Food processor adopts new approach to management

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 22, 2006

Cerestar UK's plant in Trafford Park, Manchester, has become the first food processing operation in the world to introduce a revolutionary method called condition-based risk management.

Cerestar UK's plant in Trafford Park, Manchester, has become the first food processing operation in the world to introduce a revolutionary method called condition-based risk management (CBRM) to help optimise future management of electrical assets.

Cerestar is part of Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services.

CBRM is a radically new management regime, developed by UK power engineering specialist EA Technology based on capturing engineering knowledge and experience in a consistent process that defines condition and performance of assets.

It enables condition and future performance to be defined in a clear, concise manner.

The benefits include targeting inspection and maintenance activities to enable costs to be reduced and reliability and safety improved.

"CBRM has already transformed the way UK electricity network operators manage their assets and it is rapidly being taken up by large private network operators, including many leading industrial companies", said EA Technology's Neil Hayden.

"Cerestar's adoption of CBRM is a clear indication of its potential in a vast range of process industries, which rely on efficient operation of their electrical plant and machinery".

EA Technology began implementing CBRM at Trafford Park with a comprehensive survey of the condition of Cerestar's electricity assets, including switchgear and transformers, which serve the plant's conveyors, pumps, dryers and other processing equipment.

It also carried out detailed forensic investigations into the reasons why assets had previously failed.

The information gathered has been used to create a database of assets, which has been analysed and compared against EA Technology's own unique database, built up over 40 years working with the electricity industry to record patterns of degradation and failure in similar pieces of electrical equipment.

"The result is that we have provided Cerestar with a health index for its hundreds of electrical assets, and provided a systematic process to enable future maintenance and replacement to be optimised", Hayden said.

"The CBRM system also enables Cerestar to factor in the consequences of the failure of each asset, in terms of risks ranging from loss of production to safety hazards".

"The information thus provided is essential for helping managers prioritise their maintenance strategies".

Cerestar's database of asset condition is continuously updated, using EA Technology equipment to monitor partial discharge activity - one of the most important techniques now available for noninvasive assessment of the deterioration and life expectancy of assets.

Following the successful implementation of CBRM in Manchester, Cerestar has begun introducing it at its plant in Krefeld, Germany.

It has also appointed EA Technology to its High Voltage Electrical Committee, which represents 14 European plants.

The results are being studied by parent company Cargill, which has 80 plants in 59 countries and revenues of more than $71 billion.

Cerestar Production Services Manager Richard Kasher said: "CBRM is without doubt a more cost-effective way of managing our electricity assets and fits well with our goal of elimination of the need for periodic maintenance, with all of its associated costs and disruption".

"As a result we can see a payback in terms of lower overheads, fewer failures and a reduction in production stoppages, together with the prospect of greater long term reliability and increased asset life".