tasks. Safety can be
an easily overlooked application for PdM technology.
Q. What are the most critical types of data
looked at for indications of good machinery
health and what technologies are you using
the acquire it?
JF: This is very dependent on the plant or process
supported and the physical environment. The first
consideration would be use of remote sensing tech-
nology to limit exposure to hazardous areas, whether
defined by heat, cold, loud noise, elevated heights or
some other parameter. I would then look at critical
assets and monitor common or highly critical failure
modes based on your specific assets and environment.
In some applications vibration analysis can provide
indications of premature wear or alignment issues.
There are also options to help measure/monitor cur-
rent draw on motors that can also be an indicator of
problems before a catastrophic failure. The advance-
ments being made with high speed image capture can
be very revealing in identifying vibration and other
dynamic forces applied to equipment during normal
operations.
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 13
INSIGHTS
SKILLS & SERVICES
Temperature sensors have various applications and
varying technologies available. With the variety of options
on the market my suggestion would be to implement the
simplest, easiest and lowest cost to begin demonstrating
the value of the technology. Increase this investment in
technology as your team becomes better able to manage
the complexities of more advanced systems.
Q. How do you support your customers
remotely? What system do you use?
JK: During this unpredictable time in our economy,
it is important to provide our customers with a rapid
response and remote maintenance support. This is
powered by three key areas. First is our maintenance
forum that allows remote connectivity to a network of
ATS subject matter experts. This modern and integrated
approach to leveraging talent allows us to rapidly solve
problems and deploy repeatable and reliable solutions.
Second, our subject matter expert network rapidly con-
nects customers to an expert who has proven compe-
tencies to troubleshoot and repair most manufacturing
applications. Networked collaboration, coordinated
through our technology center, provides a platform for
effective troubleshooting, decreased downtime, reactive
labor and increased productivity. Third, our proprietary
technician hub acts as a troubleshooting search engine
and is at the fingertips of our remote support techni-
cians. By giving them the ability to search our database of
digital equipment prints, OEM manuals and equipment
specific best practices, it provides real-time access to
critical asset documentation on the factory floor and
remote collaboration.
ATS also specializes in industrial parts repair and
availability. From electronic and mechanical part repairs
to root cause analysis, our industrial services are focused
on providing optimal efficiency through best practices
in asset productivity and uptime.
Through ATS’ strategic channel partners and lever-
aged supply chain network we have the breadth and
depth to deliver any part needed to get a customer’s
equipment up and running fast. This includes expedited
electronic and mechanical parts repair for over 1,000
OEM brands at our state-of-the-art, ISO 9001 and ISO
17025 accredited facilities. Our skilled repair technicians
have the experience and technical knowledge to perform
every repair with the highest quality and turnaround,
all at a significant cost savings. PE

Plant Engineering’s webcasts cover the latest

engineering topics that affect your industry
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Discover the latest on topics like:

• Arc flash • Compressed air

• Electrical safety • Power distribution
• Plant safety • Energy management
• Maintenance • Asset management
• IIoT • Safety management

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pe201902_webcasts_HLFpg.indd 1 1/31/2019 6:39:06 PM

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INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY RESEARCH
By Jack Smith and Amanda Pelliccione
Survey indicates arc flash
incidents remain common
Survey says safety training per employee nears $1K per annum
W
hat stands out in the 2020 Plant Engi-
neering electrical safety survey is nine
in 10 facilities have an electrical safety
program that heightens the overall
awareness of potential electrical hazards and self-
discipline on the plant floor. Results of these programs
indicate electrical safety awareness has an impact, as
97% of respondents believe their employees feel safe
on the job, and 80% said employees feel respected by
management. Also, 80% of respondents have observed
an increase in productivity over time due to imple-
mented electrical safety programs.
When it comes to where electrical safety programs
excel, 75% of respondents say their facilities do well at
placing emphasis on personal protective equipment
(PPE). However, the surprise is the gap between this
and the next response: Emphasis on electrical safety
training at 53% — a 22% difference. Another sur-
prise is only 42% of respondents said their facility’s
electrical safety programs excel at placing emphasis
on arc flash.
Enforcing electrical safety
According to survey respondents, the top seven meth-
ods plants use to enforce electrical safety are job safety
analysis (79%); regular safety meetings (72%); safety
audits (68%); discipline, suspension or termination
(67%); management leadership (63%); safety com-
mittee (63%); and peer-to-peer (57%).
Although the largest number of respondents (35%)
said electrical safety meetings are held only as needed
and at undefined intervals, those who contribute
advice or input at these meetings are no surprise.
The top five players include electrical department
management/supervision (60%), electricians (58%),
engineering (57%), safety executives/managers (56%)
and maintenance (55%).
Electrical incidents
In the 6 months prior to this survey, 66% of respon-
dents had zero OSHA recordable electrical incidents
16 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
in their facilities. In the same timeframe, 69% of
respondents had zero OSHA recordable electrical
incidents resulting in lost time.
When asked about arc flash, 58% of respondents
say their facility has never experienced an arc flash
incident. However, an alarming 31% say their facil-
ity has experienced one or more arc flash incidents.
Results of these incidents include lost time (38%), no
injury (30%), death (11%) and permanent disability
(9%). Equipment or properties damaged by arc flash
incidents include switchgear (43%), wire and cabling
(43%), motor control centers (36%) and parts of the
facility (9%).
Study highlights
Highlights of the 2020 Plant Engineering electrical
safety study include the following:
• Respondents have worked in plant- or engineering-
related positions for an average of 27 years.
• Safety meetings are the primary method of inform-
ing electrical workers and management about elec-
trical-safety-related issues or incidents.
• Respondents are located throughout the U.S., and
especially in the, east north central, south Atlantic
and Pacific regions.
• 68% of respondents are responsible for maintain-
ing, implementing or managing electrical safety
standards.
• 63% of respondents are impacted by electrical safety
standards in their day-to-day work operations.
• The annual cost of electrical safety training per
employee is $845.
• The average annual budget for electrical safety train-
ing and equipment is $33,910.
www.plantengineering.com
 • 42% of respondents made no change to the budget • Not enough time for training is the primary chal-
for electrical safety training and equipment from lenge to electrical safety, according to 66% of
2018 to 2019; only 23% increased budgets. respondents.

• 93% of respondents indicate the company pays for • 48% of respondents say their companies excel at
a worker's electrical safety equipment and personal placing emphasis on PPE. PE
protective equipment (PPE).

Electrical Safety Program Features

Awareness of potential electrical hazards and self-discipline 90%

Personal protective equipment (PPE) 84%

Procedures to be used before work is started 80%

Risk assessment procedure 75%

Accident prevention 72%

Principles upon which the program is based 71%

Job briefing prior to start of work 70%

Condition of maintenance of electrical equipment/systems 64%

Controls by which the program is measured and monitored 52%

Electrical safety audits performed at 3-year intervals 41%

Other 4%

Well-managed Electrical Safety Program Features

Excellent Good Acceptable

Awareness of potential electrical hazards and self-discipline 45% 43% 12%

Personal protective equipment (PPE) 56% 31% 11%

Procedures to be used before work is started 46% 35% 15%

Risk assessment procedure 45% 34% 17%

Accident prevention 44% 38% 16%

Principles upon which the program is based 41% 43% 14%

Job briefing prior to start of work 46% 37% 13%
Condition of maintenance of electrical equipment/systems 37% 45% 15%

Controls by which the program is measured and monitored 43% 38% 14%

Electrical safety audits performed at 3-year intervals 45% 32% 18%

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 17

INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY RESEARCH

Commitment to Electrical Safety

Very committed Fairly committed

Electrical workers/electricians 67% 26%

Operations management 57% 31%

Senior management 57% 30%

Line supervisors 53% 28%

Line workers 44% 31%

Where Electrical Safety Programs are Excelling

Emphasis on personal protection equipment (PPE) 75%

Emphasis on electrical safety training 53%

Behavior-based safety 49%

Emphasis on arc flash 42%

Emphasis on shock hazard 36%

Peer-to-peer training on the plant floor 28%

Amount of automated safety systems 21%

Challenges to Managing Electrical Safety

Serious challenge Moderate challenge Somewhat of a challenge

Not enough time for training 10% 25% 31%

Availability of funds 9% 27% 21%

Employees don’t see it as a priority 8% 17% 30%

Availability of resources, solutions 5% 16% 31%

Not enough support from management 7% 14% 18%

Workers’ union plant safety cooperation 4% 12% 11%

18 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

 Actions Items for Improving Electrical Safety

Increase safety training/awareness 56%

Identify arc flash hazards 38%
Identify shock hazards 37%
Encourage more peer-to-peer interaction 31%
Increase frequency of safety meetings 25%
Re-evaluate records for incidents/near-misses 25%
Encouraging workers to attend safety seminars/webinars 20%
Introduce or increase frequency of safety audits 20%
Implement a computer monitored safety system 16%
Introduce a third-party safety expert/consultant 14%
Introduce/enhance an incentive-based program 11%
Other 4%
No plan to change current safety culture 16%

Methods Used to Enforce Electrical Safety

Job Safety Analysis 79%

Regular safety meetings 72%

Safety audits 68%

Discipline, suspensions, termination 67%

Mangement leadership 63%

Safety committee 63%

Peer-to-peer 57%

Incentive based programs 34%

Web-based safety meetings (e.g. toolbox talks) 27%

All of the above 10%

Other 13%

Don’t know 2%

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 19

INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY RESEARCH

Safety Meeting Contributors

Electrical department management/supervision 60%

Electricians 58%

Engineering 57%

Safety executives/managers 56%

Maintenance 55%

Work group leaders 35%

Outside consultants/experts 25%

Peer groups 23%

Union representatives 18%

Other 4%
Don’t know 2%

Electrical Safety Strategies & Technologies in Use

Lockout/tagout (LOTO) 84%

Personal protective equipment (PPE) 84%

Job Safety Analysis 67%

Internal audits 54%

Embedded safety controls 44%

Outside training consultants 33%

External audits 30%

Incentives 26%

Web-based safety meetings (e.g. toolbox talks) 24%

Insurance audits 21%

Association events 13%

Other 3%

20 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

 Annual Budget for Electrical Safety
Training & Equipment

Don’t know
40%

Less than $10,000

More than $100,000
22%
7%
$75,001 to $100,000
5%
$50,001 ro $75,000
5% $10,000 to $20,000
$20,001 to $50,000
12%
11%

Electrical Safety Training

Personal Protective First-aid/

Job-related Safety
Equipment (PPE) Personal Safety

Don’t know 0 hours 0 hours 0 hours

Don’t know
6% 1% 3% Don’t know 7%
5%
40+ hours 40+ hours
7%
11% 9% 40+ hours
7%
21-40 hours
1-20 hours 1-20 hours 1-20 hours
11% 21-40 hours
21-40 hours 62% 72% 71%
20% 8%

