THE SITUATION
A producer of herbs and spices was struggling with a persistent problem affecting a mixer within one of their vessels. The mechanical seal installed on the mixer within one of their vessels. The mechanical seal installed on the mixer was failing twice a month. Due to the regular seal failures, two gearboxes and two electric motors also required replacing on a monthly basis. Taking into consideration the purchase price of the new components, the cost of three engineers spending 6 hours ach time to carry out the switch, and the value of production lost to downtime, the customer was becoming increasingly concerned.
THE SOLUTION
The on-site Engineering Manager called their local HAYLEY DEXIS branch, with the team quickly arranging a site visit at the next available opportunity. The application was analyses for areas where improvements could be made and the failed seals subjected to failure analysis. HAYLEY DEXIS recommended a cartridge seal be used with the unit mounted on the outside. This would eliminate the difficulties that engineers were having in accessing the seal by removing the requirement for them to work in a confined space to carry out maintenance work.
"ANNUAL PRODUCTION LOSSES DUE TO THIS RECURRING PROBLEM TOTALLED £180,000."
THE RESULT
Since the seal has been replaced with the HAYLEY DEXIS recommendation, no further seal failures have been reported. The solution has saved the customer an immediate £15,000 per year. The figure that they were previously spending on replacement seals and drive components. Annually, twenty-four days of downtime were previously being suffered with the affected vessel out of order. The lost production for this duration was calculated at £180,000. This unplanned downtime is no longer affecting the customers’ revenues. Maintenance Engineers are now able to focus their time and effort elsewhere, helping the business take a more proactive approach to maintaining assets.