Preventive Maintenance
To ensure the continued reliable operation of their generating facilities, plant operators have adopted a wide variety of maintenance strategies and practices. Preventive maintenance--planned maintenance designed to improve equipment performance and lifespan and avert premature aging and failure--is a large component of these strategies. Failure of critical power plant equipment can result in personnel injury or death, high repair or replacement costs, and high costs of replacement power output.
PM programs are typically divided into two categories - Predictive (condition-based) and Periodic / Planned (time-based). Both are costly and are not without risk. Risks include damage to equipment due to improper maintenance, damage to surrounding equipment, early failure ("infant mortality") or replacement components or systems. Utilities are continuously adjusting their PM programs, trying to achieve the right mix of activities to ensure equipment and plant reliability, performance and availability.
At Altran, we have found that the most effective and economical preventive maintenance (PM) programs are built on information--information on material, parts, components, systems and structure performance. Knowledge of plant equipment, systems, structures are important. Familiarity with plant maintenance staff and procedures are essential. The key to a successful program is the ability to collect the right data in a timely fashion, interpret it correctly, and schedule and execute maintenance activities based on this information using qualified maintenance personnel.
Altran offers the following services in support of power plant preventive maintenance activities and programs:
- PM program reviews and program optimization
- Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) strategies
- System engineering
- Commercial grade dedication
- Aging and Obsolescence studies
- For more information
contact: -
John Charest
Nuclear Business Development
617-204-1000