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Control valves are unsung heroes in a variety of industries, responsible for regulating fluid and gas flow within processes and systems. While their primary function involves managing flow and pressure, the significance of consistent service and maintenance often goes unnoticed. This article underscores the essential role played by regularly servicing and maintaining control valves in industrial operations.
The Vital Role of Service and Maintenance
Control valves operate in demanding environments, often being exposed to extreme conditions such as high pressures, temperatures, and corrosive substances. Natural wear and tear overtime can prevent the valves from functioning properly, which would lead to service disruptions. Regular servicing ensures that control valves can maintain their reliability, reducing the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns and downtime. This not only allows for continued operations with minimal disruptions, but also functions as a hazard mitigation by ensuring that control valves have minimal risk of failure in hazardous environments, ensuring a higher standard of safety that is critical in all industries.
Control valves also heavily influences the process efficiency in industrial processes. Poorly functioning valves can reduce product quality, increase production costs as well as causing delays due to lowered efficiency. Through maintenance and servicing, valves can be restored to peak performance which results in cost and time savings. Routine maintenance also serves to extend the valves’ operational lifespan, delaying the need for expensive replacements which helps to further reduce the overall cost of ownership in the long term.
Many large residential and commercial buildings are also reliant on the presence of control valves, as they ensure proper distribution and operations of the plumbing system of the entire building. Keeping these control valves properly maintained via regular servicing would prevent the undesirable situation of an interrupted plumbing system, which would be a serious inconvenience for homeowners and a nightmare for commercial public amenities.
The Key to Effective Control Valve Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is the primary way of establishing proper care for any functioning equipment. Establishing a routine inspection schedule is crucial and by regularly assessing valve conditions through visual inspections, functional tests, and performance monitoring, it allows for identification of issues before they escalate. When inspections reveal significant wear or damage, swift action should be performed to rectify the problem. Addressing issues promptly is often more cost-effective than waiting for a catastrophic failure.
Control valves should be cleaned and lubricated as necessary to prevent corrosion and friction-related problems. The specific type and frequency of lubrication depend on valve type and operating conditions. Routine calibration as part of maintenance ensures that the valves operate within expected defined parameters. Pilot-control valves such as pilot-operated pressure reducing valves are designed with the primary body to be easily accessible for servicing and maintenance. It is hence beneficial to perform regular maintenance on these valves to ensure maximum mean time to failure.
Providing Servicing and Maintenance
Control valves serve as vital components across many different industrial processes. Neglecting their service and maintenance can lead to severe consequences, including operational downtime, safety hazards, and increased operational costs. By prioritising routine service and maintenance, industries can ensure that control valves maintain their reliability, efficiency, and compliance with regulations, ultimately contributing to the success and sustainability of their operations.
As to our everyday lives, properly maintained control valves also serve to facilitate large residential or commercial buildings in ensuring that plumbing, a key daily necessity, remains undisrupted.
At Val-Technik, we have extensive experience in the industry and can provide regular planned servicing and maintenance for our pilot-operated control valves. Our team will ensure that the serviced valves would remain in good condition whilst having their service lifespan maximised.
Contact us today to learn more about our maintenance services to ensure that your system will have minimal disruptions during operation. Email us at sales@val-technik.com.sg or call 6742 2770. Our team of experts is always ready to assist you.
References
1. Stedham, D. Are your valves operating at top efficiency. United States: N. p., 1995. Web.
2. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/operations/articles/predictive-maintenance-and-the-smart-factory.html