The colleagues in the maintenance team at INEOS O&P in Geel rely on new technology to fine-tune their lubrication and inspection schedule. The classic calendar is making way for tablets, data analysis and software that can make predictions.
"There are a lot of lubrication points in our installations that need to be taken care of regularly. We did this on the basis of a calendar that stated how much time we had to lubricate which point. The new software that we have been using for this since July helps us to lubricate smarter," says maintenance manager Gert Kenis.
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Of course, you first have to collect a lot of data for that. This is done by a tablet that the technicians take with them during their lubrication round. Based on analyses of that data, the engineer determines the best interval. The software dynamically displays which machines need lubrication every day. In addition, the tablet provides information at each location about which lubricant the technician should use and how much.
"Together, this provides more insight and more efficient operation," says Gert Kenis. "This allows us to optimize our plan of action and we have much more data than before. With our expertise and these new tools, we ensure that the installations continue to run reliably. It also prevents breakdowns or malfunctions and therefore not only saves time but also energy."
"For inspections of equipment and pipes, we are going to work in a similar way: there too we are switching from time-based inspections to risk-based inspections, with the help of new software. It will take into account many more parameters that affect the pipelines internally or externally, for example, and therefore we can prevent possible problems. We might not always notice them now, because it is not yet time for a new inspection of that machine or pipe."
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And technology also finds its way to the maintenance workshop in other ways. For example, inspections in storage tanks on the site and of the torch were recently carried out with a drone. "That way we save time, because we don't have to build scaffolding or climb with rope techniques to be able to inspect everything. And at least as important is safety: no one has to enter the storage tank to carry out an inspection and the flare can be inspected when production is running," explains Gert Kenis.
Inspection images of the torch:
