With every failure, the CEP was offline for a minimum of eight days while being overhauled. The bearing was first disassembled over three days. Then, the pump was removed in two sections while personnel worked under the suspended load to uncouple the pump.
Reinstalling the CEP was even more challenging. The bearing was reassembled on site in cramped conditions, over five or more days.
On average, each pump failed more than once every three years. Across a fleet of eight, the team at Eraring were faced with an average of three failures each year. Most of these failures were due to errors made in assembling the bearing under difficult conditions.
Adding to the direct cost of each failure was exposure to potential production losses. The fleet size was intended to build redundancy into the production system. With a pump offline, the redundancy was removed and the risk of losses increased.
RUD Australia was consulted by Eraring’s on-site rigging team and engineering staff to assess the problem and advise on the viability of possible solutions.
Improving pump performance to reduce the average time between failures was a key objective. Assembling the bearing off-site was critical to achieving this.
The CEP needed to be removed in one piece, not two, in order to be transported off-site. This would require a lift that could overcome the weight of the pump, cramped conditions and lack of crane headroom.
RUD Australia developed a tailored solution to match the unique properties of the CEP and surrounding equipment. Custom-made certified lifting brackets and fittings were designed, manufactured and tested. The design was then improved over several iterations.
This solution reduced the CEP removal time from five days down to just four hours. Re-installation time was reduced from an average of seven days to six hours.
The mean time between failures (MTBF) for each CEP was also reduced as a result of the new overhaul procedure. Other benefits were improved productivity and increased revenue, as well as improved health and safety for Eraring’s workforce.
We are happy to deal with RUD because of their product quality, customer service and competitive pricing. They are very efficient when submitting quotes with a short lead time and are always available when we need them.
Onsite support is excellent and always professional.
RUD Chains has a great product with an exceptional back-up and field service. We have previously bought from Chinese manufacturers and European companies, but we will stay with RUD due to the quality of the product and availability of service personnel.
Patterson Crane Hire loves a challenge and RUD lifting gear helps us solve these challenges. The weight saving gains when we use their Grade 120 ICE range really makes a difference and minimises our risk when we are managing difficult, heavy lifts.
Simply put, this is why we choose to work with quality suppliers like RUD.
At Holcim (Werribee) we rely on RUD Tyre Protection Chains. Their strong expertise and professionalism is on display when they fit and maintain our chains on site. The team works hard to keep us safe, enable our machines to stay in operation and minimise our costs.
Air & Allied Sales (Pacific) has partnered with RUD Chains for the past 25 years to deliver outstanding engineered solutions. The professional and continued relationship with Ian and his team allows us to continue to support our customers above and beyond their needs.
Our recent requirements have pushed the limits of a standard supplier’s capabilities, but RUD Chains have never...
As Managing Director of ACRAN, we are always excited to provide innovative and quality technical solutions to the market for industrial ventilation, filtration and noise control solutions.
Recently we completed a project where RUD chain drives provided a controlled drive solution for an Engineered lift and fulfilled the requirements. ACRAN is grateful for the technical and on-site...
At Gemilang, we’re confident that our high-quality Endurequip-made Portalifts and vehicle stands will continue to serve us well as we build more buses for the Australian market. These provide us unparalleled underbody access, thereby giving our clients the reassurance that every single bus component, from top to bottom, is designed, manufactured, secured and inspected thoroughly by our...
The team at Jilalan appreciate the quality service you provided in the design, fabrication and commissioning of our platforms for our Wagon remediation project.
RUD's attention to detail and great communications skills ensured that our project was completed to the highest standard and exceeded our expectations. From the start of the procurement process you committed to ensuring time...
Grima Recycling have been working the team at RUD in realising our plant expansion project. The modular RUD chain conveyor has proved to be reliable and effective for the transfer of our recycled products from the loader hopper and up the inclined slop as part of our new process line. The regular contact and support provided by RUD compliments the RUD system quality.
ENCO Precast have been involved with RUD for over 10 years now, predominantly for the supply of the Philipp Group Lifting Hoops for Prestressed Precast Concrete elements for bridges. The engineering support led by RUD's Engineering Manager Matt Pauli is always outstanding and has kept us loyal to RUD.
RUD’s service and product support have been excellent. We are happy to recommend RUD to anyone who has problems with their tyre life.