Estimates hold that as many as one-quarter of all pressure gauges in a typical processing facility require some sort of corrective action. Ignoring or overlooking them can result in regulatory fines, costly downtime, or, even worse, some sort of accident or other mishap.
The trouble is, you already have enough to worry about with your day-to-day operations to maintain adequate oversight of your pressure gauge network. Compounding the problem is the retirement of experienced employees, leaving fewer experienced workers to handle this important job.
FAST: The Key to Process Industry Safety
Fortunately, you need not be in this situation all by yourself. WIKA’s Full Audit Service Team (FAST) is ready to help you maintain the safety of your pressure gauges, and in turn, the safety of your facility. WIKA’s FAST program provides instrumentation expertise to ensure your employees, productivity, and profitability are not at risk.
FAST services include
Instrument Audit
Potential problems affecting process industry safety can be anywhere. A FAST Instrument Audit is designed to evaluate pressure gauges in your plant to identify and correct issues before a serious incident happens. To augment a comprehensive Instrument Audit, FAST engineers also perform a storeroom audit to reduce your SKUs and ensure only the right gauges are on the shelf, eliminating guesswork when a replacement gauge is needed.
Turnaround Instrument Planning
Gauges are not generally a primary concern in turnarounds. But lacking the right one for the job can still hinder progress. With Turnaround Instrument Planning, FAST engineers perform an Instrument Audit and then standardize the instruments you need before your plant shutdown begins. That helps reduce discovery during the project to avoid cost over-runs, scope creep and leaks after the plant comes back on line.
Instrument Failure Analysis
Gauges essentially serve as alarms, and if one needs to be replaced often, it could be alerting you to a serious safety concern. Through an Instrument Failure Analysis, WIKA’s FAST engineers determine the root cause of your failed gauge—whether it is a WIKA product or not. They will also recommend a solution to help prevent further safety issues.
Instrument Safety Testing
An old saying goes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Nowhere might that thought be more applicable than in the safety of process industries. The trouble is, you may not have time to teach your employees how to interpret gauges as reliable warning signs of potential problems. That’s where FAST Instrument Safety Training can help. FAST engineers teach your maintenance team to use gauges as predictive maintenance tools, helping them spot issues before they develop into serious problems.
Gauges play an essential role in process industry safety. FAST’s broad program of services and information help ensure that your facility is as safe and productive as it possibly can be.