Before facing the shutdown in 11 days time, I toured my plant another round, just to check all the valves and other parts that need to be replaced. I went from one
pump to another
pump. There are a lot of pumps. They don't look good. Ugly black dirty oils covered them. I checked the suction and discharge
ball valves. Some of the suction valve are 6" and 8" valve and the discharge valve are 4". Well, the sizes of big valves are easier to detect or decide. There's no big problem for me identifying them now. However, that was not the case when I joint the company earlier. It took me some time to get familiar with all types of valves and their brand.
Then I went from one
heat exchanger to another
heat exchanger. I checked out the drain valves. It's harder for me to estimate the sizes of those drain valves and deciding the brand. There are commonly small varying from 1/2" to 2". In between those sizes, there are also 1
.75" 1", 1.5" and others. Deciding the correct size and brand is vital to order and purchase the repair kits/seats. Ordering the wrong spare parts will just be a total waste of money and time and the chance to replace the valve seats which can only be done during plant shutdown.
The darkish, oil layer covering the valves at the pumps and heat exchangers are something that must be improved. It should not be left dirty and uncomfortable for eyes. It should be cleaned and well maintained. I want the valves to be clean and shining like a new piece of metal. Well, We are working on that as well. I'm developing a
5S system (a Japanese Concept of
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)) for maintaining the plant to be a clean healty place and pleasant working environment.