Introducing Installed Base Audit Program

Endress+Hauser (USA) introduces the Installed Base Audit program, an instrumentation support program that helps plant managers and maintenance departments identify all the process instrument and analyser measurement devices in the plant, determine maintenance and calibration procedures for each device, keep the devices and processes running at peak efficiency, and reduce Total Cost of Ownership.

The program begins with a plant audit by a trained Endress+Hauser instrument and analyser expert who, with the help of plant maintenance personnel, locates and identifies every measurement device. The expert enters device and application data into the Endress+Hauser W@M Life Cycle Management database including serial number, tag, manufacturer, location, age, process conditions, and what each instrument or analyser is measuring (pressure, temperature, flow, pH, etc.).

Next, working with plant engineering, production and maintenance personnel, the Endress+Hauser consultant assists in defining the critical points and assigns each measurement device a Criticality Level of high, medium or low.

Based on this data, Endress+Hauser presents an overview of the installed base and makes overall recommendations for improving maintenance activities, such as preventive and corrective maintenance, standardisation of measurement device, and migration of the installed base to newer and improved devices. The plant gets an organised W@M database with the collected data, enhancing traceability and continued management of all installed measurement devices.

The Installed Base Audit helps a process plant make the right decisions to focus maintenance efforts according to their available resources and production requirements, and helps assess the maintenance complexity of older measurement devices. It also allows the plant to resolve the out-of-date plant documentation that doesn’t reflect the current status of installed measurement devices.

The Installed Base Audit simplifies measurement device maintenance, helps a plant conform to various regulations and safety requirements, and reduces its Total Cost of Ownership.

“I need the Installed Base Audit attachments most of all. If a device fails and I need a replacement part, then I go to the relevant link. It’s really simple because I can find the device and the replacement parts really quickly using the tag numbers. Now I can sleep at night,” says Frédéric Mayer, Calibration Manager at UCB Farchim in Bulle, Switzerland. “Previously, a defect in an electronic switch could occur and a production line would be down for a couple of days until the replacement part was available. Now if I have to replace a device, I can change a flowmeter within two hours, maximum. The investment was really very small compared to what I can now save.”

“Our targets were to decrease maintenance costs, to optimise spare part management by reducing the number of sensor types, and to increase process reliability,” adds Mr. Heltzer, Project Manager at the Masterfoods manufacturing facility in Viersen, Germany. “The first outcomes from the Endress+Hauser recommendations are quite impressive. We have reduced our stock of spares from 219 to 94 pieces and the number of sensor types from 122 to 53 pieces; that means a spare part reduction of $50,000. We can now replace our most critical sensors and train our maintenance people to be more efficient. Moreover, Installed Base Audit supports our quality management processes and specifies actual calibration requirements.”