To optimize your uptime and increase the life of your pollution control equipment, regular inspections and evaluations are a must. These evaluations should be done yearly for equipment less than five years old and twice per year for older systems.
A complete preventative maintenance evaluation should be completed by a qualified service team but in between evaluations there are some simple things that can help improve the life of equipment.
Implementing the following tips can greatly improve the life of your pollution control equipment, reduce operating costs and address small issues before they cause major problems.
- Train your maintenance/operating crew. By providing them a list of simple items to look for you can empower your team to not just improve the life of your equipment but help prevent large, costly repairs.
- Add and test lubes frequently. It may sound overly simple but making sure items like bearings, rollers and cylinders are greased will decrease friction and subsequent wear. Use your manufactures recommendations for the type of lubricants recommended. If you don’t have a maintenance manual give us a call. We may be able to help.
- Test alarms to ensure automatic shutdowns are enabled. This will protect a system from working outside the appropriate operating conditions and developing equipment damage.
- Test calibration and devices to ensure they are providing accurate readings. Proper monitoring of operating conditions ensures that machinery is operating efficiently. Inefficient operation or gauge readings that show abnormal levels are often signs of unseen wear or device failure that can lead to overheating, burn out and system failure.
- Stock spare parts. Don’t let a small issue go unfixed and cause big damage. Weigh the cost of maintaining essential spares against the cost of a shutdown and lost production.
- Evaluate your environmental exposure. If you have restructured your facility and the equipment has moved, or the equipment wasn’t originally built for current operating conditions including exposure to ice, snow, extreme humidity, excessive heat, presence of sand or similar unusual weather conditions, a review of your cables and components is recommended to ensure they are appropriate for your environment. Cables and components experiencing unusual wear can cause fires, system failure and can even force a shutdown.
- Perform a visual inspection. Regularly perform a visual inspection of all equipment to look for signs of wear including hot spots, rust, corrosion, belt wear, dried and cracked seals, loose bolts, etc. Don’t let a little spot of corrosion become a big repair expense.
- Check media condition. As media (ceramic, insulation, packing, etc.) wears it can increase the operating temperature, reduce efficiency and lower VOC destruction levels.
- Maintain a clean working environment. A clean work area is not only safer, but can prevent corrosion and other damage. Additional, trash, garbage, debris and tall grass or weeds can attract bugs and vermin who eat through wires, cables and gauges making your pollution control investment their snack.
- Keep records. By keeping accurate records you can discover patterns, comply with warrantees, improve communication between maintenance teams, etc. Accurate records should be supplied to purchasing managers to help provide them with information that could help them in making ongoing budgeting and purchasing decisions.
We hope this information is helpful in maintaining effectiveness and improving the life of pollution control equipment. When the time arises that your facility requires additional service Gulf Coast Environmental Systems is experienced, capable, and ready to perform a complete inspection of your thermal oxidizers, scrubbers, ovens, furnaces, and heat recovery equipment. With nearly 200 inspection points on the average piece of equipment our PME process is anything but standard. For more information about our PME process click here or contact our service department at service@gcesystems.com.