Valve Asset Management System
When it Comes to Managing Valves, One Size Doesn’t Fit All
A proactive approach to valve management can play a crucial role in running a productive and profitable operation. There can be hundreds or even thousands of valves in use in a plant at any given moment. And the better they’re managed, the less costly downtime you’re likely to have.
All CPV valves are designed to meet or exceed quality standards, but there’s still a huge difference in wear between a valve that controls water flow and one that controls the flow of a highly corrosive liquid. The possible consequences of valve failure are equally as varied. So a one-‐size-‐fits-‐all approach to valve maintenance and lubrication can be both wasteful and potentially dangerous. Maintenance of the right valves at the right time is an essential part of keeping your operations running. You want to give attention where it’s needed and not waste time, materials, and labor doing maintenance that isn’t necessary.
That’s where a valve asset management system comes in…a record-‐keeping system specifically for valves. It can be compared to a medical records system where a valve is the equivalent of a patient and the plant manager is the doctor. A good asset management system holds every morsel of information about a valve’s past “health.”
Knowing the history of each valve also helps you manage inventory. Being able to predict what parts and materials are most likely to be needed allows you to have them on hand for faster repairs or maintenance…and funds won’t be tied up holding supplies that you don’t need.
How Do You Determine the Optimal Schedule?
There are several methods for figuring out the best maintenance schedule for your valves. We’re only looking at one of them in this article…the risk-‐based inspection.
A risk-‐based inspection allows you to determine the most efficient and cost-‐effective maintenance schedule for each individual valve. It considers how likely the valve is to fail and the potential impact of failure…impact could range from slowing down operations for an hour to a potentially catastrophic event that may include loss of equipment, loss of life, or permanent damage to your company’s reputation. Working in close collaboration with a service provider, a customized plan is put in place for each valve.
An efficient valve asset management system used together with a risk-‐based inspection can save countless hours and materials from unnecessary maintenance, and costly downtime. And avoiding a failure that could end in disastrous consequences is priceless.
What’s the Right Asset Management System for You?
An asset management system can range from something as simple as a spreadsheet to a sophisticated software program that tracks every aspect of every valve’s history.
A good asset management system will organize and store:
- Maintenance records
- Inspection records
- Test records
- Performance records
- Diagrams
- Photos
- Notes
Of the asset management system options, web-‐based applications offer the most benefits. When deciding which system to employ, consider checking in with our friendly customer service team to be sure you’re following CPV’s maintenance and lubrication schedule recommendations. Here are a few additional items you may want to think about:
- Cybersecurity—at the top of the list because it’s extremely important.
- Having 24/7 access to current data at your fingertips so you can log in anytime from anywhere with a secure internet connection.
- Automated and customizable reporting capability to make regulatory compliance and inspections go more smoothly.
- Analysis and identification of trends in repair and maintenance history, which will help you to plan maintenance schedules unique to each valve.
- A reputable service provider who will be there to provide personnel training and support.
CPV Manufacturing’s products are manufactured with high-‐quality durable materials that stand up to corrosion and wear. Regular maintenance and lubrication will enable them to continue to meet or exceed the quality, safety, and fugitive emissions standards established by our Quality Control Program.
Chances are you’ll find that the long-‐term benefits of investing in a quality system to help manage and maintain your CPV valves far outweigh the costs. If you haven’t looked into it yet, what’s stopping you?