How Can we Ensure Trouble/Break down free smooth operation of plant or in other words to increase plant reliabilty ?

For smooth and continuous operation of power plant  following strategy to be adopted.

1 Daily Plant Round.

Daily plant round to be ensure to determine the health of rotating components at the start of the day. The Daily Plant Round should be properly document and valved points to be properly appreciated and share with team to enhance the importance of daily plant round.

2 Preventive maintenance Routine 

Preventive maintenance scheme should be devised for all critical machines. For that first critical machines components should be defined/listed.

3 Condition based maintenance regime.

The condition based maintenance regime to be integrated with preventive maintenance regime. Vibrations and temperatures to be closely monitored. The vibration spectrums to be closely monitored.

4 greasing Routine 

Proper greasing routine to be followed in order to avoid Unnecessary breakdown.

5 Competent manPower. The Power house electrical and Instrument maintenance staff should be highly competent

6 EIM.

The EIM concept works greatly in Power house sector. Under this concept the electrical Instrument and mechanical team is Integrated under one umbrella.

Preventive maintenance is the only key to make the machines run with a reliability. Which shall include the periodic inspection/calibration check of all tripping points related instruments at least. Offcourse the spares has to be maintained to minimize the down time. 

Regular Routine and preventive maintenance should be done as schedule and replacement of any noticed faulty parts should be replaced before it get damaged and affect the whole system.

For the Smooth operation we should consider these points:

1. Keep an eye on the equipments during the process.

2. Keep a schedule check up of the equipments.

3. Take the best equipments available for the process.

4. To make the process shut down free keep the standby equipments.

On time as per scheduled proper quality preventive maintenance .Daily pro active inspections

Best tool is CMMS & operatores daily visual inspections & observations is the key to minimise troubles/break down

Plant reliabilty can't be achieve in simple way. It depend on different techniques of maitenance such as routine, preventive, peridictive and condition monitoring, computrised maintenace management system, equipment history and availability of genuin spare parts and skill labor.

As a part of maintenance team we must ensure:

• Daily checklist to be made and on the basis of these draw trends/graphs.
• Identify the range/limits of operating parameters of equipments.
• Develop preventive maintenace plan as per the recommendation of the manufacturer.
• Make a record of each maintenance/break downs of the equipment.
• Emphisie on condition monitoring system wher you took the vibrations, temepratures and sound analysis.
• Introduce CMMS on critical equipments and establish monitoring system.
• Assign proper man for the proper job as unskilled labor can create problems while doing maintenace.

To be able to achieve the smooth operation of the plant without any breakdown, the maintenance team should have a strong and relevant experience in checking,predicting and decision making analysis to point out what are the most and least priorities to be plan in Preventive Maintenance Plan in daily,weekly,monthly quarterly and annually.

Through proper planning for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance

we can ensure trouble or breakdown free smooth operation of plant by 

preventive maintenance and make schedule for daily.weekly.monthly.half yearly and yearly maintenance

Predictive and Preventive maintenance. Implementation of RCM if possible.