Reliability centered maintenance Double Shell Tanks (DST) primary ventilation systems

Abstract

Critical component failures during delivery of waste feed from the Double Shell Tanks (DST) to the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) have a significant potential to idle the WTP facilities. A recent Engineering Report' estimates that over $600,000 per day in associated costs would be incurred for delays for failure to deliver waste to the WTP. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Analysis is all about performing the correct maintenance, on the correct equipment, at the correct interval to ensure processes are available and reliable to meet company goals and regulatory constraints. In support of meeting these goals, RCM analysis was completed on six Primary Ventilation Systems to evaluate the functional importance and value of the assets in order to establish objective, engineering based, and cost-effective maintenance strategies. These strategies, based on specific criteria, enable the selection of appropriate maintenance tasks to be performed at optimum interval, on maintenance worthy equipment. The RCM process also serves to establish the initial documented bases for component maintenance tasks.