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 21

INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY RESEARCH

Measuring Safety Success

Accident reports, near miss events 81%

Lost time injury frequency rates 53%
Safety audit results 50%
Fewer OSHA recordables/time-lost accidents 49%
Employee surveys 32%
Lower insurance premiums 27%
Lower workers compensation costs 23%
Lower employee turnover 13%
Other 2%
Don’t know 7%

OSHA Recordable Electrical Incidents

in the Past 6 Months
Total OSHA Recordable OSHA Recordable Electrical
Electrical Incidents Incidents Resulting in Lost Time
Don’t know
Don’t know
13%
16%
6 or more — 2%
6 or more — 1%
3 to 5 — 6% 0 3 to 5 — 2% 0
66%
2 — 6% 69%
2 — 5%

1 — 6%
1 — 8%

22 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

 Arc Flash Incidents

Don’t know

11% My facility has never

58% experienced an arc
flash incident
My facility has
experienced one or 31%
more arc flash incidents

Informing Staff About Electrical Safety

Issues & Incidents

Safety meetings 80%

Email 54%
Postings of safety-related statistics/
information (incl. online) 41%

Computer-based reporting system, auto-alert 38%

Word of mouth 33%

Shift change meeting 32%

Phone call 26%

Newsletters 16%
Other 2%

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 23

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input #9 at www.plantengineering.com/information
SOLUTIONS
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
By Kevin Parker

Self-service analytics
supplier wins 2019 product
of the year grand prize
High-tech solutions seamlessly mix with those addressing plant engineering basics

T
rendMiner, a Software AG company,
received the grand prize in the Plant
Engineering Product of the Year awards
competition for its TrendMiner 2019 R.3
analytics software.
As is well known, analytics is the discovery, inter-
pretation and communication of meaningful patterns
in data. It is the first time a high-tech software solution
incorporating machine learning and other aspects of
artificial intelligence has been recognized by Plant
Engineering readers voting for the product of the year.
“The focus today is on enabling fact-based decision
making. This is the democratization of analysis. It is no
longer the exclusive working area of the data scientist.
Instead, everyone is more data driven and uses insights
from data in combination with deep process expertise,”
said Joan van de Watering, general manager, TrendMiner.
Gold medal winner for asset management
Maintenance technicians in the oil & gas, petrochemical and chemical
processing industries will now be able to use the unique PRUFTECHNIK
single-laser technology and ruggedized tablet with touchscreen to perform
laser shaft alignment.
sensALIGN single-laser technology offers a superior measurement
principle that ensures best measurement accuracy and repeatability in
any situation. With a single-laser alignment system, measurement setup is
faster, and a machine pre-alignment
is not necessary, saving hours of work.
No matter the distance or length of
the spacer shaft, the measurement
accuracy remains consistent. Even
over short distances, where accuracy
may become a problem in double
laser systems, the dual detectors
inside the single sensor ensure high
accuracy.
vertiSWEEP enables the measurement of vertical machines with only one
shaft rotation, and the cardan shaft rotating-arm bracket makes cardan
shaft alignment a breeze since measurement can be performed without
removal of the cardans shaft. Also available is the Soft Foot Wizard and
the Move simulator, allowing the operator to simulate shim values and
horizontal corrections before starting to move the machine.
The 2019 release of TrendMiner allows process
manufacturing enterprises to build analytics-driven
production cockpits. The production cockpit ana-
lyzes live production process, compares progress to
historical production runs, and displays diagnostics,
quality status and predictions for production opera-
tors or management through individually designed
dashboards.
It also streamlines the flow of information between
shifts and from shift teams to engineers and can pro-
vide live production views and historical analysis
from the most remote factory to expertise located
anywhere in the world, giving them the power to make
informed decisions rapidly. This capability should be
of interest to companies in the chemicals, oil & gas,
water & wastewater, utilities, pharmaceuticals, food
processing and metals & mining sectors.
“It shows that self-service analytics have arrived
and are accepted by industry as a new way of work-
ing. Early adopters have generated value and their
success convinced others to look at how they them-
selves use data and recognize the consumption gap
that’s existed,” said Fredérick Motte, customer success
manager, TrendMiner.
Seeq, another provider of process manufacturing
analytics software, also was recognized by Plant Engi-
neering readers for its self-service analytics solution.
A further indication of the growing importance
and acceptance of machine learning and artificial
intelligence as a production technology was that the

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 25

SOLUTIONS
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
gold winner in the process
automation category was an
artificial intelligence mod-
ule from Siemens.
The Simatic S7-1500 neu-
ral processing unit (NPU)
allows simple and profit-
able combination of AI
algorithms and PLC logic.
This means, for example,
that for a pick-and-place
application, a robot can be
trained to discover and use
the best grasping points.
services and solutions. CFE Media sister publication
Control Engineering has a similar awards program,
and the Plant Engineering Top Plant award is also
presented at the event. Postponed because of the
Coronavirus restrictions, CFE Media is hoping to
host a similar event in the Fall.
Please refer to the chart following to see all the 39
award winners in all 13 product categories. For now,
we’d simply point out that the focus on emergent tech-
nologies extended beyond those entries already cited.

Other highlights
In total, the awards pro-
gram identified three winners across each of 13
categories for a total of 39 gold, silver and bronze
award winners.
In the past many of the winners of the Plant
Engineering Product of the Year awards would have
attended the CFE Media & Technology Engineering
Awards in Manufacturing event in April in Chicago.
The event brings together representatives from a
wide range of companies focused on furnishing the
manufacturing industries with innovative products,
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withstand caustic, high-pressure cleaning and sanitation processes. The
new bearings are the first industrial bearings to achieve the IP69 water
protection rating without the use of an end cover, making them ideal
for use in the food and beverage industry, where equipment must be
aggressively cleaned. They are the only bearings to carry a warranty against
failure due to water ingress.
Consumers and stringent health regulations increasingly challenge food
manufacturers to guarantee higher food safety and hygiene standards.
However, harsh chemicals and high-pressure sprays used in clean-in-place
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ABB’s Food Safe
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To prevent grease wash-out, the leading cause for bearing failure in
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leading lubrication protection.
The most important application of analytics in
industrial environments, and certainly for readers of
Plant Engineering magazine, is for predictive mainte-
nance. IIoT devices, including sensor technology, are
a big part of it. For the category of asset management,
Plant Engineering readers recognized Grace Engi-
neering Products’ release of a line of smart devices
for monitoring asset health. The battery-powered
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be deployed onto any rotating equipment to predict
anomalies before they turn into catastrophic failure.
Because vibration detection mimics the kind of intui-
tive insight that an experienced operator in produc-
tion environments brings to bear, its importance as
a sensing medium has grown.
Stratus Technologies, in the category of automation
and controls, was recognized for its ztC Edge, a zero-
touch, reliable, secure, highly automated computing
platform, specifically designed for industrial edge
environments. Stratus says that ztC Edge, purpose-
built for operational technology (OT), is easy to set
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help reduce unplanned downtime and ensure the
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In our introduction, we’ve been able to highlight
only a few of the award winners. All of them, how-
ever, are worthy of your attention. To examine them
in detail, feel free to visit CFE Media’s Products for
Engineers Database. PE

26 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

 2019 PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Category Award Manufacturer Product
GRAND TrendMiner 2019 R.3 TrendMiner
Gold ROTALIGN touch EX Pruftechnik
Asset Silver GraceSense Vibration and Temperature Node Grace Engineered Products
Management
Bronze IsoLogic Breather Des-Case

Gold Simatic S7-1500 TM NPU Siemens

Automation & Controls Silver ztC Edge 110i Stratus Technologies

Bronze Graphite 12.1-in. HMI Red Lion Controls

Gold ZR90-160 VSD+ Atlas Copco

Compressed Air Silver Soft Grip Back Blow Safety Air Gun Exair

Bronze Gen4 ionizing bar Exair

Gold Dodge Food Safe bearing ABB Motors & Mechanical

Electric
Silver Unidrive DFS Control Techniques
Motors & Drives
Bronze HarmonicGuard passive harmonic filter TCI

Gold Electrical Diagnostic Test, Form A Ramsay Corp.

Electrical Safety Silver Data Access Port Panduit

Bronze LOTO Pro Switchgear Safety

Gold 5P lithium-ion UPS Eaton

Energy Silver SSG-RP-1H Falcon Electric
Management
Bronze TeSys island Schneider Electric

Gold ChemLon Eclipse 7576 A.R. Thomson Group

Fluid Handling Silver CytroBox Bosch Rexroth

Bronze CR pump Grundfos

Gold SpectraClean Hubbell Lighting

Lighting Silver Crouse-Hinds Champ Pro PVMA LED fixture Eaton

Bronze Reliant high bay Dialight

Maintenance Gold MVP Plant V2.5 CMMS Data Group

Software Silver Connected Maintenance Aquitas Solutions

Gold Easy-Laser XT770 Ludeca

Maintenance Tools & Silver ii900 Sonic Industrial Imager Fluke
Equipment
Bronze QX ergonomic tightening system Ingersoll Rand

Gold VanRiet HC sorter MHS

Material Silver Model 8250 pallet jack The Raymond Corporation
Handling Systems
Bronze Sealmaster unitized spherical roller bearing Regal Beloit America

Plant Analytics & Gold Seeq R21 process manufacturing analytics software Seeq Corp.

Design Silver RXi Industrial Display Emerson Automation

Gold Vanguard TCD50 V1.2 United Electric Controls

Safety Silver Transformer Containment Bag Andax Industries

Bronze RSA-152G remote switch actuator CBS ArcSafe

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 27

 Winner
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input #10 at www.plantengineering.com/information

SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
By H. Landis “Lanny” Floyd, PE, CSP, CESCP
Five steps to improve your
electrical safety program
OSHA recommends ways to make your electrical safety program better
D
rawing from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
data, Electrical Safety Foundation Inter-
national (ESFI) has updated occupational
electrical injury and fatality statistics to
include 2018 performance. The ESFI report shows
that the trend in electrical fatalities has been essen-
tially flat for the past 10 years, although the trend
in nonfatal lost-time injuries continues downward.
In 2018, there were 160 fatalities from exposure to
electrical energy, an 18% increase over 2017 and the
highest number of fatalities since 2011. There was a
record low of nonfatal lost-time electrical injuries in
2018: 1,560, a 29% decrease over 2017.
The phenomena of a flat trend in fatal injuries
at the same time as a continuing downward trend
in nonfatal injuries is
Figure 1: The publication Recommended not unique to electrical
Practices for Safety and Health injuries and fatalities.
Programs is the centerpiece of the It is a general charac-
updated OSHA resources. All images teristic of all hazards
courtesy: OSHA in the workplace that
have a credible potential
to cause long term dis-
abling or fatal injuries.
The disconnect between
the trends in fatal and
nonfatal injuries has had
the attention of safety
management experts
for nearly two decades.
While the long-term
trend in occupational
injuries and fatalities in
the U.S. has been down-
ward, other countries
have demonstrated prog-
ress significantly better
than the U.S.
A recent study shows
the occupational fatality
rate in the U.S. is nearly
four times higher than
www.plantengineering.com
that in the United Kingdom. In response to the flat-
tened trend in occupational fatalities, federal agencies
at the forefront in workplace safety have taken steps
to enable employers and workers to identify gaps
better and improve the effectiveness of workplace
safety programs. In 2006, the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health launched the Pre-
vention through Design (PtD)national initiative to
emphasize engineering design opportunities in facili-
ties, equipment, tools and processes to complement
safe work practices and personal protective equip-
ment in reducing the risk of injury. More recently, in
2016, OSHA created and continues to add resources
to support its efforts in promoting recommended
practices for safety and health programs.
Electrical safety program implications
Employers should benchmark their electrical safety
programs against the core elements of effective safety
management outlined in industry standards such as
ANSI Z10 and ISO 45001. Widely considered one of
the most prominent standards regarding workplace
electrical safety in the United States, NFPA 70E:
Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace pro-
vides safe work practices and other administrative
controls aimed at reducing the risk of exposure to
hazardous electrical energy. The standard acknowl-
edges that safe work practices and administrative
controls comprise a part of an electrical safety pro-
gram and reference safety management standards
as resources to aid employers in addressing the
essential elements of an effective electrical safety
program not addressed in NFPA 70E.
Effective application of safety management sys-
tems standards typically requires having safety pro-
fessionals competent in the standards. Many small
businesses do not have the resources to have this
competency in-house, and the task of understand-
ing and implementing safety management systems
standards can be overwhelming. To aid small com-
panies and other organizations lacking the resources
needed to implement safety management systems
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 29
SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
standards, OSHA has
published guidelines
to assist employers in
core elements of safety
management proven
essential for effective
and robust safety pro-
grams (see Figure 1).
These core elements
are interrelated and are
best viewed as part of an
integrated system.
Actions taken under
one core element will
likely affect actions
needed under one or
more other elements.
A library of resources,
summarized in Figure
2, was developed spe-
Figure 2: The cially for use by small organizations. For electrical
OSHA website safety, this means any organization can now have
dedicated easy access to resources to address the gaps in an
to helping electrical safety program not included in NFPA 70E.
employers One of the resources is the OSHA Crosswalk of Vol-
understand and untary Standards and Guidelines, which shows how
implement core the core elements in OSHA Recommended Practices
elements of for Safety and Health Programs are aligned with
effective safety safety management systems standards and leading
management. organizations in occupational safety. Figure 3 shows
only a portion of the Crosswalk, showing how the
core element Management Leadership is aligned
with voluntary standards and guidelines.
Five key steps to improve your electrical safety
program, based on the OSHA recommendations,
are discussed in this article.
1. Enable management leadership. Manage-
ment provides the leadership, vision and resources
needed to implement an effective electrical safety
program. Top management should demonstrate its
commitment to continuous improvement in electri-
cal safety, communicate that commitment to work-
ers and set program expectations and responsibilities.
Managers at all levels should make electrical safety a
core organizational value, establish safety and health
goals and objectives, provide adequate resources and
support for the program and set a good example by
demonstrating a commitment to eliminating hazards,
reducing risks, protecting workers and continuously
improving workplace electrical safety.
Some examples of visible leadership include estab-
lishing a written policy describing the organization’s
commitment to electrical safety, communicate the pol-
30 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
icy to all workers and stakeholders, including contrac-
tors, suppliers, visitors, providing the resources needed
to implement the electrical safety and program, inte-
grating electrical safety into planning and budgeting
processes and aligning budgets with program needs.
2. Empower worker participation. Workers
should be involved in all aspects of the program —
including setting goals, identifying and reporting
hazards, investigating incidents and tracking prog-
ress. By encouraging workers to participate in the pro-
gram, management signals that it values their input
into electrical safety decisions. Workers are often best
positioned to identify electrical safety concerns and
program shortcomings, such as emerging workplace
hazards, unsafe conditions, close calls/near misses
and actual incidents. By encouraging reporting and
following up promptly on all reports, employers can
address issues before someone gets hurt. Including
worker input at every step of program design and
implementation improves the ability to identify the
presence and causes of workplace hazards, creates a
sense of program ownership among workers, enhances
their understanding of how the program works and
helps sustain the program over time. Opportunities
to engage workers span all aspects of the program,
including setting goals, identifying and reporting haz-
ards, identifying safe work practices, developing safety
procedures, participating in incident investigations,
training electrical and non-electrical workers, leading
safety audits and program evaluation. Workers must
feel that their input is welcome, and their voices will
be heard. Differences in language, education or skill
levels in the workplace must be considered.
We live in an electrical world, and all workers have
some exposure to electrical hazards. For office workers,
exposure may be limited to appliances, cords, outlets
and power strips. For construction laborers, exposure
includes extension cords, power tools and overhead
and underground powerlines. Overhead lines are a
concern as unintentional contact with mobile equip-
ment, scaffolds, ladders and conducive materials is a
leading cause of fatality for construction workers. A
key question to ask: Is our electrical safety program
applied to workers whose job expectations include
working on or near energized circuits and equipment,
or is it applied to all workers who may have exposure to
electrical hazards? The electrical safety program should
include all workers, with details of the program tailored
to hazards and risk in specific work environments.
3. Build competency. A common root cause of
workplace electrical injuries is the failure to identify or
recognize hazards that are present, or that could have
www.plantengineering.com
 been anticipated. Unrecognized hazards or underes-
timation of risk can lead to unintentional acceptance
of risk. A critical element of any effective electrical
safety program is a proactive, ongoing process to iden-
tify and assess such hazards. Hazards can be intro-
duced over time as work areas, and processes change,
equipment or tools are damaged, cords become worn,
maintenance is neglected or housekeeping practices
decline. Setting aside time to inspect the workplace
for electrical hazards regularly can help identify
shortcomings so that they can be addressed before an
incident occurs. For each hazard exposure identified,
you should determine the severity and likelihood of
incidents that could result and use this information
to prioritize corrective actions. Some hazards, such as
damaged cords or missing covers, should be fixed as
they are found. Fixing hazards on the spot emphasizes
the importance of electrical safety and takes advantage
of a safety leadership opportunity.
You should include all areas and activities in these
inspections, such as storage and warehousing, facility
and equipment maintenance, purchasing and office
functions and the activities of onsite contractors,
subcontractors, temporary employees and visitors.
Checklists that highlight things to look for are helpful.
Checklists can be developed for major categories such
as work environment, equipment operation, equipment
maintenance, work practices and work organization.
Workplace electrical incidents, including injuries,
close calls/near misses, and equipment failures can
provide a clear indication of where hazards exist. By
thoroughly investigating incidents and reports, haz-
ards that are likely to cause future harm are identified.
The purpose of an investigation must always be to
identify the root and contributing causes to identify
every opportunity to prevent future occurrences.
www.plantengineering.com
Figure 3: OSHA’s “Crosswalk to Voluntary Standards” helps
navigate a variety of standards, guidelines and models available to
help establish or improve an electrical safety program. This is an
excerpt showing how the management leadership element of the
OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs is
aligned with corresponding elements in ANSI Z10 Occupational
Health And Safety Management Systems, National Safety Council
Journey to Safety Excellence and ISO 45001 Occupational Health
And Safety Management Systems.
Having a plan and procedure for conducting inci-
dent investigations can enable investigations to begin
immediately when an incident occurs. The investiga-
tion plan should cover who should be involved, what
skills need to available, and what training members
of the investigation team need.
Where hazards are identified, controls should be
selected according to a hierarchy that uses engineering
solutions first, followed by safe work practices and
other administrative controls and finally, personal
protective equipment (PPE). Employers should select
the controls that are the most feasible, effective, and
permanent. New technologies may have the potential
to be more protective, more reliable or less costly.
Whenever possible, select equipment, machinery
and materials that are inherently safer based on PtD
principles. Apply PtD when making your facility,
equipment or product design decisions. For more
information, see the link to the NIOSH PtD initiative.
It is crucial to ensure that selected controls are
implemented, interim protection is provided, progress
is tracked and the effectiveness of controls is veri-
fied. Evaluate control measures to determine if they
are effective or need to be modified. Involve work-
ers in the evaluation of the controls. If controls are
not adequate, identify, select and implement further
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 31
SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Figure 4: Templates for self-auditing the core elements of safety
management are available on the OSHA website supporting
Recommendations for Safety and Health Programs. This is an
excerpt from the self-auditing template for the management
leadership element. The Action and Guidance text in this figure
is modified to focus on electrical safety.
control measures that provide adequate protection.
For example, after establishing an electrically safe
work condition, hazardous energy may still exist at
the boundary of the safe working zone, such as on
the line side of isolation devices, in adjacent compart-
ments of motor control centers or switchgear, behind
shutters in drawout circuit breaker cells and behind
doors and covers that could be opened. Risk control
planning should take into consideration how miscom-
munications, distractions or misunderstandings could
lead to failure of the implemented controls to prevent
exposure or injury. By asking, “How could this control
fail?” additional engineering or administrative controls
may be warranted to control the remaining risk. It is
usually the case that no single method fully protects
workers, requiring a combination of controls or mul-
tiple layers of protection is almost always appropriate.
4. Assess education and training needs. Edu-
cation and training are essential tools for informing
workers and managers about electrical hazards and
32 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
controls, and for understanding the electrical safety
program so that everyone can contribute to its develop-
ment and implementation. Managers, supervisors and
workers need to understand the program’s structure,
plans and procedures. Having this knowledge ensures
that everyone can fully participate in developing,
implementing and improving the program.
Additional training may be needed depending on the
roles assigned in the program. For example, employers,
managers and supervisors may need specific train-
ing to ensure they can fulfill their roles in providing
leadership, direction and resources for the electrical
safety program. Workers assigned specific roles in the
program (e.g., incident investigation team members)
may need the training to ensure their full participation
in those functions. Employers, managers and super-
visors are responsible for workers’ safety, yet some-
times have little training on safety-related concepts
and techniques such as risk assessment, the hierarchy
of controls and PtD. They might benefit from specific
training on these, and other topics will allow them
to fulfill their leadership roles in the program better.
Worker training should be tailored to the specific
hazards and risks associated with their job responsibili-
ties. Office workers with exposure to cord-powered
office equipment should have training appropriate for
this risk. Workers using mobile equipment or handling
long conductive materials need training on identify-
www.plantengineering.com
 ing and avoiding overhead powerlines. Electricians
whose job expectations include working near ener-
gized equipment and components need hazard iden-
tification and risk control training specific for their
exposure to hazardous energy.
Additional training may be needed when a change
in facilities, equipment, processes, materials or work
organization could increase hazards, and whenever
a worker is assigned a new task. A formal process
may be needed for determining the training needs
of workers responsible for developing, implementing
and maintaining the program.
Promoting awareness of home electrical safety is a
way to engage everyone in the organization in thinking
about electrical safety. Management, supervision and
workers can apply home electrical safety tips in their
personal lives. Topics can include ground fault circuit
interrupters (GFCIs) and arc fault circuit interrupters
(AFCIs), extension cords, electrically powered tools
and appliances and overhead and underground util-
ity powerlines. Home electrical safety education can
provide a sound base for understanding and value for
the electrical safety program at work. Electrical Safety
Foundation International has an extensive library of
home electrical safety awareness materials that can
be downloaded at no cost.
5. Think continual improvement. Once an
electrical safety program is established, it should be
evaluated initially to verify it is being implemented as
intended. After that, employers should periodically,
and at least annually, step back and assess what is
working and what is not, and whether the program is
on track to achieve its goals. Whenever these assess-
ments identify opportunities to improve the program,
employers, managers and supervisors — in coordina-
tion with workers — should make adjustments and
monitor how well the program performs as a result.
Sharing the results of monitoring and evaluation
within the workplace, and celebrating successes, will
help drive further improvement.
The first step in monitoring is to define indicators
that will help track performance and progress. Both
lagging and leading indicators should be used. Lag-
ging indicators track worker exposures and injuries
that have already occurred. Leading indicators track
how well various aspects of the program have been
implemented and reflect steps taken to prevent inci-
dents and injuries before they occur.
Electrical injuries comprise less than 0.2%, or less
than 1 in 500, of all nonfatal occupational injuries.
The relative infrequency of electrical injuries can cre-
ate an illusion of having an effective electrical safety
program. A rare serious electrical injury or fatality may
www.plantengineering.com
be incorrectly viewed as a random event. Incidents
and injuries that are low in frequency also can mean
that a company or organization does not have enough
internal data to be statistically meaningful. Due to
the inherent low-frequency occurrence of electrical
injuries, an individual or company may not recognize
the potential for a fatal (high consequence) injury.
The lack of, or a low number of, electrical injuries is
not a valid indicator of the quality of the electrical
safety program. Factors that may be better indica-
tors of electrical safety program quality are leading
indicators such as:
• Frequency and quality of electrical safety training
for electrical workers, nonelectrical workers, line
supervision, management and support personnel
such as safety professionals, contractor adminis-
trators and training staff
• Frequency of field audits that examine the imple-
mentation of the organization’s electrical safety
program
• Quality and frequency of management system
audits focused on preventing exposure to electri-
cal hazards
• Attention to inherently safer design in hardware
selection and electrical system design in capital
projects
• Discipline in maintaining maintenance programs
for equipment and systems critical to electrical
safety.
Initially and at least annually, management should
evaluate the program to ensure it is operating as
intended, is effective in controlling identified hazards
and is making progress toward established electrical
safety goals and objectives. The scope and frequency of
program evaluations will vary depending on changes
in your organization, OSHA regulations, industry
standards and the scope, complexity and maturity of
your electrical safety program. The evaluation should
take into consideration whether changes in equipment,
facilities, materials, key personnel or work practices
trigger the need for changes in the program.
One size does not fit all
OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety and Health
Programs should be tailored to the electrical safety
program for your workplace. The core elements for
successful safety management are common across all
hazards and the recommended practices and sup-
porting resources can be applied to any safety and
health hazard in the workplace. By inserting “elec-
trical safety program” wherever “safety and health
program” appears in the tools and resources, you
will see opportunities to improve visibility, support,
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 33
SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
engagement and robustness of your electrical safety tions and procedures. Larger employers, who have more
program. Experimentation, evaluation and program complex work processes, may require a more formal and
modification are part of the process. You also may detailed program. They also may wish to integrate their
experience setbacks from time to time. What is impor- electrical safety program with other programs they are
tant is you learn from setbacks, remain committed to using to manage assets, production, quality control and
finding out what works best for you and continue to environmental protection or sustainability.
seek leading edge methods. You can use the self-evaluation tools found on the
Electrical injuries occur in all types of workplace OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety and Health
settings, from manufacturing sites to hospitals and Programs website to track your progress and assess how
health care facilities, to offices, to construction and to fully you have implemented each action item. Figure
service industries. The preventive approaches described 4 is an example of one of the continual improvement
in the OSHA recommended practices work equally tools available on the OSHA Recommended Practices
well across all sectors of the economy, for all differ- website. PE
ent kinds of hazards, in
Resources referenced in both mobile and fixed H. Landis “Lanny” Floyd, PE, CSP, CESCP, Life Fellow
this article work environments; and IEEE, is a member of Plant Engineering’s Editorial Advi-
for small, medium-sized sory Board. He is an adjunct professor in the Advanced
OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety
and Health Programs
and large organizations. Safety and Engineering Management graduate engineer-
www.osha.gov/shpguidelines/ Small employers may ing program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
find that they can best In that position, he teaches Electrical Systems Safety, Intro-
NIOSH Prevention through Design accomplish the actions duction to Prevention through Design and Systems Safety
www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ptd/default.html outlined in these recom- and Engineering Ethics and Acceptable Risk. He retired
Electrical Safety Foundation International
mended practices using from DuPont in 2014 after a 45-year career devoted to
www.esfi.org/ informal communica- prevention of electrical injuries and fatalities.

