Low-cost plant health assessment systems maximise the value derived from existing equipment by incorporating them in an integrated plant condition appraisal architecture, which can predict when assets are at risk before serious damage has been sustained. Guidelines are presented on optimising the system scope, vendor selection, and quality assurance criteria. The benefits of the new approach include centralisation of resources, high level remote support, improved control of engineering and maintenance activities, and full accountability. Repair-based maintenance of equipment is the most expensive option to maintain the serviceability of plant. However, the data also reveal that these methods yield only approximately half of the available cost savings.
Corrosion is the primary life-limiting plant degradation mechanism.
Detection of electrochemical activity associated with the corrosion process allows control action to be initiated before significant damage takes place. Corrosion control has in the past been considered an off-line service activity. The condition was wrongly classified as plant damage, the costs of which are hidden in 'routine maintenance'. Conventional corrosion instrumentation is also unsophisticated, and has lacked the integrity required for plant control instrumentation. On-line corrosion information can be used to prompt immediate remedial action, thereby reducing both the duration and the severity of attack.