Valve Service Shops are Not Created Equal

Not long ago, a common practice for companies in the chemical, power and refining industries was to have personnel on staff to handle many valve maintenance and service activities. Today, as skilled professionals of the baby boomer generation retire and companies face increasing pressure to contain costs, a growing number of firms are turning to outside vendors to help them manage the health of their valves.

Trends in Independent Valve Pressure Testing

Before the industry slowdown of 2008, some end users performed third-party pressure testing of valves for use in critical service according to the acceptance criteria of ASME B16.34, API-598, API-6D, etc.

First Valve Repair Event Shows Depth of Today's Issues

Repair and maintenance is one of the most critical areas of today’s valve world and attendees at the Valve Repair Council’s first Valve Repair Meeting & Exhibition last fall found out why. From the value of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging to the latest proposed standards, speakers brought their audiences up to date while vendors to the industry showed the latest in products and services that can keep this nation’s facilities in tip-top shape.

VRC to Hold New Valve Repair Event

Like VMA, the Valve Repair Council is committed to education for those in the valve industry. VRC recently added a conference designed specifically for the valve and actuator repair and maintenance industry. The inaugural Valve Repair Meeting and Exhibition will be November 1 to 2 in Houston.

Documentation to Diagnostics: Trends in Valve Repair

Not long ago, car owners often performed basic repairs and maintenance tasks themselves. Also not so many years ago, shoppers had to visit separate stores to purchase groceries, clothing, electronics, hardware and medicines. Neither of these scenarios applies to most of today’s consumers. The complexity of automobiles means even routine repairs and maintenance must be completed by trained mechanics using specialized equipment and computers. As far as shopping, the “super center” retailers offer the convenience of one-stop shopping for a vast array of products.

Common Bellows Failures and Suggestions for Mitigation

While it is an extremely rare event, bellows can and do fail. But bellows failures are often wrongly attributed to the quality of the valve or the bellows while in reality, a more likely scenario is operating conditions or an improperly specified valve that contributed to the failure. Still, whenever a failure occurs, analysis of what happened and why is critical.

Asset Management: A Plant Manager’s Best Friend

Information about the performance of a facility’s valves has never been more readily available—or more important. Digital positioners and distributed controls can provide valuable data about the operation of the overall system. At the same time, the growing complexity of today’s facilities, increasingly stringent regulatory and reporting requirements, and growing pressure to improve plant performance have combined to make that valve data more vital than ever.

Preventive Maintenance and Repair for Sleeved Plug Valves

Preventive maintenance and repair for valves is an important part of keeping operations running smoothly and efficiently. For the sleeved plug valve (SPV), such maintenance is minimal—simply requiring an occasional adjustment to prevent both external and internal leakage in certain applications. The repair process for SPVs can be more extensive—inspection of parts and use of proper replacement parts are vital for ensuring a safe, successful overhaul. Additionally, root cause failure diagnosis is a critical part of this process. This is because the damage detected is the best indicator of the type of change to the valve or modification to the process that, if made, will extend the useful life of the valve.

Valve Repair Companies

It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. —John Ruskin

That famous quote from social thinker John Ruskin was sent in to Valve Magazine from Urmimala Mukhopadhyay, marketing analyst for Cameron Valves & Measurement. It summarizes very well what many Valve Repair Council (VRC) members feel is the main danger of not using an OEM-certified company in making valve repairs.

Just Read the Instructions

Although the situation might change eventually, it’s a reality that most people working in the valve repair industry today are men. It is also a reality that many men hate to read instructions or rely on a map. However, when repairing critical pressure-containing equipment such as valves, a little glance at the words now and then can be important. And when it comes to valve repair instructions and standards, sometimes it takes a little digging to find the right paragraphs of wisdom.