MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1

For maintaining the production targets in all the industries, whether large or small, it is essential to ensure the availability and reliability of all the machinery or plant equipments by maintaining their trouble free performance. One may generally come across various machineries like pumps, motors, agitators, conveyors, crushers, hoists/cranes, pipe lines, electrical switchgear, power generating and power distributing electrical equipment in such plants. The basic principle of Maintenance Management is to keep the equipment in perfect operating condition, free from breakdown and unsafe condition at reasonable minimum cost after overhauling and requisite repairs. Theoretically it can be told, in general, that the effective maintenance would achieve "ZERO" breakdown level. The industries can be divided into two basic categories, viz. continuous process and non-continuous process. In case of non-continuous process industry, comparatively there would be and easy availability of equipment shutdown to carry out the preventive maintenance, whereas, in case of continuous chemical process industry like petrochemicals, fertiliser or heavy chemical plants, some specific factors are required to be considered while drawing out the preventive maintenance programme as described briefly in subsequent paragraphs. ACHIEVEMENT OF DESIRED LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE Following norms are required to be fulfilled to achieve the desired level of preventive maintenance. Planning Execution Record keeping Evaluation Conclusion To attain above norms, the industry must form a suitable maintenance management team and choke out the maintenance programme well ahead of the plant going on stream.

1.2

1.3

2.0

2.1 i. ii. iii. iv. v.

2.2

Planning 2.2.1 It is necessary to prepare a complete maintenance planning and scheduling of activities well ahead of the commencement of actual maintenance for an effective work and optimum use of time and resources allocated for the maintenance. 2.2.2 Factors for consideration in Planning

2.2.2.1

Efficient maintenance planning needs to take into consideration various factors as identified in Figure:1.
i.

ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

vii.

Maintenance programme as recommended by the Manufacturer. Design features of Equipment. Cost of Equipment downtime. On-line Diagnostic System availability. Environment & Surroundings. Equipment Duty Cycle. Criticality of Equipment service standby availability

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2.2.2.2

For critical equipment, the breakdown of which may cause the production loss, the preventive maintenance interval would be generally the least one than the other equipment. Generally, the standby equipment would be available for such critical equipment. The equipment is still considered important equipment, the breakdown of which may have an indirect effect on the production, and the maintenance schedule for such equipment is drawn out accordingly. The equipment is not considered critical provided its breakdown would not cause any production loss and hence, the preventive maintenance interval for such equipment is kept sufficiently high. The sump pumps can be placed under non-critical category for the purpose of maintenance. Once the basic inputs for planning as mentioned above are available, following steps are recommended to prepare a planning document for the maintenance. 2.2.3 Inspection

2.2.2.3

2.2.2.4

2.2.3.1
2.2.3.2

Scheduling of periodic inspection of equipment is the next step in the maintenance planning. Frequency of Inspection

The answer for the question "How often the equipment is to be inspected" would decide the frequency of inspection. The main sources of such information are the equipment manufacturer and the maintenance manuals, which generally recommend the frequency of inspection. However, such recommendation would be generally for routine things based on design parameters, which are inadequate to decide the frequency of inspection. The engineering analysis based on the following parameters would be more accurate in this connection. i. Age of equipment. ii. Severity of service - whether continuous, short intermittent or periodic duty, high starting torque, loading pattern, etc. iii. Safety of operation. iv. Hours of operation. v. Wear & tear due to duty cycle. vi. Working environment and surroundings, corrosive nature of plant. Further to above, the suggestion from experienced engineers and technicians would be of much use in deciding the frequency of inspection and maintenance. Once the frequency is decided, the next step is to draw a planned schedule to carry out the preventive maintenance.
2.2.3.3

Inspection Schedule The answer for the question "when to inspect" would decide the schedule for the inspection of the equipment. Generally the inspection is carried out as follows. i. Routine upkeep (Maintenance) - i.e. Cleaning, Lubrication, adjustment, etc. ii. Periodic inspection and maintenance - i.e. overhauling. iii. Contingency work - i.e. emergency repairs. ....3....

