ICT & Provision of information

CAMPI project update about condition-based maintenance

The first findings from the CAMPI project indicate that condition-based maintenance is already taking place in the process industry, but that it is often not very advanced. ‘Benefits are to be had from the smarter collection and deployment of data’, opens researcher Roland Van de Kerkhof. ‘A fair amount of data is already being collected, but it is (still) not used for maintenance purposes.

 Calculation models

In cooperation with Oliveira several calculation models have been developed in the last few months. The underlying idea is to create variable limit values (or alarm values) in which multiple indicators have been combined. It appeared, for example, in the case of wind turbines that it is most interesting to look at the temperature of the turbine in combination with thewind speed and a number of environmental factors; through this, turbine deviations can be detected that would otherwise go unnoticed. In addition, models were developed for the combination of data from various similar machines and for various machines in the chain.

Another PhD student focused on the logistics process with the question: what is the optimum point at which to perform maintenance on a (sub)system? “In the first instance, she focused on two machines that are set up in series. Based solely on the cost and operational parameters, optimum maintenance planning is produced. This now exists for two systems. We are now exploring how we could implement this in reality and if the assumptions we have made can be established in reality.” In the next step, the model will be expanded for more complex systems with two more machines.

Three factors

For the last nine months, Van de Kerkhof has been an asset owner. “The scope is: when is it interesting to apply CBM? Is it technically and financially feasible, and can we implement it in the organization? The three factors need to be in place. I am holding various interviews to this end and I analyze the data in the ERP system. This research is intended to map out where CBM has been introduced and is in use, as well as, and more especially, why this is so. Which arguments and organizational barriers have played a role here? In four months’ time, I will have completed this research and I will discuss my findings with the other project participants. Once this has been mapped out, it will be time for the next step: the design, implementation and testing of the organizational guidelines that facilitate the sharing of data and the application of CBM.”

Projects

In addition to these main projects, a fair number of smaller projects are running within the CAMPI project, led by Master students. “We intend to get to work on a number of new major projects very soon, to which all three work packages will contribute. Through the combination of these three perspectives, we can supply comprehensive solutions for a complex CBM matter”, according to Van de Kerkhof. Such a project is currently being led by Eindhoven University of Technology, which, together with an asset owner and a contractor, is investigating a whole series of safety valves for CBM. The results are shortly to be released.

The project objectives are still valid: the development of calculation models and logistics models and of practical guidelines for the implementation. The idea is that other industries can pick up on and implement the knowledge acquired after the completion of the project. Van de Kerkhof: “This is the advantage of a scientific approach. The knowledge is made freely available.”

The CAMPI project (Coordinated Advanced Maintenance and Logistics planning for the Process Industries) started last January and ends in 2016. It is a study by Dinalog, the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics. DI-WCM participates in the project because of its great interest in (the process) industry. Companies participating include: BP, Gasunie, Oliveira, Ortec, Sabic, Sitech Services, Stork and Tata Steel. The University of Groningen, Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University each lead a work package.

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