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Elevate Environment, Health, and
Safety Performance, Enterprise-Wide
How organizations can enhance worker
safety post-COVID-19
Thursday, May 28, 2020, at 11 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET

input #11 at www.plantengineering.com/information

SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
By Marty Kronz
Adopt prevention through
design for electrical safety
Leaders and managers need to implement a proactive prevention through design
(PtD) program and track near misses to mitigate electrical safety hazards and
protect workers in their plant
M
odern manufacturing facilities need a
comprehensive approach to its electrical
safety program policies and practices.
Creating a safe workplace requires rig-
orous enforcement of electrical safety standards and
strict adherence to guidelines with close monitoring
of industry best practices.
Performing work without turning off power and
verifying that a de-energized condition exists is a lead-
ing cause of electrical injuries. The Electrical Safety
Foundation International statistics show that there
were 2,210 nonfatal electrical injuries in 2017, an
increase of 35% over 2016.
Workplace safety is always a top priority on the
job and in the plant environment, but even with this
focus and mindset, accidents happen. Typically, the
response to electrical incidents and near misses is to
propose more safety training, but training alone is
not enough. It is crucial to incorporate design-first
thinking to improve workplace electrical safety and
accurately track near misses to see where opportunities
for improvement exist. Leaders and managers need
to implement a proactive prevention through design
(PtD) program and track near misses to mitigate elec-
trical safety hazards and protect workers in their plant.
The significance of PtD
As a principle, PtD is an achievable solution to improve
worker health and safety, especially when it comes
to electrical safety. Designing to reduce or eliminate
hazards, before any electrical exposure happens in the
workplace, should be a top priority for industry safety
professionals and plant floor managers. PtD includes
all efforts to prevent injuries by reducing exposure
to hazards primarily through design efforts rather
than administrative controls or personal protective
equipment (PPE). It applies not only to products and
equipment but also processes and procedures used
on the plant floor.
36 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
The PtD concept is firmly taking hold within the
safety and plant engineering community. Efforts are
being made to increase its adoption through inclu-
sion in standards. Every manufacturing process has
many inherent safety risks. It is essential to identify
and minimize potential hazards from the beginning.
With PtD, new technologies and products reduce
human exposure to hazards to achieve higher safety
levels, making electrical infrastructure safer for anyone
entering the facility for the duration of its lifecycle.
Product development by way of PtD also can simulta-
neously increase productivity, as it limits worker expo-
sure to electrical hazards during routine maintenance
and work activity while making the process faster and
less complicated.
How PtD reduces workplace injuries
PtD begins with the process of identifying potential
risks within a process or environment with the goal of
eliminating that risk whenever possible. In cases where
risk elimination is impossible or impractical, substi-
tution (replacing the hazard) or engineering controls
(isolating people from the hazard) is the most effective
means to reduce workplace injuries (see Figure 1).
Several PtD products have been developed to replace
or isolate people from the risk, such as permanently
mounted light curtains, data access ports, infrared
(IR) windows for thermal Inspection and absence of
voltage testers (AVTs).
The process of de-energizing and verifying equip-
ment in an electrically safe work condition before
beginning work can help prevent electrical incidents.
AVTs are the only permanently mounted testing
devices specifically designed with this in mind by
determining if a circuit part is de-energized before
opening panels or removing covers to access and
maintain electrical equipment. The AVT not only
reduces the risk of exposure to electrical hazards
but also simplifies the traditional, time-consuming,
www.plantengineering.com
 Figure 1: NIOSH defines
five rungs of the Hierarchy
of Controls: elimination,
substitution, engineering controls,
administrative controls and
personal protective equipment. All
images courtesy: Panduit
handheld equipment process to a reliable, single
pushbutton action.
AVTs help improve electrical safety by way of a PtD
approach and are an ideal preventive option for plant
floor maintenance and reliability professionals, their staff
and safety professionals (see Figure 2).
It is beneficial to examine whether absence of volt-
age testing can be optimized using PtD methodology
because of how frequently it is done in the manufac-
turing workplace. Every safety and plant floor man-
ager’s top priority is to provide a workplace free from
serious safety and health hazards, as well as ensur-
ing the workplace is in compliance with applicable
standards, rules and regulations to maintain safety in
their manufacturing facility. Safety managers today
are challenging electrical infrastructure suppliers to
create dependable methods of identifying and verify-
ing de-energized electrical equipment.
Near miss reporting is an essential
tool
According to IEEE, “a ‘near-miss’ is generally defined
as an unplanned incident that did not, but had the
potential to, result in an injury.” In an electrical safe-
ty environment, this would be an incident where a
potentially life-threatening or fatal shock, arc flash,
arc blast, electrical fire, etc., could have taken place.
These misses are valuable information resources for
plant and safety management.
So why do so many near misses go unreported? One
main reason is company culture. It is the responsibility
of plant and safety managers to establish a welcoming
safety culture on the plant floor. Some best practices
include posting and explaining the definition of a
near miss, reporting on not only incidents but near
misses and communicating them as lessons learned
and immediate and simple recording processes so near
misses do not get lost in that day-to-day.
What should companies do once an electrical near
miss occurs and is reported? Companies with active
safety cultures often have a “work-stop” meeting
where the employees and managers discuss the near
miss, why it happened and how it can be prevented
in the future. When floor employees are trained in
root cause analysis (RCA), these conversations often
www.plantengineering.com
are
l e d
by the
floor
e mp l oy -
ees and are
m ore pro -
ductive. This
employee and
manager team
approach goes a
long way in nurtur-
ing a positive safety culture. It also empowers the
floor employees to be responsible for their safety,
gives them the tools to report near misses and a
sense of ownership in eliminating the hazard.
These conversations should guide plant and safety
managers to establish new safety processes and use
them as an opportunity to apply and use PtD prin-
ciples. But the safety mindset must not stop there
— following up on near misses, regularly auditing
equipment, job plans and procedures are essential
to making sure a culture of safety “sticks” with the
employees.
The importance moving forward
Worldwide, industry implementation of PtD and
reporting near misses still has room for improve-
ment. Adopting and nurturing an environment that
promotes safety culture that encourages near miss
reporting is a key to identifying PtD opportunities.
Plant management’s role in the PtD process is
obvious: Establish a motivational force to pro-
mote designing for safety and protect workers by
implementing solutions that help reduce exposure
to hazards throughout their facility. PtD method-
ology can be applied to existing tools, equipment
and processes, but addressing safety early in the
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 37
SOLUTIONS
ELECTRICAL SAFETY

design process is more economical and should be

Figure 2: Example the first option explored.
of an Absence of Safety pays when it comes to plants and factories.
Voltage Tester. Electrical injuries account for one of the highest aver-
age workers’ compensation costs, with sources indi-
cating the average direct cost of an electrical injury
ranges from $50,000 to $80,000. The indirect loss can
even exceed this by four times because of the ensu-
ing property damage and repair and lost productivity.
Approaching a total cost of $500,000, companies should
think twice about how effective their safety program,
procedures and tools are.
Because of PtD and the adoption of near miss report-
ing, the safety culture is changing. New technology like
AVTs will continue to play an important role in electri-
cal hazard reduction strategies for plants worldwide. PE

Marty Kronz is manager of prevention through design

— OEM Business. He leads the Panduit OEM Business
Development team, defining its strategy to meet sales
and profitability goals. He joined Panduit in 1992 and
has held a variety of engineering and product manage-
ment roles with the company.

