Studies show pumps tend to be some of the more maintenance-intensive equipment in a plant, suffering a failure or some level of degraded operation on average every 12 months. Pumps in especially critical situations often have duplex and even triplex installations as backups, ready to switch over at a moment’s notice, such is their importance. Reactive maintenance, where it is necessary to fix something that has failed, costs 50% more than practicing predictive maintenance where problems can be detected and resolved before a failure. Pumps can be equipped with sensors to monitor condition and performance to ensure problems are detected as soon as possible so appropriate action can be taken…………... Over the last few years, the number of devices designed for equipment monitoring capable of operating on wireless networks has grown substantially. Some communicate using a plant’s Wi-Fi network, but a larger group has been designed to communicate via WirelessHART, the same network used by many types of wireless field instruments (Figure 2). The variety of low-power and low-bandwidth devices designed for these networks has grown enormously, and for all practical purposes, every type of monitoring device necessary for a full pump monitoring setup is available for use with WirelessHART networks.…………... Apps make it simple to perform real-time asset monitoring of a pump installation by identifying abnormal situations as they develop. Pre-packaged analytics evaluate health against unit history and industry norms, and the information is displayed via intuitive dashboards. All of this is possible with minimal configuration effort and no additional loading on the existing automation system. If desired, reporting and alarming functions can be added to external systems, but this is entirely optional.…………... New apps are available for health monitoring in conjunction with the wireless instrumentation, independent of the plant’s real-time automation system. These apps are easy to use because each is configured for a specific type of asset. Just as there are apps for pump monitoring, there are corresponding apps for other types of assets such as steam traps, heat exchangers, cooling towers, pressure relief devices, and more. This specialization helps deliver sophisticated analytics without having to create customized programming. The customization is already built into the platform, supporting fast implementation.……………

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• Emerson Automation Solutions

• Analyzer

• Pump

• Wireless Network

• Power Magazine

• Article