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2.2.3.4

Types of Inspection Schedule First, all the activities required by the preventive maintenance work are defined in a compiled way to create a complete job list in following different manner. i. Individual Inspection Cards: Each equipment is provided with an inspection card. The card is filled with code no, equipment data, frequency of inspection, spares particulars, etc. This is a simple system. Workmen themselves can follow the chart and carry out the work daily, weekly, monthly, etc based on the periodic activities listed down in the chart. Since all the equipments are covered in a single chart, it would be possible for the worker to get an overall picture of the preventive maintenance programme.

ii. Overhaul Chart:

The sequence of activities generally involved in the maintenance planning and scheduling would follow the specimen flow chart as given in Figure:2. This is the base for the total management system. 2.3 EXECUTION This is the stage in which various inspection and maintenance activities are carried out on the equipment as per schedule prepared in advance following the procedure discussed in Section 2.0 above. The execution in general consists of following activities.
2.3.1

2.3.2
2.3.2.1

Resource Availability & Allocation

Availability of defined resources like spares, manpower, consumable, toolstackles, etc. for the particular job is required to be ensured for smooth execution of preventive maintenance programme. Special resources, like specific maintenance tools-tackles, required must also be defined, which may otherwise become a bottleneck. Depending on number of machines to be attended, the resources are planned to meet any demand for the jobs being executed simultaneously. i. It is also important to decide how one allocates resources like manpower, either equally among various jobs, or look at the problem more logically to investigate whether other options exist considering other limitations like time. Standard stores procedures like stores inventory control, keeping minimum and maximum levels, purchase procedures, codification, etc. are followed depending on the complexity of the Stores Organisation. Condition Monitoring

ii.

2.3.3 2.3.3.1

The condition monitoring has a maintenance function and a performance function; both contribute to the economic effectiveness. An online system is set up for a continuous condition monitoring of operating parameters for various equipment based each ones requirement, i.e. critical/semi-critical in nature. For example, the continuous monitoring of bearing temperature/vibration in a large pump/motor, lube oil condition, cooling water temperature/pressure, motor current, pressure/flow in pump/pipe line, etc helps a lot in deciding the wear and tear and in turn the preventive maintenance schedule. It would also be necessary to exercise checks as outlined in the inspection cards of respective equipment as per schedule and record the data.

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Page: 4 of 6 2.3.4 2.3.4.1 Equipment Checks and Overhauling

Certain routine inspection, e.g. noise level, motor terminal box cable connection checking, bearing lubrication, oil condition, gland tightening, etc, is carried out at shorter intervals, wherein a dismantling of equipment is not required. Overhauling under preventive maintenance involves a partial or complete dismantling of equipment to inspect the condition of various components and to replace, if required. Other activities like general cleaning of components, bearing lubrication, packing changing, gland repairs, revarnishing/drying out of windings (in motors), tightening of nuts/bolts, instrument calibration, etc are then carried out and finally the equipment is reassembled and trials taken. To the extent possible, the routine tests are carried out on the overhauled equipment. The motors are subjected to tests like insulation resistance, DC winding resistance, etc. The pumps are tested for pressure and flow, bearing vibrations, etc at different loading, etc. Such testing helps in observance of the performance of the equipment after overhauling and the results are recorded for future reference.

2.3.4.2

2.3.4.3

2.4

RECORD KEEPING It is obvious that one cannot memorize every detail while inspecting or overhauling the equipment, and may loose a track of activities, which ultimately would not make the maintenance management as effective as it should be. Hence, a perfect record keeping forms an essential part of all types of maintenance.
2.4.1

2.4.2 The technical data gathered as a part of condition monitoring, details of routine checks and overhauling, spares replacement, results of testing, etc. are recorded for future reference and evaluation. 2.4.3 Important data and details of overhauling, component replacement, breakdowns, etc are finally entered into the History cards. 2.4.4 Records would generally include the following. i. Equipment History - including Inspection Reports for tests at manufacturer's works, subsequent first commissioning report, preventive maintenance report, spares replacement, abnormal breakdown, etc. ii. Inspection forms, Check lists. iii. Inspection & Maintenance Schedule. iv. List of Spare parts and consumable. v. Case studies. vi. Maintenance Budget & Cost control. 2.4.5 In addition to this, the manuals like Operation & Maintenance Instructions, Safety manual, Equipment assembly drawings, Component drawings, Circuit diagrams, etc are to be kept available for ready reference. ....5...

