Industrial maintenance version 2.0 delivers savings of up to 75%
Shutting down a power station is very expensive. A new method, with on-site 3D scanning and repairs, delivers savings of up to 75%. ENGIE Fabricom has taken the first step towards industrial maintenance version 2.0.
It all started when a few small cracks were noticed on the main valve of a steam turbine in a power station in France. Instead of dismantling the valve in question and taking the defective part to the workshop, ENGIE Fabricom opted for a radical repair method.
On-site scanning and repairs
“We normally use 3D scanning in our Zwijndrecht workshops but, this time, we decided to carry out the scan at the customer’s premises”, explains Rudy Casier, Department Manager at ENGIE Fabricom. “This method enabled us to accurately catalogue various cracks and, more importantly, saved time. It only took our teams two weeks to design a machine specifically for this maintenance work, based on the scans, and another two weeks to custom-make it at our Zwijndrecht workshops. We then installed it on the customer’s premises and carried out the repairs.”
Reading this description makes it seem like a simple operation but this new method enabled the customer to save 75% on repair costs, not counting the cost of shutting down the power station. ENGIE Fabricom completed the assignment in just seven weeks, including the four weeks spent developing the machine. A conventional replacement would have involved shutting down the turbine for months.
This remarkable method has not gone unnoticed. The French customer was so delighted that it entered into a productivity partnership with ENGIE Fabricom. ENGIE Fabricom now has another similar assignment under its belt, conducted for a power station in the Netherlands. “This assignment also met with great success. Shutting down this power station would easily have cost €200,000 a day. It goes without saying how much the customer appreciates that we can greatly reduce the station’s downtime.”