2020 Industrial
Maintenance Research
The bald-faced recognition of the evolutional challenge facing today’s maintenance
SPONSORED BY:
functions, involving a mix of people and technology concerns, sets the Plant Engineering
2020 Industrial Maintenance Report apart from previous versions.

The annual survey, sponsored by Advanced Technology Services (ATS), conducted

among maintenance professionals in process, discrete and hybrid industries identified
top struggles to improving maintenance to be lack of resources or staff (41%),
outdated technology (33%) and lack of understanding of options/
technologies (31%).

Also, according to the study, aging equipment (34%) and mechanical failure
(20%) are the leading causes of unscheduled downtime. In an effort to reduce
downtime, 46% of facilities plan to introduce or change their maintenance
strategy and another 46% plan to upgrade equipment.

For additional results, access the new Plant Engineering

Industrial Maintenance Research today!
www.plantengineering.com/articles/an-evolutionary-challenge-
faces-the-maintenance-function

PLE2004_Research_Maintenance-ATS.indd 1 3/31/2020 4:19:07 PM

SOLUTIONS
PUMPING SYSTEMS & HEAT EXCHANGERS
By Doug Kolak

Optimization of a plant
cooling system design
Size a feed water pump; consider heat-exchanger options; determine cooling
system power and energy use

T
o optimize a plant cooling system, let’s first
look at using system simulation software
to obtain accurate sizing of a feed water
pump. Simulation software can reduce
system oversizing and increase safety and efficiency.
For analyzing a plant cooling system design, simula-
tion software that is able to model thermal and fluid
dynamics is needed.
Then, simulation analyses will be used to integrate
the chilled water side of the cooling system into the
design, consider various heat-exchanger options and
determine cooling system expected power and energy
use, creating a baseline model and better understanding
of lifecycle costs.
Figure 1: Finally, using the baseline design, optimization
Process control software will be used to further refine the design to
diagram for the most optimal arrangement for the plant cooling
the pumping system.
system. All
graphics Get started
courtesy: Pumping systems ensure fluids reach their destina-
Mentor tion through often-complex flow distribution net-
works. However, for most industry sectors, pumping
systems usually have the highest power consumption
of any process system. Estimates run that operation
and maintenance often make up more than 80% of
lifetime pumping system costs.
Initial pump sizing usually comes early in the design
process. All data and final routing may not be avail-
able, but it’s possible to estimate based on initial lay-
outs (see Figure 1). The model is composed of several
heat sources: a diesel generator, ancillary equipment,
scavenger oil cooler, lubrication oil cooler and engine
jacket. A feed water pump also is part of this cooling
loop. The entire loop interacts with a cooling loop that
pumps seawater through a heat exchanger.
System constraints include the following:
• Limit of 80°C on temperature, anywhere in the
system.
• The seawater system was finalized so no changes
could be made to the pumps or piping on that side,
only to the heat exchanger through which it inter-
acts.
• Due to the layout and constraints, maximum pipe
size was a 200-mm, schedule-40, nominal pipe size.

Figure 2: Input data for pump and line sizing.

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 39

SOLUTIONS
PUMPING SYSTEMS & HEAT EXCHANGERS
Figure 3: With these constraints, what parameters could be
System curve changed?
results. First was pipe size. To keep things simple, consider a
schedule 40 stainless steel between 100- and 200-mm
piping at 25 mm nominal increments, with 7-inch or
175-mm excluded due to lack of ready availability.
Second, an initial estimate gave an expected flow rate
of 0.0631 m3/s, which is about 1,000 gal/min. However,
to ensure proper pump operation under different flow
rates, a sweep from 0.0158 to 0.0788 m3/s, or about 250
to 1,250 gal/min should be considered.
Finally, the heat exchanger was looked at. It’s a shell
and-tube configuration with either two or four passes.
Its length will be from 1 to 5 m.
Asking a few questions can lead to the best solution.
What is the overall system pressure drop? Which pump
options fit the system? Finally, what is the power require-
ment of the selected pump?
Calculating system pressure drop
In this analysis, we focus on the cooling system’s
closed-loop portion, excluding the seawater side.
To determine losses in the system over a range of
Figure 4: flow rates, the pump initially can be configured as a
Pump and flow source and pressure sink. This allows forcing a
system curves. flow rate on the system so that simulation software
can calculate required upstream pressure based on
40 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
the outlet pressure and system component accumu-
lative losses.
Certain fixed data is assumed constant from design
to design. For the pipes, a roughness of 0.025 mm can
be used. Piping lengths vary from five to 35 meters. For
utilities, a loss coefficient of 0.2 can be used. Other data
varies, including pipe diameter, volumetric flow rate,
orifice diameter and flow area of the utilities.
To accurately estimate system performance, let’s look
at four different pipe inner diameters, corresponding
to 100, 125, 150, and 200 mm schedule-40 pipe. Also
considered were five different flow rates from 0.0158
to 0.0788 m3/s (see Figure 2).
Running virtual experiments
Here is where major software benefits apply. Running
many scenarios is simple and fast. We create variable
parameters and assign them to components in place of
specific numbers. We can then configure the design of
experiments to vary these values from run to run.
Once the variables are configured, the software sets up
the experiment. We determine how the variable param-
eter data is to change. For pipe diameter, discrete values
are used, which allow entering specific numbers. This is
helpful when there isn’t a distinct mathematical pattern
to the entries such as for pipe schedules. For flow rate,
we set a start- and end-value and select the number of
values; in this case, five.
The software then determines the values and creates
the run matrix of a full factorial, in this case, 20 total,
which runs in just under 15 seconds.
From the experiments, results are exported directly
to a spreadsheet for graphing of the four possible sys-
tem curves. The 100-mm option resulted in far too high
resistance, ruling that option out immediately. As for the
125-, 150-, and 200-mm options, the system curves look
reasonable, so a decision will likely be based on weight
and operating expense.
From initial heat load calculations, we know the system
should be run at around 0.63 m3/s. If a vertical line is
drawn on the graph, we can see where that intersects with
our system curve (Figure 3). Drawing a line horizontal to
the y-axis determines what the required head rise from
the pump will be. As an example, for the 125-mm option,
it would be about 22.1 meters. This information helps
narrow down the pump options to those that have a rated
head and rated flow as close to these values as possible.
Once the search is narrowed down to two pumps from
the manufacturer, the head curves can be overlaid onto the
graph. Given information from the pump manufacturer
that at a speed of 2,500 RPM, the maximum efficiency
was 77% at a flow rate of 0.63 m3/s for both pumps. The
only difference was in the shape of the pump performance
from the best efficiency point.
www.plantengineering.com
 The final step is to see where the pump curves inter-
act with the system curves. This is where the pump will
end up operating (Figure 4). Looking at the two pumps
versus the 125-mm system, pump 100B intersected to
the left of the desired flow rate. This meant the pump
would not deliver the desired flow rate unless it ran at
a higher speed than it is rated, something that would
lower the efficiency, costing money.
Although pump 101A didn’t intersect exactly at the
desired flow rate, it was close and slightly to the right,
so it could provide enough rate and some buffer.
Selecting 101A, we can input the pump data for the
manufacturer can be inputted and an analysis run to
see how it operates in the model. The results shows tube inner diameter and thickness can be fixed and the Figure 5:
the intersection point or operating point is at a slightly tube length, number of tubes and shell diameter, which Effect of
higher flow rate than the flow rate of 0.063 m3/s; but is a function of the number of tubes, can be varied. Five various
not by much, which meant the head rise is going to different tube lengths and five different values for the lengths of
be slightly lower than the rate value. But again, not by number of tubes can then be compared. tubes.
much. This means that the efficiency is going to be This provides 25 experiments, which, as with siz-
slightly lower at 74.9% versus the stated 77%. Ultimately, ing the pump, solves in about 30 seconds using the
the required power would be just over 8 kW. virtual experiments. This provides 25 runs for each
The first step to optimize the design of a new indus- heat exchanger option, or 50 total.
trial cooling system for both cost and performance has Once complete, results are exported to Excel to graph
been demonstrated. A traditional design process to as shown in Figure 5. Not surprisingly, as tube length
build the thermo-fluid simulation model is perfectly for a given number of tubes increases, the calculated
valid for meeting engineering constraints. However, outlet temperature decreases, which is also the case if
these solutions could still be cost-inefficient. Further the number of tubes increases while length stays the
analyses will refine our options. same. Increasing tube length has a much greater effect
on outlet temperature than increasing the number of
Heat exchanger options tubes. For example, this time, we’ll start with 50 one- Figure 6:
Let’s now look at how simulation analyses can be used meter length tubes and increase the number of tubes Temperatures
to consider heat-exchanger options and determine to 100, then go from an outlet temperature of 105 to were lower
expected power and energy use of the plant cooling 82.5 °C. than for the
system, working to model and optimize lifecycle costs. However, if 50 tubes are assumed but are postulated two-pass
With the pump sized and the seawater circuit incor- as two meters longer, outlet temperature falls to 64°C, a design.
porated into the model, let’s look at heat exchanger
data. The simulation software uses empirical data
to define the heat exchanger. This includes thermal
duty, used in the utilities, hot or cold stream tempera-
ture difference, or effectiveness or nascent number,
specified as single values or as varying with flow rates.
These are usually good options, if you have the test
or manufacturer’s data.
However, if that’s not an option, or for greater con-
trol defining the heat exchanger, the geometry can be
specified. In this case, selection of heat exchangers can
be based on the VDI heat atlas used in the power gen-
eration and process industries, as well as an advanced
option, which caters more toward designing automotive
heat exchangers. In this example, the geometry-based
option from the VDI heat atlas is used.
The first decision is the type of heat exchanger. To
look at the difference between a two-pass and a four-
pass, shell-and-tube, counter-flow heat exchanger, the

