Condition Assessment Techniques for Water Utilities 

September 29, 2016

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Bellevue Service Center:  2901 115th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA

Parking: 11190 NE 33rd Place, Bellevue WA

Sponsored by:  PNWS-AWWA King County Sub-Section

Cost: $100 (Memeber Fee); $125 (Non Member Fee) - Cost includes breakfast and lunch

0.6 CEUs Approved (in WA)

The Challenge: Over the past half century, America has spent trillions of dollars building some of the finest infrastructure that history has ever seen. This investment has played a substantial role in the sustained prosperity and quality of life of our country. But in many communities, this infrastructure is severely stressed from overuse, under funding of maintenance and renewal, and aging.

A comprehensive approach to managing our capital assets is overdue – one that brings “state of the practice” new condition assessment concepts, tools, techniques, and technologies to help utilities manage their systems for cost-effective performance. This approach focuses relentlessly on providing sustained performance to the utility customer at the lowest life-cycle cost and at an acceptable level of risk to the organization.

The Focus: Public sector managers have been managing assets for decades. However, it is clear that what we have been doing in the past will not be sufficient to address the growing and increasingly complex challenges that lie ahead. Practical, advanced techniques for better management of assets have been developed and refined in both the private sector in the US and in water and wastewater agencies. Management thinking is centered on long-term effectiveness, service sustainability, and effective environmental management. How can advanced condition assessment concepts, tools and techniques be most effectively transferred into the water and wastewater industry, more specifically, into your agency? Where to start? How to proceed? How to select appropriate tools?

The Workshop: This workshop have been designed as an extensive hands-on experience. The workshop includes:

• The condition assessment workshop content is integrated into the USEPA’s Asset Management Framework and the Reliability Centered Maintenance Framework. The workshops focus on demonstrating, step-by-step, how an agency would select and put into practice a well-balanced condition assessment program for their water utility.
• Is built around participant exercises that demonstrate the concepts, techniques and tools of reliability centered maintenance and condition assessment.
• Is centered on case study-based mentoring by expert condition assessment practitioners.

Agenda

8:00 am – 8:25 am Coffee and Pastries

8:25 am – Announcements & Introductions

8:30 am – 4:30 pm Duration of the Workshop

8:30 – 10 am

Introduction to Reliability Centered Maintenance

Introduction to Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) to provide attendees with the knowledge of how to develop maintenance strategies required for implementing RCM.

Background discussion on how an RCM program is developed through a structured logical process examining the questions of:

• How does a failure occur?
• What are the consequences of the failure?
• Can preventive maintenance prevent the failure?

10:00-10:15 am Break

10:15 – Noon

Reliability Centered Maintenance Approach

Materials presented will help redefine attendees understanding of maintenance management. Will present an introduction of RCM tools to identify appropriate maintenance and operational strategies for equipment based on the probability and consequence of its failure modes.

The basic aim of RCM is to create maintenance policies and procedures which:

• Achieve a high standard of  equipment reliability and availability consistent with the business plan,
• Meet requirements for safety and environmental protection, and
• Make the best use of maintenance resources, including the application of pro-active techniques and outsourcing when appropriate.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

FMEA is a management technique which provides a systematic approach to understanding why an asset fails. This section will include a FMEA training exercise to help participates answer the seven questions of RCM through small group discussion to apply concepts to real world scenarios.

Noon -1 pm Lunch

1 pm – 2 pm Water Pipeline Assessment

Focusing resources to most effectively mitigate pipeline failure risks

Through a discussion of the multiple facets and considerations of pipeline asset management, this presentation will outline the benefits of a risk-driven approach.  Through a deep dive into pipeline condition assessment technologies that are available to utility owners and operators, we will arm participants with a strategy to help make decisions on the why, where, when, and what of condition assessment methodology, tools and techniques.  With an understanding of how to apply what technology and where, owners will be able to make defensible moves whilst ensuring they are always focusing their limited resources on their highest risk assets.

2 pm -2:45 pm

True Utility Condition Assessment

When it comes to assessing the condition of your pump system, one size doesn’t fit all. Unlike simple statistical models based solely on age, a True Utility Condition Assessment (TUCA) provides an accurate picture of the true condition of every hard asset in your system. Inefficient pumps and motors increase energy bills and latent wear can lead to expensive repairs or replacement at inopportune times. A cost-effective TUCA analyses will help you reduce your overall power and maintenance costs and proactively address problems before they cripple the entire system.

With the information gathered during a TUCA, you can:

• Assess the condition of your equipment without any disassembly
• Identify catastrophic problems before they occur
• Recommend targeted improvements to boost your system’s efficiency
• Reduce annual energy costs
• Assess Pump and Motor Condition

There are three non-destructive tests that can be performed to determine the condition of a pump and motor: hydraulic performance analysis, motor condition assessment, and vibration analysis. These tests reveal the true pump and motor condition and the amount of energy wasted due to deteriorated condition. The hydraulic performance analysis establishes a baseline for how much power is currently being consumed, indicates the reduction in pumping capability as compared to brand new equipment, and determines the overall efficiency of the pump and motor. The vibration analysis is a direct measurement of worn or partially missing impeller sections, worn or failed bearings, and out-ofround conditions (not running true). The motor condition assessment evaluates the existing condition of the motor and identifies deficiencies that can cause inefficient operation and reduce a motor’s life cycle.

2:45 – 3 pm Break

3 pm – 4:30 pm

Hydraulic Performance Analysis

Energy efficiency testing can recommend low-cost improvements such as revisions to pump set points or the operation of variable frequency drives (VFDs) to reduce overall energy use as well as peak power demands. Modern equipment can measure data points in real time to determine existing wire-to-water efficiencies and specific energy signature (power draw per gallon pumped). Pumps with low efficiency can be targeted for further analysis as improvement in their performance will have the most effect on the system. Systems utilizing these techniques have seen annual energy savings of up to 30 percent.

Evaluating wire-to-water efficiency can identify pumps with high energy usage and, if compared over time, can indicate a degradation in the capacity and overall condition of a pump and motor. Power measurements can be taken with a Bluetooth-enabled meter that records current, voltage, power, and power factor, and captures the waveforms for real-time graphical analysis on a field laptop. This enables the evaluation of data to identify, confirm, or resolve data anomalies at the site for more accurate, efficient testing. Pump flow rate, as well as suction and discharge pressure, are recorded during the pump tests, which are performed on all individual pumps in the system.

Vibration Analysis

Measuring and analyzing excess vibration can pinpoint deficient or damaged equipment without disassembly. The evaluation of the vibration spectra can discover bearing problems, pump cavitation, impeller damage, suction turbulence, and shaft misalignment, as well as rotor faults in the motor. Extremely sensitive accelerometers measure vibration as the pump ramps up, operates continuously, and then ramps down. Vibration signatures at specific frequencies indicate different problems within the pump or motor, allowing us to spot and correct potential problems before catastrophic failure occurs.

Motor Condition Assessment

Deficiencies in a motor’s insulation reduce pumping efficiency and shorten the overall life cycle of your equipment. This motor condition assessment is designed to evaluate the condition of a motor’s insulation, identify defects that negatively affect your pump’s operation, and establish trends in data to predict untimely failure and improve maintenance procedures.

Closing Summary, Questions, Comments

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