Failure analysis of Slurry Pump assets in refinery for reduction of risks and costs

Assets fail due to design, manufacturing, installation, operations and maintenance, including ageing. Analysis of failures is needed for understanding the failure mechanism and identifying improvement opportunities to reduce risks and costs. Every year, the refinery spends a large amount of money on the maintenance of pumps and related accessories. There are unplanned maintenance and downtimes due to breakdowns. Reliability Centre Maintenance (RCM), Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Residual life tracker, Equipment Management Strategy (EMS) were considered to create Preventive Maintenance (PM) activities and forecast the maintenance costs. However, budget overruns continued due to unplanned failures. This study analysed failures and identified gaps within the existing strategy for Washer and thickener underflow pumps. A review of maintenance activities was conducted along with review of design capabilities, failure modes and failure mechanisms and trends. Opportunities for improvements (OFI) were identified, and improvement actions were carried out to reduce risks and costs.