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 41

SOLUTIONS
PUMPING SYSTEMS & HEAT EXCHANGERS
Figure 7: Cost
results with
the baseline
model.
19°C improvement. The effect decreases as the number
of tubes increases and as tubes lengthen.
When compared to the selection criteria, only four
options are acceptable: 250 tubes at 4-meters long and
150, 200 and 250 tubes at five meters long. Now, let’s
look at the four-pass design.
The graph shows that the temperatures were lower
than for the two-pass design (Figure 6), up to 40°C
cooler for the one-meter long tube. The same trend in
outlet temperature as with the two-pass heat exchanger
occurs regarding the number of tubes and their lengths,
culminating in four acceptable designs. The four-pass
option provides significantly more options that meet
the criteria: 14 in all. We’ll choose the four-pass, three-
meter tube length with 200 tubes.
Power and energy use
Figure 8: Cost With pump and heat exchanger size in hand, we can
comparisons for optimize the system based on cost, while still meet-
parallel pumps. ing the original requirements. For the model’s cost
42 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
portion, an Excel spreadsheet linked to heat is used.
The main impacts bearing on cooling system lifecycle
costs are initial purchase cost; piping, pump and heat
exchanger costs; maintenance costs for each over 25
years; and energy cost to run the plant as expected.
Not included are projected downtime, environmental
costs and decommissioning, though they could be
included.
Using these numbers, a baseline using the origi-
nal model (Figure 7) is established. Cost is just over
$382,000, along with other important notes in terms of
temperature pressures and power. As mentioned, most
of these costs are for electricity and maintenance. How
might these costs be reduced?
With a parametric study approach, combining the
four input variables represented 980 unique simulations,
and that’s with no direct connection to costing functions.
Significant manual post-processing would determine
the best option but there must be a better option.
Streamlining the process
Next, a design optimization tool can improve the initial
simulation model and design analysis based on design
goals and costing functions, resulting in a smaller study
size, which saves time and optimizes the design.
To do so requires streamlining the virtual product-
development process. Today, most companies begin
building their virtual prototype simulations by con-
necting their CAD, CAE, and perhaps costing tools.
Then they recreate product operational tests for the
virtual prototypes. Once confident with the virtual pro-
totype performance predictions, the design is improved
by making modifications manually or with a design
of experiments approach, as seen above. Finally, the
resulting design may be assessed for robustness before
releasing the product for production.
Many manufacturers allocate most of their model-
ing and simulation resources to building and testing
virtual prototypes. However, the greatest value from
these tools comes from understanding and improving
designs. How can this be improved?
Validated or robust CAD and CAE models can be
rebuilt easily with changes in design variables. Simulat-
ing one full design prototype using a variety of CAD
or CAE tools can be automated, even with a costing
model included. This can be as simple or complicated
as needed to fully simulate the behavior of one design
or one virtual prototype.
Once the process is automated, after each task is
defined the process is simulated in a high-performance
computing environment so that many variations can
be quickly explored. Some tasks may be assigned to
Windows computers, others to Linux clusters and still
others to external cloud resources.
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 Modern direct search techniques can efficiently
explore the full nonlinear design space and quickly
discover better designs, with no need for surrogate
models.
Last, we examine the sensitivity, robustness and vari-
able interactions of the best designs to gain insights
and understand how performance will be affected by
normal manufacturing tolerances. This is the state of
the art and modern design exploration today.
Even if software solutions offer hybrid strategies,
they still contain predefined algorithms rather than
adjusting to the problem at hand. What’s needed is a
tool that knows all the strategies, holds all the parts,
and can be tailored according to the design approach
and criteria. The design exploration software frame-
work used for this analysis is both hybrid and adaptive
and eliminates the previously described issues with the
traditional approach.
For this case, the simulation model specified was
created in the Excel spreadsheet along with the baseline
conditions. The software then efficiently searched the
design space to find an optimal solution with fewer
simulations. Let’s look at some improved designs.
For the initial design, three different things were
optimized (Table 1). The pipe diameter went from 125
to 150 mm. The pump size was cut in half, and the
heat exchanger size changed from three meters to one
meter. The maximum temperature and pressure were
still where needed, and pump power decreased signifi-
cantly. This was caused by a decrease in the pressure
rise required and in the flow rates, allowing a smaller
pump to be used. Pump size reduction also reduced
electricity use as well as required maintenance.
The software indicated the piping install and pur-
chase price would increase. However, even if upfront
costs increase, in the long run, nearly $180,000 is saved.
This a good optimization when considering the life of
the design.
Using even more variables
However, was it safe to assume all the pipes must be
the same size? Could some of the smaller paths that
require less duty, and thus should require a lesser flow
rate, be a different size? How would that affect the cost
and selection of pumps?
What if, instead of having six inches or 150 mms
throughout the system, 150 and 100 mm or six and
four inches were used, leaving the pump and heat
exchanger the same size? The pump power could
be maintained. The maximum temperature was
still about the same. Pressure increased a bit, but
negligibly. However, the savings was about $17,000,
mainly because of the decrease in the pipe purchase
and install (Figure 8).
www.plantengineering.com
The software can also weight options for buying
two pumps to run in parallel. That means twice the
purchase cost, but it could be assumed that the install
and maintenance would be only 1.5 times. With this
option, we’ll split them in half because our concern is
making sure flow rate stays the same and pressure is
about the same, which is what we can do with a parallel
configuration.
Now instead of using a pump that requires almost
3 kW, we can use pumps that use less than 1 kW. The
maximum temperature is a little bit higher, but the
pressure is a little bit lower. This means that, although
these pumps are split, the performance isn’t the same.
This is justifiable if it’s in the same engineering accept-
able range, because the savings would be about $30,000.
Most of that savings comes from the electricity over the
system’s life, as well as a little on pump maintenance.
Final words
This article demonstrates how to optimize a new indus-
trial cooling system design for cost and performance. A
traditional design process was used to build the thermo-
fluid simulation model, necessary to meet engineering
constraints. Although these solutions may be good, they
could be more costly than they need to be. By combining
the model with a design optimization tool to manipulate
the model in conjunction with a cost calculation, optimal
arrangements were discovered, and system design further
refined. In this example, more than $225,000 was saved.
Moreover, the time to perform this versus doing it in a
parametric study is much less.
Today’s modern design tools can be combined in new
and interesting ways to produce better, more efficient
products for today…and tomorrow.
The system simulation software used was Siemens
Simcenter Flomaster.
Siemens HEEDS design exploration software was
used to further refine the design. PE
Doug Kolak is a business development manager for the Table 1:
Mechanical Analysis Division at Mentor, A Siemens Optimized
Business. data.
Inital Optimization Reduced Diameter
Pipe Diameter 150/150 mm combo 150/100 mm
Pump Size 0.0315 m3/s 0.0315 m3/s
HX Size 1m 1m
Total Cost $203,899 $186,835
Pump Power 2.989 kW 2.971 kW
Max Temp 67.8° C 67.0° C
High Pressure 1.9 bar 2.1 bar
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 43
SOLUTIONS
AIR HANDLING SYSTEMS
By Blake Finch, PE, LEED AP and Luke Streit, PE
Compressed air audit
optimizes efficiency
A compressed air system evaluation can provide owners and facilities
engineers with the direction they need to ensure their plant is operating
efficiently and reliably
T
he requirements of an effective industrial
compressed air system vary depending
on facility size, air quality requirements,
minimum demand pressure and other
site-specific criteria. When operating or modifying
these systems, facilities engineering staff have many
different questions to consider, including:
• Should I make low-cost, minimum-quality air
in bulk, then filter/dry it to higher qualities only
where necessary?
• Am I staging multiple compressor systems in the
most energy-efficient manner?
• As demand increases in a facility, how do I know
when my piping is no longer big enough?
System evaluations can answer these questions
and provide owners and operators with the direction
they need to ensure their plant is operating efficiently
and reliably. Because each application is different,
however, the correct answer for one site might not
be the right answer for another site.
Types of compressed air
Compressed air requirements fall into two main cat-
egories: air quality and air pressure. Higher-quality
air requires better filtration and treatment, with
both equipment costs and energy costs, as air must
be pushed through these additional components.
Higher-pressure air requires higher energy costs as
the compressor must work harder to pressurize every
cubic feet per minute of air.
A typical evaluation might estimate the efficiency
of the system in terms of kilowatts of power required
per 100 cfm of air delivered.
A major way to lower the kilowatts per 100 cfm
is to lower the pressure drop in the system. System
pressure is determined by the required pressure at
44 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
the most critical process. The minimum pressure
required at a piece of equipment is typically outside
of your control; it is simply a process requirement.
The compressors must generate air at that criti-
cal pressure plus whatever pressure losses must be
overcome between the compressor outlet and that
process. Lowering the pressure drop allows you to
lower the compressor discharge pressure.
If you have several pounds per square inch of pres-
sure drop in your piping system due to undersized
piping, you are wasting energy. Or, if you are pushing
air through unnecessary filtration and other compo-
nents, you may be forced to set your discharge pres-
sure unnecessarily high. Lowering the compressor
discharge pressure by 10 psi will save approximately
5% in energy consumption.
Piping pressure loss evaluation is straightforward;
pressure drop can be measured from point A to point
B, which allows you to determine if the drop is exces-
sive and how much it could be lowered by increasing
the pipe size. A contractor can provide a price for
upsizing that section of piping; the piping replace-
ment will either be worth the cost or it won’t, based
on the expected return on performance.
Determining how to minimize filtration losses is
less straightforward. To do this, you need to know
what air quality is required at the various processes in
your facility. Many compressed air users in a factory,
such as pneumatic tools and some forms of convey-
ance, do not have stringent air quality requirements.
Other applications — such as instrument air, food
processing or testing — require very high-quality air.
Compressed air quality levels are defined by ISO
8573-1. This standard specifies purity classes of com-
pressed air in three categories: particles, water and
oil (see Table 1).
Particulate classes can be achieved by filtration.
Higher-quality filters typically have a higher pressure
drop. To push the air through extra filtration, the
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discharge pressure of the compressor must increase,
requiring higher energy cost per cfm.
Oil classes also can be achieved by filtering out
the oil that enters the compressed airstream in an
oil-flooded compressor. Oil filters require added
pressure, which uses additional energy. Oil-free
compressors include oil in the machine, but it never
contacts the compressed airstream. An oil-less com-
pressor has no oil in the machine.
In either case, because no oil enters the airstream,
it does not need to be filtered to achieve the high-
est class. If oil content is a critical element in your
facility, starting with a potentially more expensive
compressor that doesn’t put oil into the airstream
will save the energy costs of filtering it out later.
Handling water vapor
Water vapor is different from particulate or oil
because it is not filtered out. It must be condensed
out or absorbed from the airstream — this can be
completed by a refrigerated air dryer or a desiccant
air dryer.
Refrigerated dryers remove moisture by cool-
ing the compressed air below a certain dewpoint.
As the air cools, the moisture condenses out. The
amount of moisture removed is directly related to
how cold the air can get. This highlights a practical
limitation of refrigerated air dryers: they can only
TABLE 1: Compressed air contaminants and purity classes
Table 1: Compressed air quality levels are defined by ISO 8573-1:2010. Courtesy: IMEG
www.plantengineering.com
Use compressed air?
If so, take these steps
THIS EVALUATION highlights the importance of monitoring
compressed air usage, a task that facility engineers can initiate by
asking department managers the following questions:
• Does your department use compressed air?
• How do you regulate your compressed air usage?
• Are there any processes that are enabled via manual valves that
could be left open? (A single ¾-inch ball valve left open will leak
approximately 1,000 cfm of compressed air at 100 psi.)
If you suspect your system has excessive leakage, walk through
the facility when manufacturing processes are off and listen —
compressed air leaks will make noise and major ones may be audible
during a walkthrough. You can also use an ultrasonic leak detector to
find the sources of the leaks.
achieve dewpoints approaching the freezing point of
water, i.e., greater than 32°F. If a refrigerated dryer
cooled below 32°F, the water vapor would condense
to liquid, then freeze solid within the dryer and
piping. To achieve ISO class 3 or better dewpoints,
a desiccant dryer must be used.
Desiccant is a substance that has a high affinity
for water vapor. (Silica gel packets such as those
found in a shoe box or packaged with electronics
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 45
SOLUTIONS
AIR HANDLING SYSTEMS
Figure 1: Data gathered on the pressure drop throughout
the facility in the manufacturing facility case study showed
pressure swings in the system as the load changed, particularly
during first-shift manufacturing hours. Courtesy: IMEG
Figure 2: Data gathered on compressor power consumption
at the facility in the manufacturing facility case study showed
that compressor 1 was operating as a trim compressor — as
intended — and that one or both fixed-speed compressors
were operating as lead compressor(s) depending on load.
Courtesy: IMEG
are an example of a solid desiccant.) The desiccant
will absorb water vapor from the surrounding air
(lowering the humidity) until the vapor pressure of
the desiccant and the surrounding air are in equilib-
rium. In sealed packaging, a desiccant package can
46 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
maintain a level of dryness for the product as long
as the packaging is closed, because new moisture is
not being added to the product.
In a compressed air system, however, a constant
flow of humid air is flowing through the dryer. The
desiccant will eventually become saturated with
moisture to the point that it can no longer absorb
water vapor from the incoming airstream. The des-
iccant must then be replaced or regenerated by a
drying process.
When evaluating a desiccant dryer, also consider
that the regeneration of the desiccant can consume
significant energy. Regeneration occurs by heating
and/or purging air through the desiccant to dry it
out. Consider the power consumption of an electri-
cally heated dryer when evaluating the total system
kilowatts per 100 cfm, as well as the source of “purge”
air during regeneration. Most desiccant dryers use
compressed air to purge the dryer and these purge
losses can be a source of significant energy consump-
tion. They do not affect the energy efficiency in terms
of kilowatts per 100 cfm, like other components.
Rather, they directly increase the total cfm of the
system. Depending on the application, purge losses
might cause the most significant energy consump-
tion in a system.
The correct design or remedy for a compressed
air system cannot be determined without facility-
specific data — and having a predetermined solution
in mind may blind you to other possibilities. An
audit or evaluation of an existing system is the only
comprehensive and reliable way to identify valu-
able energy-saving potential. The accompanying case
studies exemplify the different ways a compressed
air evaluation might unfold at different facilities.
Engine test cell facility
This example facility’s industrial compressed air
system had an average weekday air consumption
of 800 to 900 cfm with peak airflows up to 1,200
cfm. The main compressed air system included 225
horsepower of constant speed compressors and a
100-horsepower variable speed compressor. All com-
pressors were oil-flooded rotary screw type. The air
was dried by refrigerated dryers to a dewpoint of
approximately 40°F. Filtration for oil and particu-
lates was not consistently applied at outlets of all
compressors, so overall air quality for particulates
and oil was not accurately known.
This site used compressed air in engine test cells,
requiring high-quality compressed air meeting ISO
class 2/2/1, which has less than 100 1- to 5-micron
particles per square meter, a maximum dewpoint of
-40°F and a maximum oil content of 0.01 milligrams
www.plantengineering.com
 per square meter. This high air quality requirement Figure 3:
steered the direction of the analysis. Shown is a
Particulate and oil removal: Particulate and oil compressed
filters located at the discharge of compressors met air header
the general air quality requirements for nontest cell with pressure
applications. Additional point-of-use filters were sensors.
installed at each test cell to further filter to the air Courtesy:
quality required for particles and oil. IMEG
Water removal: Water content for general appli-
cations was removed by the refrigerated air dry-
ers near the compressors. This style of dryer could
not provide the low dewpoint required (-40°F) for
the test cells, so a desiccant dryer must be used to
achieve ISO class 2 dewpoint of -40°F.
Small, point-of-use desiccant dryers were installed
at each test cell in line with the additional particle
and oil filters. The desiccant for these remote dry-
ers was regenerated by blowing a percentage of the
compressed air through the desiccant and exhausting
it out of the filter. A typical point-of-use desiccant
dryer might purge 25% of its rated airflow to regen-
erate the desiccant. These point-of-use filters and
driers were points of maintenance, high pressure
drop and high purge air losses.
This evaluation sought to determine if higher
quality filtration and drying at the source of com-
pressed air would be better than point-of-use fil-
tration and dryers at the test cells. To do this, the
greater of the following had to be determined:
• The added cost of filtering and drying high-
quality air to the entire site, including processes
which do not require high-quality air.