Page: 5 of 6 2.4.6 The records for individual equipment are required to be maintained meticulously for all the stages of equipment manufacturing, erection, testing and commissioning. The technical data as listed above is updated as per frequency of preventive maintenance. The documents like inspection reports for testing carried out at manufacturer's works are also required to be obtained and preserved so that the observations made during similar testing while equipment maintenance at site could be compared for variance, if any. 2.5 EVALUATION 2.5.1 Evaluation of the maintenance reports generated as above is absolutely necessary as a part of successful maintenance management to judge whether the equipment is really performing as per its designed parameters. The report documents are generally used for the said purpose as discussed in succeeding paragraphs. 2.5.2 The analysis of condition monitoring data, prepared for operating parameters like current, bearing temperature, vibrations, noise, etc, would indicate the variation, if any, from the normal value. Accordingly, further action to decide remedial measure would be initiated. If required, some change in the schedule of preventive maintenance could also be made to avert a major damage to that equipment. 2.5.3 While evaluating the records of routine checks and the preventive or breakdown maintenance of equipment, if repetition of defect or component damage is observed, then it would clearly indicate an area required to be specifically attacked. 2.5.4 The analysis of test reports would lead to decide an advancing of preventive maintenance programme for that particular equipment. e.g. a major difference in value of DC resistance for HT motor winding measured during an inspection testing and site testing would indicate a deterioration of the winding insulation and would indicate an early requirement of the preventive maintenance. 2.5.5 Equipment History card would project a complete data on availability vis-a-vis breakdowns, defects observed and component replacement during maintenance. The review of History cards would also pinpoint the long term performance of equipment of a particular make. This would in turn help in deciding whether to purchase the equipment of same make or to go for some other make by comparing the design features. 2.5.6 The records of maintenance expenses are also prepared to know the trend of costing over a period of time and to know an overall maintenance cost. Decision on maintaining the inventory levels would be based on such data only. This also helps in balancing an investment in the required resources with the expected gains in reliability, availability and performance of the equipment. As can be seen from above, if the records would not be updated properly after maintenance, it would not be possible to provide very solid support to make a selection of better make of the equipment, which may prove a disaster for the overall plant performance in the long run.
2.5.7

Besides equipment performance, the evaluation of maintenance performance is carried out by observing various ratios as given in Figure: 3.
2.5.8

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Page: 6 of 6 2.6 COMPUTERISED TECHNIQUES 2.6.1 The computerisation of the maintenance management system has become possible with the application of a suitable system in which a total integration of above mentioned basic requirements for devising the complete programme is possible. These systems are now increasingly used to manage the planned maintenance procedures. 2.6.2 It is often difficult to devise the maintenance schedule when numerous variables have to be taken into consideration. The computer based system is therefore an ideal solution to organise the maintenance schedules so as to maximise the number of activities and minimise the downtime of the equipment. This technique can also be applied to maintain a complete record of activities and expenses towards spares, manpower utilisation, etc along with accurate details of time management. 2.6.3 The record keeping would need only data entry to update the records once the system is devised. This system would also absolve the maintenance team from the cumbersome process of generating number of papers for schedules, reports, data sheets, history cards, etc, as these would be available from the computer itself as per the requirement. 2.6.4 The computer based maintenance management system can also be integrated with the Management Information System (MIS), existing or new one. Brief reports on overall maintenance carried out and equipment history would be directly available on to the computer terminals provided to the management personnel at any point of time. 2.7 CONCLUSION 2.7.1 It is widely accepted that the planned maintenance is essential to ensure availability and reliability of equipment for an efficient running of all types of industries. Otherwise, a momentary stoppage of equipment, smaller yet critical, may cause a huge production loss along with prolong disturbance. 2.7.2 Lack of proper maintenance is a single major cause for the production loss, almost a common factor for all the industries. Unplanned maintenance adversely affects the condition of equipment, cost of maintenance, downtime and finally the quality and the cost of production. Most of these factors are hidden and not directly visible on any simple cost analysis chart. 2.7.3 Finally the ultimate aim of the Maintenance Management is

to prepare the systems to arrange various maintenance activities at their optimum level. to plan and schedule maintenance activities from the available resources at possible minimum maintenance cost. to take advantage of available maintenance expertise, specifically in case of existing plants. to design systems to update maintenance records, charts, history cards.

2.7.4 Planned maintenance ensures the continued productivity of capital intensive plants, especially where that plant is expected to make products on a reliable basis by operating round the clock. There is nothing wrong in following universal proverb "Prevention is better than cure" by all means for keeping all the plant equipment healthy all through their lives.

M AIN TEN AN CE PRO CEDURE RECO M M EN DED BY EQ UIPM EN T M AN UFACTURER

DESIGN FEATURES OF EQ UIPM EN T

FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION EQ UIPM EN T IN FIG.1 - FACTORS DUTY TO CONSIDER FOR MAINTENANCE PLANNING MAINTENANCE CYCLE PLANNING

PRIM ARY DATA CO LLECTIO N F ALL EQ UIPM EN T O N-LIN E DIAGN O TIC SYSTEM AVAILABILITY REFERRIN G TO M AIN TEN AN CE M AN UALS, DRA WIN GS, ETC. SUPPLIED BY EQ UIPM EN T M AN UFACTURER

DISCU EN G EQ UIPM RE M

PREPARIN G PREPARIN G PERIO DIC IN SPECTIO N PREVEN TIVE CH ECKLISTS FO R M AIN TEN AN CE FIG.2 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PLANNING RO UTIN E SCH EDULES M AIN TEN AN CE