A Pharmaceutical Chemical customer experienced an emergency breakdown of their AC Compressor DH4R single stage overhung compressor during an overspeed event that caused a complete shutdown of the plant. RMS received a call from the customer and immediately got to work with scheduling 24 hours of continuous support at RMS’s South Houston MEPCO Shop. RMS was able to leverage its experienced AC Compressor team. The result was an expedited unplanned turnaround event that saw RMS delivering the completed project in under a week.
RMS was notified of the breakdown the Saturday before Easter Sunday and the unit arrived on site at the RMS Houston Shop the following Monday. Representatives from RMS’ MEPCO shop and engineering were already engaged during the weekend despite the holiday, generating work instructions and gathering critical information so that work could start Monday without delay. As OEM of AC Compressor the team prepared with precision for their plan of attack. The RMS team planned to work continuously on this emergency turnaround with two 12 hour shifts working to ensure RMS was able to meet the one-week turnaround delivery date.
In addition to RMS’ quick response time, much of the timely delivery can be attributed to the customer’s diligent stocking of replacement parts. RMS worked with the customer before this operation to ensure they were properly stocked with spare parts. Since the customer had all of the correct spare parts in optimal condition, the RMS team did not have to place any last-minute rush orders that had the potential to cause a greater lead time in the completion of this emergency overhaul.
After the removal of spent parts from the compressor during the overhaul, the customer opted to have RMS inspect their components. Based on our findings, RMS will be able to restock the customer’s spares inventory to ensure they are ready to properly maintain their compressor or supply for an emergency event such as this.
This compressor was in operation for two years since its last overhaul before the overspeed event caused the untimely outage. It was determined that during operation, acetic acid entered the system and hit the compressor with liquid resulting in an overspeed of the compressor. The overspeed resulted in the open faced impeller rubbing against the shroud ring causing the failure.
RMS is honored to work with customers that help maintain the global critical infrastructure and are especially proud to support a customer in need that supplies the medical industry, especially in these critical times. This particular customer uses their AC Compressor DH4R single stage overhung compressor in the manufacture of PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) which is used in a large variety of products including PVC, medical equipment, etc.