We all know the saying “Never touch a running system!” But does this make sense regarding valves?
Valves are essential to control the flow. They have a negative impact on the process if they are not optimally maintained and operated. Wear and tear or inappropriate sizing can disrupt the process and thus the plant performance. In many cases, valves have been installed and then not looked at closely for years. Visual inspection of the valves from the outside reveals little information about the full health of the valve. Until now, the only way to verify the exact condition was to conduct extensive tests with external measuring equipment or by opening the valve. This leads to unnecessary downtime and reductions in production line. With the Asset Health Prediction Report from Samson, this is now changing.
With Samson smart positioners, which have been used for many years, it is possible to obtain precise diagnostic data on the valves during operation. All you need to do is read out the positioner data and send it to the Samson Services team. Samson experts provide you with an Asset Health Prediction Report that takes a closer look at all significant wear characteristics and provides you with recommendations for action.
Depending on the process operating conditions, valves should be monitored regularly. Diagnostics can reveal potential problems before they lead to failures and help you anticipate when you should service your valves. We recommend having a Basic Report of your valves run at least once before each shutdown. For critical valves, valves with abnormal behaviour or to optimize the performance, we recommend the Expert Report.
The reports help you to intelligently monitor and manage control valves in process plants. The main benefits include an overview of all valves equipped and connected with smart Samson positioners, a clearly structured report with all relevant operating and diagnostic parameters, and direct fault detection. In addition, SAM Services Consulting supports the user in planning maintenance activities in advance with the help of expert-based diagnostic messages and recommended actions.