Process plants with large populations of pumps can save millions of dollars in operation and maintenance costs using a suite of pump-optimization services, says Seneca Falls, N.Y.-based ITT.

ProActivity provides a three-phased approach to reduce the total cost of pump ownership. It brings together multiple ITT resources that were previously offered as separate services into one solution-driven organization providing a single point of customer contact.

With the help of the pump optimization services, one ITT customer realized savings of 43 percent, which translated to more than $1.3 million annually in operating costs. Mean time between failures (MTBF) increased 108 percent, from 15.4 months to 32.1 months. Other customers that have benefitted from the ITT product include: 
  • An oil refinery that selected ITT remanufacture and repair services to upgrade power ends and seal chambers in 10 different API pumps. The improvements reduced maintenance costs by 75 percent and lowered emissions by 95 percent, saving the refinery more than $2 million over three years.
  • A paper company that employed ITT’s inventory management tools to increase parts transfers across five mills, reduce overall inventory, and save more than $500,000.
  • A paper mill that used an energy performance audit to justify installing variable frequency drives on five inefficient pumps, generating $102,000 in annual savings.
  • A chemical and gas company that hired the ITT solutions group to customize a Goulds 3196 pump to function as a turbine generating power from previously wasted process heat and saving $24,000 per year in energy costs.
  According to the company, the pump optimization service was created because maintenance and energy make up the majority of pump operating costs. In fact, the purchase price is only 10 percent of the cost of ownership.

Phase One of service is a system-level survey. The review takes one or two days and includes a plant walk-through, data gathering, and interviews with key personnel. Its findings determine whether Phase Two support will generate a significant return on investment.

In Phase Two a team of ProActivity consultants conduct an in-depth assessment and analysis that takes up to three months. They use proprietary software to provide a comprehensive picture of the operation’s pump performance. The data collected includes maintenance records, energy usage, pump curves, inventory effectiveness, condition-monitoring processes, skills-needs analysis, and repair procedures. Customers can use the assessment to make recommended changes on their own or receive additional implementation support from ITT.

In Phase Three, an embedded specialist joins the organization’s team as an on-site pump reliability specialist, providing ongoing consultation, technical assistance and execution support. The embedded specialist also provides a direct link to the extended team of ITT experts and resources, including energy performance services, machine health monitoring, training, remanufacture and repair, inventory management, and engineering and design solutions.

“ProActivity helps ITT customers to extend equipment life, reduce operating costs, increase up-time and improve overall process efficiency,” Moscato said. “The ProActivity team identifies and implements top-line improvements that provide sustained bottom-line results.”

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