Asset Condition Monitoring Prevents Costly Downtime in Pharmaceutical Plant

A leading pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the US East Coast regularly subscribes to Emerson’s Asset Condition Monitoring service to augment their reliability program. 

During recent vibration surveys, our partner's analysts noted a sudden axial and vertical vibration increase of the plant's cooling tower lead pump. Spectral data showed dominant vibration at 2x the turning speed of the equipment. Their findings alarmed the reliability team and led them to realign the pump, helping to prevent a downtime which could have cost the customer roughly $30,000 an hour. 

Recommendation and Results 

The experts recommended checking the motor and pump alignment which turned out to be the culprit. A reliability engineer from the site shared this feedback: 

“Based on the recommendations from the analyst, the motor/pump was realigned.  Vibration amplitudes decreased causing no additional damage to the motor or pump. The corrective actions also prevented any possible damage to support equipment.”
 

The Strength of a Network

As an Emerson Impact Partner, we are part of an integrated network of Emerson-certified strategic partners to deliver the breadth of Emerson’s products, services and solutions throughout North America. This gives you access to our combined expertises while still getting the level of service that comes from being local.