Emerson’s Wireless Condition Monitoring and Prediction System Reduces Plant Downtime and Maintenance Costs for SABIC Teesside

Emerson Process Management’s wireless condition monitoring and prediction system is being used at the SABIC Olefins plant in Teesside, UK, to detect potential problems with pumps before they disrupt normal operations. The system helps reduce the risk of unexpected failures that can cause lost production and expensive repairs, as well as safety and environmental incidents.

The critical pumps being monitored are installed on the plant’s Olefins Cracker, which is used to produce ethylene, propylene, butadiene and gasoline products. SABIC Teesside previously collected and analyzed vibration data for these pumps manually, but potential problems could occur between readings. This led to higher maintenance costs and reduced plant availability, which was affecting overall production.
 
Emerson’s online vibration monitoring system has detected a number of problems that could have resulted in equipment failure, including a chipped tooth on a gearbox gear and an impending bearing failure. Identifying and rectifying potential problems earlier helps minimize pump failures and maintenance costs.
 
In addition to measuring overall vibration and temperature, the CSI 9420 Wireless Vibration Transmitter includes PeakVue™ technology, which detects faults that cause impacting, friction, and fatigue, particularly in gearbox and rolling element bearings. The monitoring system takes basic readings every 30 seconds and an in-depth, full spectrum analysis once every day. By tracking rising vibration levels, SABIC Teesside can detect developing faults and improve maintenance scheduling.
 
The plant’s existing Emerson Smart Wireless network made installing the wireless vibration transmitters quick and easy, enabling vibration data to be sent to SABIC’s process control system. The established mesh network also makes it easy to add or relocate wireless-enabled devices for additional process information from remote or difficult-to-access locations.

 Source: Emerson Process Management