• The potential savings of consolidating all the

remote filters and dryers to a single source loca-
tion.

The plant compressors produced air at an esti-

mated average of 18 kilowatts/100 cfm plus dryer
power consumption of 0.7 kilowatts/100 cfm.
The remote filters and dryers constituted an
approximately 8 psi pressure drop. Removing them
could allow for lower supply pressure and a savings
up to 4% on the compressor-specific power. This
equates to roughly 0.7 kilowatts/100 cfm.
A more significant savings could be realized by
targeting the purge losses associated with the desic-
cant dryers. This wouldn’t change the specific power
in terms of kilowatts/100 cfm, rather, it would lower
the power consumption by reducing the system cubic
feet per minute.
The dryers at the test cells purged approximately
25% of their nameplate rating. Because test cells
were the major compressed air consumers on-site,
the purge losses at each test cell constituted approxi-
mately 15% of the entire system’s compressed air
usage.
For this site, investing in new oil-free screw
compressors with integrated heat-of-compression
desiccant dryers provided significant benefits. The
integrated desiccant dryers do not purge any air
because they regenerate the desiccant using “free”
heat of compression.
Providing this air quality directly at the source
meant providing better, higher-cost compressed air
for applications such as pneumatic tools. But, pro-
viding oil free air at a low dewpoint directly from the
central plant allowed for removal of all downstream
oil filtration and the subsequent maintenance and
pressure loss.

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 47

SOLUTIONS
AIR HANDLING SYSTEMS
Figure 4:
Comparing
the power
consumption
data with
compressed
airflow
data at the
facility in the
manufacturing
facility
example
showed The recommendations of this evaluation were
significant implemented on-site and the specific power con-
compressed sumption of the compressed air plant dropped by
air usage approximately 2 kilowatts/100 cfm. Furthermore,
even outside the elimination of the purge losses resulted in an air
of normal consumption decrease of approximately 180 cfm.
manufacturing The total average energy consumption for the
hours. compressed air system dropped from approximately
Courtesy: 170 kilowatts to less than 120 kilowatts, a savings of
IMEG approximately 30%.
Manufacturing facility with many
unknowns
In a second example, a more than 2-million-square-
foot manufacturing facility had an average airflow of
approximately 2,500 cfm. The main compressed air
system included two 250 horsepower constant-speed
compressors and a 300-horsepower variable-speed
compressor. All compressors were oil-flooded rotary
screw type. The air was dried by refrigerated dryers
to a dewpoint of approximately 40°F. The compressed
air system provided air quality of ISO 8573-1 class
2 or 3 for particulate, class 4 or class 5 for moisture
and class 2 for oil. This air quality was sufficient for
the known users of compressed air on the site.
An evaluation of the central system was conducted
with the goals of identifying any general deficien-
cies, improving energy efficiency and validating the
current compressor staging methodology.
To answer the key questions of this evaluation,
data loggers were used to collect information
and gather trends over a two-week period. This
included:
• An existing turbine flow meter (which provided
the total airflow of the system).
• Temporary data loggers at each compressor
to monitor and record power consumption at
30-second intervals.
• Pressure monitors at three locations in the
compressed air system throughout the build-
48 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
ing. Pressure at these locations was recorded
at intervals to match the power consumption
data collected.
This data allowed the engineering team to proceed
with an analysis of the existing system to identify
any deficiencies.
Evaluation of existing distribution
system
As shown in the engine test cell facility, the com-
pressor pressure setpoint should be based on
maintaining minimum inlet pressure required
at critical process. High pressure drop between
source and critical process will require increasing
the pressure setpoint, which costs energy. The
pressure sensors installed in this facility allowed
us to evaluate the pressure drop at remote areas
of the factory.
An example of data, measured in pounds per
square inch, is shown in Figure 1. Location A was
in the main compressed air header near the com-
pressors. Locations B and C were in remote areas at
opposite ends of the factory.
The collected data showed a pressure loss in
the piping system out to the ends of the factory,
as expected — an approximate 1 psi drop to loca-
tion B and an approximate 2 psi drop to the farther
location C.
The data showed pressure swings in the system
as the load changed, particularly during first-shift
manufacturing hours. Interestingly, the pressure drop
to remote areas — i.e., the difference between A and
B or A and C — did not vary greatly throughout the
production day. The swings in pressure were rela-
tively uniform across the entire system.
This indicated that the primary consumer of
compressed air causing the pressure fluctuations
was near the main trunk line, thus impacting the
pressure of the entire system, not simply a remote
area. This also indicated that pressure losses in
main piping to remote areas was not a limiting
www.plantengineering.com
 factor in capacity and increasing the main piping
size would not significantly improve performance;
less than a 1% efficiency gain was anticipated.
Compressor power consumption
Power consumption was monitored during the
study of the three main air compressors. The
original intent of this study was to ensure that
the staging of compressors was operating as effi-
ciently as possible. A sample of the data, mea-
sured in kilowatts, is shown in Figure 2. In this
analysis, compressor 1 was variable speed and
higher output than compressors 2 and 3, which
were fixed speed.
The data showed that compressor 1 was operating
as a trim compressor — as intended — and that one
or both fixed-speed compressors were operating as
lead compressor(s) depending on load.
The blue line shows the range of modulation
of compressor 1. The flat line areas at the top of
its range indicate where it could not keep up with
demand. The pressure in the system header would
have started to decrease during these times. Fit-
tingly, this flat area precedes the enabling of the
second fixed-speed compressor. Likewise, the
flat line areas at the bottom range of modulation
for the variable-speed compressor show where it
could not turn down further. The system pressure
would have risen to the point where compressor
2 turned off.
Before going offline, there is also a short stop in
the power consumption of compressor 2. This rep-
resents where a fixed speed compressor goes from
“loaded” to “unloaded” operation. This unloaded
operation period still consumes energy without pro-
ducing compressed air. This highlights the value of
a variable-speed compressor in the trim position
rather than simply loading and unloading a fixed
speed compressor.
The data collected showed that the unloaded
duration for compressor 2 before cycling off was
short and that significant energy was not being
wasted by inefficient cycling of fixed-speed com-
pressors.
Is there any energy-saving potential?
Up to this point, the study had not shown many
expected avenues for efficiency improvement. Dis-
tribution losses were reasonable, compressors were
staging efficiently and no changes were needed to
filtration or drying.
An unexpected finding revealed that a mini-
mum of two compressors were always running
during the period monitored. Most compressed
www.plantengineering.com
Figure 5: An air compressor controller display screen shows
discharge pressure trend. Courtesy: IMEG
air usage should be tied to manufacturing pro-
cesses; we expected to see a significant increase
in compressed air consumption during first shift,
marginal consumption during second shift, then
minimal consumption during periods of no manu-
facturing activities. However, when we compared
the power consumption data with compressed air-
flow data, it showed significant compressed air
usage even outside of normal manufacturing hours
(see Figure 4).
We did not expect the airflow to drop to zero
because there will always be some compressed
air consumption due to leakage in the piping and
some manufacturing processes may continue to use
compressed air during overnight operation. But the
data showed a level of compressed air consump-
tion during off-shift hours that was much higher
than should reasonably be attributed to leakage.
Approximately 75% of the compressed air costs
for the facility did not appear to be attributed to
manufacturing processes.
The engineering team then recommended find-
ing where the compressed air was really going.
If this facility could reduce the nonproduction
related airflow by even 50%, it would save more
than $100,000 annually in energy costs.
Improving efficiency of compressed air systems
may save you a small percentage of energy cost
per cfm. However, eliminating unnecessary com-
pressed air consumption saves 100% of the energy
cost for the cubic feet per minute saved. PE
Blake Finch is a project manager and mechanical engi-
neer at IMEG Corp.
Luke Streit is a project manager and mechanical engi-
neer at IMEG Corp.
PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 49
SOLUTIONS
COMPRESSED AIR
By Ron Marshall

