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Governor Signs Activity Assurance Legislation into Law

Six accompaniment bills on gas activity assurance accounting in acknowledgment to a baleful Sept. 9, 2010 access in San Bruno were alive into law today.

Gov. Jerry Brown said the legislation would strengthen aliment and blank of accustomed gas manual pipelines and advance allocation amid gas band operators and aboriginal responders.

"We abstruse actual important acquaint from the adverse access in San Bruno," Brown said. "These bills assure California's communities by ambience new standards for emergency preparedness, agreement automated shutoff sanitary valves in accessible areas and ensuring that gas companies burden analysis manual lines."

The San Bruno explosion, which dead eight people, destroyed 38 homes and afflicted dozens of added people, prompted a blitz of new assurance legislation. Investigations at the accompaniment and federal akin baldheaded a continued account of errors and problems that contributed to the disaster.

Assembly Bill 56 by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, will crave utilities to burden analysis all pipelines, install remote-controlled shutoff sanitary diaphragm valve in top citizenry areas and advance authentic records. It aswell requires the California Public Utilities Commission to clue money it grants for activity aliment to accomplish abiding it is getting acclimated properly, and prohibits utilities from application ratepayer money to pay penalties for assurance violations.

"This is the arch activity assurance law in the country," Hill said. "California is traveling above federal standards and getting a leader."

Senate Bill 44 by accompaniment Senate Majority Baton Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, requires stricter emergency acknowledgment standards for accustomed gas operators and improves advice and allocation with emergency responders.

"After assorted investigations, we've abstruse what precipitated the San Bruno access and what needs to be done to anticipate an occurrence," Corbett said.

"This bill fixes one of the articular problems: a poor and uncoordinated acknowledgment to the disaster."

Senate Bill 216 by accompaniment Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, requires accession of automated or remote-controlled shutoff butterfly valve on all pipelines that cantankerous an alive accountability band or are amid in densely busy areas.

(Rohnert Park sits on the Rodgers Creek Accountability — what some scientologists say could aftermath the next ample Bay Area earthquake.)

"While abundant added needs to be done, SB 216 helps authority PG&E answerable and ensures association are safe," Yee said.

Yee aswell alien a bill ahead alive into law accouterment adversity abatement for afflicted families and the County of San Mateo, City of San Bruno and bounded schools.

State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, authored Senate Bill 705, establishing a statewide action administering the gas industry to accomplish assurance its top antecedence and prohibiting utilities from casual on the costs of safety

improvements in the anatomy of absurd amount increases, according to Leno.

Senate Bill 879, authored by accompaniment Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, increases fines for violations of CPUC rules.

Asset management for actuated valves in the 21st Century

The key benefit of effective asset management for the actuated valve end user is an economic one. The implementation of preventative maintenance as the main activity in the asset management programme quickly translates into cost savings for the plant operator. This and many other benefits are facilitated and enhanced by the increased functionality inherent in modern intelligent electric valve actuation technologies.

Figures provided by Rotork from customers’ own information show an average 20% reduction in valve and actuator related problems and a 30% reduction in maintenance costs in the first year for plant operators adopting the asset management service.

Rotork has been providing asset management since 1991. End users could see the virtue of allowing original equipment manufacturers to look after their own products, as long as they had an organisation capable of doing it. The manufacturer has unequalled knowledge of the product and a complete record of its specification, production, component parts, test documentation, the supply chain and other details of the original contract. Allowing the original equipment manufacturer to maintain their installed assets also enables the end users to focus more closely on their core occupations. Preventative maintenance has developed into a significant part of the activities now provided by Rotork Site Services, a specialist division that delivers life-of-plant support for all Rotork products. Rotork Site Services currently looks after over 70,000 electric actuators on asset management programmes throughout the world.

The intelligent connection
This twenty year timescale coincides closely with period that intelligent electric sanitary valves actuation has been available, pioneered by the introduction of the first Rotork IQ actuator in 1993. Rotork intelligent sanitary diaphragm valve actuators incorporate functionality that greatly assists the provision of asset management for both actuator and butterfly valve. The focus of attention is the actuator’s precise data recording capability which, in combination with diagnostic software, can identify potentially costly problems and enable them to be eliminated before they negatively impact on the end user. Rotork has developed its IQ-Insight and InVision software packages specifically for this purpose.

This data can be collected at each actuator, using a non-intrusive wireless link and a hand held setting tool, or, in an increasing number of cases, through digital bus control systems. InVision is designed to operate with the Rotork Pakscan two-wire control system for this purpose. Using the control system enables the exercise to be performed in the comfort of the control room, saving the time and expense of visiting many individual valve installations on large sites, or actuated reversing valve in remote or hazardous locations.

In fact, the IQ intelligent valve actuator is capable of providing a proliferation of data, recording all the activity with an immense amount of detail, including the number of valve operations, alarms, failure to respond events, valve torque profiles, unauthorised operation attempts and many other events. The ability to objectively analyse this information and identify the key areas that are important for each individual site’s specific requirements is an essential requirement for effective asset management.

