Reduce the risk of machinery disaster

Figures released earlier this year by Marsh, a US insurance company, priced the combined financial loss from the 100 largest global hydrocarbon industry accidents at over £20 billion.

“Could these losses, both financial and human, have been dramatically reduced if more effective safety measures had been in place?” asked Process Engineering when it published the figures. The answer to that question appeared to be “Yes” according to Alan King, a consultant specialising in hazard and reliability, who commented that process incidents drive many companies to review the technological systems that they have in place.

For the process industries, disasters act as unfortunate reminders about what can go wrong at any given moment, but there is a whole host of technology and innovation readily available that is designed to dramatically reduce risk.  A range of vibration sensors and monitoring techniques can extend the operating life of industrial machinery beyond recommended maintenance intervals and, at the opposite end of the scale, identify rapid increases in machinery vibration that could lead to a catastrophic failure.  These devices and techniques also enable operators to satisfy the ever-more robust regulations imposed regarding health and safety, which have made the use of vibration sensors in non-safe areas a prime requisite.  The use of vibration monitoring can enable companies to operate with enhanced performance, reduced downtime and in accordance with health and safety legislation – BEFORE a failure causes losses.