Leveraging Predictive Insights for Planned Outages

SMARTdiagnostics detected rising vibration levels on a critical feed pump, triggering an alert tied to soft foot, imbalance, and potential coupling issues. Spectrum data revealed elevated 1X peaks on both the motor and pump—an early indicator of looseness or misalignment that warranted immediate attention.

KCF’s certified vibration analysts reviewed the data and alerted the customer to the developing issue. With insight from SMARTdiagnostics, the customer determined that the asset could continue running under close observation until the next scheduled outage. This strategy allowed them to avoid an unplanned shutdown while remaining prepared should the condition worsen.

Over the next several months, the KCF team diligently monitored the data to ensure imminent failure was not going to occur. Multiple updated plots confirmed the persistent fault, and further investigation pointed to a deeper mechanical issue. After several attempts to achieve proper alignment, it was discovered that the issue was not pipe strain, but from a severely cracked base, which was preventing alignment.

When the scheduled outage arrived, the pump was removed, the base was regrouted, and the unit was reinstalled. Shortly after startup, vibration levels dropped significantly—and remained stable.

What could have been a costly breakdown was avoided. Had the issue progressed, the likely failure scenario would have been a damaged pump seal— requiring $6,000 in repairs and leading to 8 hours of unplanned downtime across all four reactor trains. With each train carrying an operational cost of $2,500/hour, the total business impact avoided was estimated at $86,000.

Thanks to early detection and continuous monitoring support from KCF’s team, the customer was able to resolve the issue during planned downtime—keeping their process running smoothly, avoiding emergency repairs, and protecting a critical asset from failure.