Innovations in Operations and Maintenance
To be attributed to Mr. Akhil Jha, Vice President Technical, Shell Lubricants India
Importance of Operations and Maintenance
Operations and Maintenance as an industrial function, comprises of a broad spectrum of activities required to assure that the set-up, equipment and parts of a factory/unit perform the functions for which the facility was constructed. Typically, O&M comprises of a host of everyday activities necessary to operate and maintain a building and its systems. There are multiple benefits that timely maintenance practices bring to the table – these ensure maximum utilization of capital investment; minimized factory down time; increased efficiency and profits, as well as the safety of employees handling heavy machinery.
Changing face of Indian Industries
With the advent of newer technological innovations and changing industry requirements, there has been a paradigm shift in the way Indian industries are functioning – digital technology has caught the industry’s attention; there is a greater focus on sustainable development; and equipment requirements are rapidly evolving. In particular, with the changing emission norms and a greater demand for reliable equipment and reduced operational costs, OEMs and customers are facing numerous challenges that are compelling them to change their standard operating procedures. In the near future, there will be many cases where the equipment and systems belonging to the previous technology generations will be unable to meet the new requirements. This is the main challenge that customers are facing in their day-to-day operations.
For industrial decision-makers, this calls for changes in the equipment hardware designs as well as external requirements. The nature of these changes varies depending on industry-stipulated emission levels, energy efficiency demands of customers, total cost of operation, reliability of equipment, and a shift towards renewable energy. Equipment manufacturers are constantly evolving their offerings to suit these factors. This brings in the additional challenge for makers of ancillary products to provide their patrons with the most advanced tailor-made offerings, as per the changing industry requirements.
Importance of Lubricants and the Shell Offer
Considering the time, effort and resources that go into running any industrial unit, it is relatively simple to understand that factors like machine availability, efficiency and capacity are becoming more and more important with each passing day. Customers need equipment to be more reliable, cost-effective and there is a greater focus on making operations more sustainable and environment friendly. Lubricants have a critical and on-going role to play in this process and can have a significant impact on the operation of equipment in any industrial unit. Choosing the right lubricant can result in significant benefits in terms of improved efficiency, equipment protection and profitability. At Shell Lubricants India, we offer a broad range of market leading products, ranging from the latest synthetic products to mainstream lubricants. All of these products have been designed with years of global R&D and are meant to optimise equipment performance and cost efficiency for industry. Additionally, we often work closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop products to fit their needs. Our collaboration and our experience in working with customers have enabled us to understand the challenges in operation and maintenance activities, in line with the actual needs of the equipment and its life cycle performance.
Major Innovations in the industry
In particular, if we talk about the power sector, the feed-in of electricity by distributed generators increasingly poses new challenges to distribution companies and generator manufacturers, particularly in light of the volatility of renewables-based power generation. Consequently, interventions to stabilize the grid are required much more frequently than they were in the past. There are numerous complex tasks entrusted to grid operators – they are required to manage loads, keep voltage stable across the system, guarantee security of supply, and avoid plant shutdowns. What is required in such a situation is an innovative, flexible, and scalable solution with smart control functions for distributed plants.
Significant improvements in performance and cost-effectiveness can be achieved by applying new technical solutions to existing plant elements. For example, advanced engineering simulation systems, such as thermal modelling, have greatly improved the life of mechanical components in steam turbines and increased the power output.
While the technology trends increase the turbine efficiency, the turbine OEMs are demanding good quality lubricants which can provide longer oil life, reduced varnish formation, improve surface properties, and provide in-service monitoring, etc.
A recent study suggests that as many as one-third of all units show some signs of oil varnishing. To keep a check on this, the right course of action is to set up special oil condition monitoring program for analyzing the trending in the initial days. An oil condition monitoring program should be part of the maintenance schedule, and should comprise of a combination of inspection and oil analysis.
Field experience indicates that turbines that are being operated at higher operating temperature are more susceptible to oil varnishing. This is due to thermal degradation of the oil. In addition to oil products, we at Shell Lubricants also offer services such as support with commissioning, flushing, filling and filtration, equipment inspection LubeExpert service and ongoing oil condition monitoring through LubeAnalyst, Oil Change unit for oil replacement in wind turbine.
