Page 362 - Reciprocating Compressors Operation Maintenance

Pre ventive Maintenance for Reciprocating Compressors 347

6. Commitment of maintenance personnel to spend money on invento-
ry of necessary spare parts and properly reconditioned parts. This is
to prevent the re-use of questionable parts and reconditioning on a
"crash" basis by personnel not qualified.

PLANNING FOR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

Preventive maintenance for reciprocating compressors focuses on:

* Restoring and upgrading compressor equipment.
* Involving operation and maintenance personnel and upgrading their
knowledge and skills on compression equipment.
* Implementing effective maintenance planning and scheduling tech-
niques.
* Identification of qualified vendors, suppliers, and contractors.

Preventive maintenance includes periodic inspection to detect condi-
tions that might cause breakdowns, production stoppages, or detrimental
loss of function. It follows that a key function of preventive maintenance
is to eliminate, control, or reverse potentially costly breakdowns through
the early detection of defects or malfunctions. This is where preventive
maintenance and predictive maintenance overlap and complement each
other. It is extremely important to realize that "best-of-class" companies
use predictive techniques to determine when to plan for, or initiate, pre-
ventive measures.
Preventive maintenance includes the rapid detection and treatment of
equipment abnormalities before they cause defects or losses. It has two
very important aspects:

1, Periodic inspection
2. Planned restoration based on the results of the inspections

Daily routine maintenance to prevent deterioration is usually consid-
ered a part of the program.
EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENT

Breakdown and other losses cannot be eliminated unless basic equip-
ment conditions are maintained and possible deterioration is checked for