Speeding up replacement of a failed chiller
Having complete contingency plan in place
Faster repairs reduce our customer’s costs
Client:Gulf Coast chemical manufacturer
Location:USA
Sectors:Petrochemical and refining
THE CHALLENGE
For our customer, failure of a critical chiller causes massive production shortfalls. In the past, we responded to emergency calls by getting the production line up and
running with a replacement generator and chiller.
But we knew that if we did some advanced planning we could reduce future response times. We suggested to the customer that we help create a contingency plan. It was a move that paid off eighteen months later when the chiller failed again.
THE SOLUTION
As soon as we got the call that the chiller had failed again we initiated the contingency plan. We mobilised our pre-made list of equipment: two 200-ton chillers, two 500 kW generators, two 1,240-gallon fuel tanks and all the supporting accessories.
Because we had already documented the interconnections for the process, hooking it up was a breeze. Roles had already been assigned, so everybody knew exactly what they needed to do. It was a well-oiled machine that had the production facility up and running faster than any other previous failure.
THE IMPACT
The cost of a replacement chiller is minimal compared to the cost of lost production time, so we focused all our efforts on reducing that time, knowing that every hour saved was a saving for our customer.
The contingency plan made replacing the failed chiller easier and got the plant up and running faster than ever before, saving both time and money. This cemented the good working relationship we had with our customer and demonstrated that we had their interests at heart during any emergency.