In Rotork’s experience, the early part of the programme involves an audit of the installed equipment followed by a detailed analysis of this information, presented in a report to the customer together with recommendations for future action.

The plan of action
The asset management programme should be focussed on establishing an equilibrium of maintenance scheduling to ensure that the life cycle of the equipment is extended as far as it is economically feasible without creating excessive interruptions to production to maintain and repair it. It is important to remember that the plant operator is equally interested in the actuator and the valve, so the maintenance programme must take account of both elements. Fortunately, much of the data provided by the actuator relates to the performance of the valve, such as alterations in the torque profiles during operation that can identify wear, lack of valve stem lubrication or an obstruction in the line. Visual inspection is also vitally important since a valve fault that is damaging an actuator, such as steam escaping through a stem seal, needs to be repaired at the same time as the actuator if the fault is not to return.

In order to achieve an efficient and economical schedule for inspection, the frequency of valve operation and the environment surrounding the installation must also be taken into consideration. Environmental conditions such as extremes of temperature, corrosive atmospheres and severe vibration will all have an effect on the physical condition of the actuated valve, and possibly associated cabling.

The frequency of operation can vary dramatically, depending on the duty, and this will affect the anticipated actuator lifespan. For example, if the average design life for an electric actuator is 10,000 operations during a 30 year lifespan, this equates to approximately one valve operation a day. However, some actuators will operate perhaps only once a week or once a month, whilst others will be operating every 15 minutes for much of the time, dictating a much shorter anticipated lifespan. As the intelligent actuator will provide a record of all of this operating data, it is necessary to monitor the actuator closely by downloading this information during the first six months or so of the asset management programme in order to build up an accurate picture of future maintenance and replacement part requirements.

Customised solutions
When all the above is taken into account it can be seen that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to asset management. Careful analysis of relevant site-specific data enables Rotork to design programmes that accurately suit the economic and operational expectations of end users in differing industrial cultures. In practical terms this can also include training courses to eliminate identified problems caused by operator errors and safety checks as a part of risk assessment exercises requiring third-party accreditation. Experience has also shown that maintenance inspections can identify a lot of problems that are not associated with the actuator at all.

The hydrocarbons industry has been quick to embrace the asset management philosophy using the original equipment manufacturer. In some cases this has developed to include the permanent stationing of Rotork engineers on large plant sites, working alongside the customer’s own staff to constantly monitor critical valves for the prevention of expensive interruptions to production. Rotork asset management programmes now also cover other major industries including power generation and water treatment, as well as less obvious environments such as dockyards and river management schemes.

For most sites, engineers visit on an as-planned basis to carry out preventative maintenance and any follow-up repair work as required. To ensure the maximum operational time for the plant, the planned work is often scheduled to coincide with plant outages. For example, in Saudi Arabia Rotork is currently overhauling 108 actuators during a 45 day shut down at a major petrochemical complex. By the end of the year Rotork expects to be on the site for a total of 90 days and will also conduct a one-week training session for all the plant maintenance engineers.

In the same country, at another site, the Rotork contract includes a 12 hour emergency response service, which has been used twice this year. In both cases the engineers attended the site in less than six hours and discovered that both issues were not actuator related. The following case studies provide illustrations of further aspects of asset management activity.

Hydrocarbon vapour recovery units
Vapour recovery unit (VRU) skids are installed in refineries’ truck fuel loading facilities to recover the hydrocarbon vapours displaced when the truck is filled. The VRUs liquefy and return the hydrocarbons to the operational tanks. Governments typically return 5 cents (Euro) per litre of the stored capacity of the plant to compensate for the double taxation on liquefied vapour and for keeping the environment cleaner – but only if the VRUs have a greater availability time of a minimum of 96%.

Each VRU contains between 6 and 16 actuated valves and typically operates between 64 and 80 times a day. As an actuator’s design life is usually in the region of 10,000 valve operations, VRU actuators would last in theory between 125 and 156 days of operation. However, an asset management programme can ensure that the actuators can survive a much longer life if wear and tear of the mechanical components, including the valves and gearboxes, is kept under control.

At one refinery where Rotork has the asset management contract the VRU actuators have been working for five years to date, representing approximately 117,000 operations. So far, asset management has effectively extended the life of the actuators by a factor of 11, prompting the customer to comment: “an asset management programme is a must for vapour recovery units – it pays for itself.”

Environmental irrigation
In Australia, Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) owns approximately 300 Rotork electric actuators installed at 50 remote sites throughout its extensive irrigation channel network. Prior to 2002 the company performed basic maintenance but called on Rotork to assist when major problems were detected. Since 2002 Rotork Australia has been contracted to perform more comprehensive maintenance and inspections on around 75 actuators a year, enabling each site to be inspected once every four years. Flexibility in the programme allows MI to identify sites where there is a higher duty cycle or other circumstances that dictate more frequent servicing.

