Page 243 - Know and Understand Centrifugal Pumps

Common Sense

Fa i I u re An a I ys i s

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Pump maintenance files

In most places, the available information about any pump, such as the
manufacturer, year of purchase, model and serial number is placed in a
file for general accounting purposes. In other plants, such as a
manufacturer, the model, lubricant and lubrication frequency is placed
in a lubrication schedule. In either case, additional key information can
be stored with a little more effort.
The complete maintenance record of a pump, when filed in an
accessible available place, is a valuable tool for diagnosing problems,
ordering parts for repair, and establishing lubrication and maintenance
schedules. Also, these maintenance files are valuable in determining the
performance of the pump during process changes. The comments on
the work orders, such as the list of materials or parts used, can define a
good preventive frequency, a predictive and/or a planned maintenance
repair. Equipment records with good information can help extend the
period of inspection or identify specific checkpoints. In other pumps,
the records can indicate frequent failures. These they can be classified as
failures due to materials (incorrect parts), installation, maintenance
and/or operation. Good and precise information in the record of the
pump encourages applying a Root-Cause-Failure Analysis method. The
result of this analysis can suggest more inspections and repairs as well as
changes in operation procedures, frequency of lubrication or better
inspection procedures from project inspectors when accepting a new
installation. Organizing the data in chronological format is useful to
diagnose problems, visualize what happened before it broke down and
who carried out the repair. Keeping simple and complete maintenance
records of each pump is more economical than trying to solve problems
without information using the method of trial and error.
With an appropriate record of repairs, you can use this information to

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