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Industrial plants exist in all major sectors of our economy, including energy production, petrochemical, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceutical and many others. At the heart of these plants are critical pieces of rotating equipment that are essential for these plants to operate effectively throughout their lifetime. In most cases, these assets, much like your organs, need to thrive for decades. Caring for them requires an approach analogous to how an internal medicine doctor would care for a patient. There is no Hippocratic oath, but there are certainly standards and best practices that must be followed to successfully keep these machines “alive” without compromising on safety and respecting plant economics. Good service is always on call.
Blackstone Industrial Services (BIS) and Compression Service Technology (CST), leveraging their unique combination of capabilities and their commitment to being the ideal service partner for machinery users, have developed comprehensive Multilevel Service Packages. These integrated packages, referred to as “Health Care Packages” (HCPs), include Engineering, Field Services, Repair, and Parts. They are customized to meet the specific needs of users and are designed to help maximize the uptime of their machinery while reducing operational expenses.
The four pillars of the HCPs are the following:
Machinery Diagnostics and Technical Assistance are fundamental drivers of the entire HCP Program. While many of these machines are equipped with advanced machine learning and AI, these tools cannot replace the expertise and insight gained from designing, manufacturing and process experience. To bridge this gap, the HCPs offer our customers the following Technical Assistance services:
RTA: 24/7 Remote Technical Assistance
Support all the technical queries from repairs, parts, or field service, including emergencies and troubleshooting. The newly created Blackstone Answer Centre (BAC) is a cornerstone of this important activity.
WPD: Weekly Remote Diagnostics Dashboard.
Evaluation of machine KPIs is based on data from onboard instruments. This data is provided weekly by the Customer via a secured portal. This evaluation utilizes the same simulation algorithms that were employed in the design of the machinery. It detects even small deviations and changes between the actual operating parameters and the designed values. This enables effective trend analysis to assess wear rates for on-condition maintenance planning.
QPD: Quarterly Field Portable Diagnostics.
Quarterly field measurements and inspections are conducted using Portable Diagnostics with dynamic signal acquisition and spectrum analysis. This integrates existing on-board monitoring equipment to conduct periodic complete assessment of machine behavior. The QPD is carried out in collaboration with SINT Technology, CST’s partner for this highly specialized activity, which includes:
For Reciprocating Compressors:
For Centrifugal compressors:
Other Technical Assistance activities within the HCPs are:
Example case: our customer needed to safely postpone a major overhaul of a large ethylene centrifugal compressor train due to production reasons. Their goal was to minimize both the scope of work and the inspection time. Our joint team developed a data-driven software model to assess the performance of the compressor train. The diagnostic model helped determine the actual condition of the compressor train and analytically identify the real maintenance needs with minimal intervention required. The KPIs for Polytropic efficiency depletion and Dry Gas Seals buffer pressure trends were compared with the historical data. The analysis revealed that there was no need to open the compressor for an internal inspection or to replace the labyrinth seals. Instead, the only maintenance recommended based on the analysis was to replace the dry gas seals. By delaying the overhaul, this customer saved approximately $2 million USD.
Blackstone is specialized in the overhaul of rotating machinery and stationary equipment. Blackstone offers a range of services including basic, intermediate, major, and emergency overhauls, which are performed by highly skilled millwrights and Technical Advisors, or Technical Advisors leading a customer team. The effectiveness of these overhauls is significantly enhanced when they are conducted within an HPC. By utilizing all data obtained from prior diagnostic work, optimal planning of the overhaul can be achieved. Furthermore, our site-level activities provide a critical baseline and empirical data that support future diagnostics. Site-level activities provide an opportunity to capture dimensional data and build material assessments to better inform parts strategies and potential upgrades. Our goal is to minimize the impact of the shutdowns and ultimately reduce costs for our customers without compromising on quality or safety.
Maintaining process machinery involves more than simply replacing or refurbishing worn parts; it is an opportunity to ascertain their operation from an engineering perspective by inspecting the disassembled components. This is particularly important for the LDPE plants, where even the smallest scratch on a pressure-containing part of the hyper-compressor can lead to dangerous fatigue failure.
Additionally, repairs performed in a specialized shop following standardized procedures (“Qualified Shop”) and recording the results in a Structured Maintenance System (Data Driven Maintenance Management) within an HCP, allows for the association of operational data with the actual condition of the worn components (wear, incipient failure, lube oil deterioration, gas leakage, etc.). This enables better machine diagnostics, improved machine-process interface analysis, and supports a continuous performance improvement strategy.
HPCs can also include inventory management & supply of wear, operational and capital parts, if required. The set of the above-mentioned services enables a Trend Analysis of the KPIs (KPIA) to assess wear rates and/or incipient failures and allows for accurate life cycle planning. If procuring parts from obsolete supply chains, orphaned fleets, or hard to source rare parts proves difficult, the HPCs offer reverse engineering and manufacturing services. Recent years have seen major advancements in metrology tools and technology, such as 3D laser scanning and Positive Material Identification (PMI), which we continue to invest in. Leveraging our extensive experience and advanced technology, Blackstone’s Parts Liberty team is uniquely positioned to deliver equivalent or upgraded high-quality and locally sourced components. These parts are designed with maintenance in mind, and manufactured to meet or exceed OEM Specifications.
Blackstone and CST view service as a continuous process rather than a series of discreet events. We are passionate about serving the machines. We consistently review, analyse, plan and execute services for these machines and their critical components throughout their operational lifespan. Though these machines are entrusted with numerous custodians and guardians over time, Blackstone and CST aspire to be the primary healthcare provider for their entire life.
