Ingersoll Rand air system guidance
July 04th 2007 IntelliSurvey Audit
In the medical community, prescription without diagnosis is known as malpractice. In compressed air, a solution without problem definition is guessing. Everyday, facilities personnel commit compressor malpractice by responding to a symptom instead of discovering the real problem. A symptom may be low air pressure, which is certainly a problem to production, but the root cause of the low air pressure could be any number of reasons.
That’s why Process Analytical Technology is critical to solving problems and developing repeatable processes. At Ingersoll Rand, measurement is the first step. Monitoring the compressed air system helps us determine root cause of issues and identify potential improvements in the system. Subjectivity, or more simply put, guessing, is removed with data.
A simple tool, known as Intellisurvey, accomplishes the data collection challenge simply and non-intrusively. Flow, pressure, supply utilization and power costs are all analyzed to determine an optimized system which generates improvements in repeatability, efficiency and plant productivity.
The report generated defines the compressed air system with its many components and interconnecting piping. Raw data is graphed and trends are identified. At a sample rate of 1 second, over 600,000 data points are collected in just one week.
Methodology is explained for simplicity, and summary tables for power and flow statistics are generated. Load Duration and Base Load profiles are also formed.
Complete analysis by competent system experts reveals true opportunities for improvement. Proposed Improvements are easy to understand as a new system schematic with interconnecting piping is drawn with the changes to design outlined in a new colour. Compressed air malpractice occurs everyday at great expense to many businesses. Production stoppage, product spoilage, extended downtime, over-pressurization, and total inefficiency are all results of compressed air malpractice. Stop guessing and define the true problem using data collection, system knowledge and proper analysis.
Whether you are the Maintenance Manager or company owner without reliable and concise data you cannot make positive business decisions.
Contact your Ingersoll Rand Air System Engineer today to find out how you can begin this problem-solving process. | 