Basic leak detection with

acoustic imaging
Consider reaching beyond ultrasonic leak detection to find pesky
compressed air leaks

F
or years, compressed air leaks have been that using only the human ear has limitations in
among the first items to attack when look-finding leakage, especially in very noisy industrial
ing for energy savings in a manufacturing settings. Loud background noise and legitimate
plant. Through the years, the method of compressed air uses in typical industrial plants very
locating leakage has gone from using the human ear, quickly mask any audible sound emitted by leaks,
to applying a soapy solution to pipes and hoses, to making the hunt an almost impossible task, even
using sensitive electronic ultrasonic audio instru- during quiet times during evenings and weekends.
ments to enable operators to find and record leaks. Long ago, it was discovered that a flow of gas
Recently, a method of detecting leaks has been devel-
moving from one pressure to another emits sound
oped called “acoustic imaging,” which uses audible in the ultrasonic frequency spectrum. Using elec-
and visual inputs and has the potential to lower tronic mixing circuits this ultrasonic signature can
industrial compressed air and process gas costs. be brought down to a frequency range that humans
can hear, but at the same time, general low fre-
Background: Ultrasonic leak detection quency industrial noise can be filtered out. This
Ultrasonic leak detection has been around for many gives ultrasonic detector operators “superhuman”
years. From the start, equipment suppliers realized hearing that allows gas leaks to be easily heard in
noisy factory environments, even
Figure 1: The Fluke acoustic imager uses an array of 64 from hundreds of feet away.
directional microphones to overlay a leakage “heat map” onto The detection method for
its video screen, making leakage identification very quick and ultrasonic guns is typically a
easy. All images courtesy: Fluke “point and shoot,” method, where
a directional audible pickup
device is waved around until
something is heard in a certain
direction. The operator is then
led on a search while following
the sound, with the signal get-
ting increasingly louder as the
detector approaches the source.
Sometimes, when near the leak,
it is difficult to pinpoint the exact
location due to various factors.
At times, the leakage may be
behind a protective barrier or in
an inaccessible location. Other
times, the leak might be among
a complex network of piping and
hoses, requiring the operator to
attempt to feel for the leak within
the many fittings, sometimes cre-
ating a safety risk. Reflections and

50 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

 interference from other ultrasonic
emitting devices also can drown out
the leak signal, making it difficult
to exactly locate.
Once the source of the sound
is found, the leak is documented
and recorded so the cost can be
estimated, and a repair crew can
find it again at a later time. This
step usually involves measuring
and recording a decibel reading
at a fixed distance away from the
leak, marking the location with a
paper tag, then taking several pho-
tographs to describe the location
for the future repair crew. Once a
survey is done, a report is gener-
ated that estimates the leakage flow,
calculates the theoretical cost of
the leaks and displays the location
description and pictures. This process is a tedious Figure 2: Leakage in complex pneumatic
exercise where the operator juggles the detector, a circuitry can be quickly identified using the
camera, a notebook and a bundle of tags each time visual leak detector method.
a leak is detected, often repeating the task hun-
dreds of times per day if working in a large plant.
from the leakage, moving the camera from side-
Enter acoustic imaging to-side moves the location of a reflection, but not
A more efficient way of finding and recording the image of an actual leak.
leaks has recently been developed by Fluke Corp. In using the acoustic imager, the first-time oper-
A leak detector instrument, called the ii900 Sonic ator is impressed at the speed at which leaks can
Industrial Imager, uses a video camera to provide a be detected and positively identified. The built-in
live image, and an array of 64 different directional video camera makes it easy to record a close-up
microphones to create a “heat map” of ultrasonic still picture or video of the leak, which is stored
emissions on top of the visual display (see Figure on the device memory for later download. The
1). This device brings new meaning to the old say- imager software has the capability of automatically
ing “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Having measuring the sound level in decibels, and the
an image representing both visual and audible distance to the leak by triangulation. Using this
signatures emitted by a leak makes the detection information, and entered in pressure information
exercise a much easier task. for the leak, an estimate of the leakage flow can
In using the Imager, the operator also “points be calculated for the final report. Once the leak-
and shoots,” but in this case the ultrasonic emission age flow is known, using the estimated efficiency
shows up as a live feed on the onboard video screen of the compressed air system, and the site power
as a colored spot, making the location identifica- costs, the total cost of all the leaks captured can
tion much quicker. As the operator gets closer to be calculated in a final automatically generated
the leak, the location becomes easier to identify, output, called a “LeakQ report.”
even when shooting through protective screens or
pointing at locations out of reach without a ladder. Other acoustic imaging uses
When shooting among other ultrasonic emitters, The use of the imager is not limited only to com-
like a bench full of active compressed air powered pressed air; other items within a plant generate
grinders, the leak shows up as a consistent spot on ultrasonic signals. Ultrasonic detectors are com-
the screen, with the tools being intermittent, so monly used to detect nitrogen, bulk gas, steam
it is easy to differentiate. Reflections, which can and vacuum leakage. In addition, pump cavi-
cause time consuming “wild goose chases” with tation, noisy bearings and electrical discharge
typical audible only detectors, are easy to separate corona also can be detected using ultrasonic

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING May 2020 • 51

SOLUTIONS
COMPRESSED AIR
Figure 3: The acoustic imager allows the
operator to remain safely behind this
protective screen yet be able to identify and
estimate the cost of the leak without shutting
down the machine.
detectors. The ii900 has a tunable frequency range
that can be used to better differentiate different
types of emitters, depending on the sound signal
characteristics.
In evaluating an imager for the first time, we
deployed the ii900 at a small 10 bay service shop
as part of a compressed air efficiency survey. As
a value-added service, the operator spent only 10
minutes locating 12 various compressed air leaks
totaling about 10 cfm. This flow consumed about
35% of the average facility flow. At the customer’s
power rate, the total cost of these easily repairable
leaks was estimated at $1,000 per year. If the cus-
tomer repairs the leaks, it will save this cost and
qualify for an extra $1,500 utility grant to help with
the purchase a new more efficient air compressor.
This represents about $2,500 value in the first year
through only 10 minutes of leak detector work, and
roughly two hours of repair time.
A second survey was done at a small fiberglass
parts manufacturer during full production hours.
This time, 51 compressed air leaks totaling about
50 cfm were identified in a one-hour survey. Two
vacuum leaks were also identified. Total cost of
these leaks is estimated at $6,300 annually. What
became particularly striking is that a leak survey
was previously done with a standard ultrasonic
gun about a month earlier and repairs were made.
About half of the leaks found during the acoustic
52 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING
imager survey had
developed over a
30-day period or
had been missed in
the previous work
w it h a s t an d ard
detector gun.
The survey found
many quick con-
nect couplers and
rubber hose leaks,
which are common
problem areas in a
plant of this type.
Wh e n pre s e nt e d
with the visual
results, the plant
managers imme-
diately recognized
the problem and started investigating solutions.
A wholesale change of connector and hose type is
being considered.
Throughout the surveys, the high value of the
acoustic imager output became obvious. Figure 2
shows leakage of one pressure regulator in a bank
of regulators. A configuration like this makes for
difficult work in identifying the source of the leak
if done with a standard ultrasonic gun; use of the
imager found the leak immediately. Figure 3 shows
the identification of a leak in a pressure regulator
behind a protective screen, something that would
be difficult to do with a standard gun without shut-
ting down the machine.
Experience with the acoustic imagers shows it
makes leak detection quicker and more efficient.
Once found, leaks can be clearly identified and
recorded, and easily differentiated from back-
ground noise, reflections and interference. Leaks
in overhead piping and behind screened barriers
can be identified without incurring any safety risks.
And a basic final report can be conveniently gener-
ated online at the Fluke website. PE
Ron Marshall is an auditor at Marshall Com-
pressed Air Consulting based in Winnipeg, Mani-
toba, Canada. He has been involved in the com-
pressed air energy efficiency field for 25 years.
First working with a power utility supporting
energy efficiency programs, and then in his own
consulting company, he performs compressed air
energy audits, including leakage detection, con-
ducts awareness training and does compressed air
related technical writing.
www.plantengineering.com
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56 • May 2020 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

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MAY 2017
Inside:
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