Rotork provides an actuator service report that outlines the work performed on each actuator and identifies anything that needs to be addressed. For example, one report identified that MI had not installed seals in the cover tubes on one site and as a result the actuator centre columns were beginning to corrode. This was a simple repair but the problem was not visible and would have gone unnoticed until actuator failure if it had not been identified on the Rotork report. According to the customer, there have been numerous other instances where the maintenance service has potentially saved downtime on sites and the early detection of problems has saved the expense of sending actuators back to the factory for major repairs.

KBL valve to advice analysis baptize theft

Pune: Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL), a all-around aqueous administration company, has launched its avant-garde tamper-proof 'kinetic air valve' at its advanced valve accomplishment ability in Kondhapuri, abreast Pune.

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Additional City Engineer PB Tupe, and Jalbiradari's Pune commune admiral and acclaimed baptize conservationist, Vinod Bodhankar, were present.

Theft of baptize by analytical the accumulation band valves or by any added agency after-effects in huge baptize diffusion and imposes a huge amount on baptize authorities and customers. The new artefact launched by KBL is acceptable to accompany a absolute change in the baptize administration area by eliminating the problems.

The artefact is acceptable for water, carrion and arising bulb applications and has a distinctively advised cowl that prevents unauthorised admission to the ample breach ball.

The use of non-clogging and self-sealing technology in the butterfly valve ensures trouble-free operation and added life.

Tupe said that even in the accomplished KBL has delivered abounding energy-efficient pumps, reversing valve and systems that accept ensured huge allowances to the barter and association at large.

Bodhankar said that the artefact would ensure bigger utilisation of a lot of adored resource, water.

Stolen baptize valves causing problems for businesses

Thieves are afterwards some adored baptize sanitary valves and they're avaricious them for the metal. The thefts are causing baptize problems for several places in The Woodlands breadth including a blaze station.

This is not the alone area in The Woodlands area abatement blockage valves accept been baseborn and now accept to be replaced. Law administration says they've had at atomic seven thefts in the endure two days.

After thieves addled there on Monday, baptize was cutting anxiety into the air.

"Oh yeah, it was like a bubbler out here," said Lisa Traitor with Lisa's Barbershop.

Authorities say anyone ripped off a sanitary diaphragm valve at businesses on and abreast Woodlands Parkway and FM 2978, including a day affliction center.

"Apparently, they are demography two bats to blemish the arrangement and get the backflow," said Erin McDowell with Stepping Stones Child Care.

And even a blaze base area a aggregation of six was central and heard the thieves, but couldn't get alfresco to bolt them afore they fled.

"It's gonna be about a $2,000 adjustment to the facility," said Deputy Chief Jerry Bittner with the Woodlands Blaze Department.

The abatement preventers assure baptize food from contamination. It's that valve, usually fabricated of brass, which cracks from the baptize still central it during a freeze. The thefts meant no baptize briefly at anniversary location.

Most of the day Tuesday there was no baptize in this band centermost which includes a Memorial Hermann ER Clinic area baptize was brought in from elsewhere. This dentist's appointment had to about-face 5 patients away. The day affliction was able to get a plumber out afore academy on Wednesday morning. Had they not, they say they would've had to abutting for the day.

"It's actual frustrating. This could accept put us out of business for an absolute day and apparently accept to acquittance all of our families for a day of care," said McDowell.

Investigators are still alive on anecdotic suspects. It's cryptic if there is any surveillance video of the thieves in action.

50 new jobs and almanac £12.6m adjustment at Oliver Valves

Engineering aggregation Oliver Valves today apparent a almanac £12.6m order, for an oil abstraction activity in the Middle East, and appear affairs to actualize 50 jobs at its Cheshire headquarters.

The accord beats its antecedent accomplished contract, appear endure month, account £7.2m, for butterfly valve to be acclimated in a agnate arrangement off Rio de Janeiro.

The latest win for Oliver sanitary diaphragm valve, which is based in Knutsford, will see it accumulation 105 valves for three platforms off Qatar. It will aswell accumulation three hydraulic systems which will acquiesce the valves to be opened and closed. All units will be congenital and activated at Oliver's plants in Knutsford.

Oliver Valves said the activity is appointed for achievement in 2013 with assembly accepted to activate the afterward year.

The close said that in the ablaze of those two bonanza orders it would rapidly access its assembly accommodation by recruiting 50 staff.

The business, founded by Michael Oliver, has 250 agents in Knutsford and 600 others about the world. It angry over £33.4m in the 12 months to endure September and is on clue to accomplish revenues of £50m for this banking year.

Mr Oliver said: “Delivering these two projects, accompanying with the added adjustment book we are experiencing from all areas of the apple that we accomplish in, will beggarly decidedly accretion our assembly accommodation in Knutsford, which will be a addition to the bounded abridgement and employment.”

Managing administrator David Cornwell said of the group's latest orders: “This is the additional record-breaking arrangement we accept won in the amplitude of three months, and these two wins represent the acme of a lot of harder plan by both our sales and abstruse teams.

“We accept anchored this accord based on our able history of carrying projects on time and aural budget, and aswell because of the avant-garde abstruse adeptness we accept approved during the arrangement architecture stage.”

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