Putting innovation at the heart of its development, Daher asserts its expertise in the design, manufacture and assembly of high-performance valves for the nuclear and energy business. The group has developed a smart connected valve for predictive maintenance. This technology, which is out of step with the market, is both a strategic issue for Daher, as well as for its customers, and a lever for operational and commercial performance.
Smart valve predictive maintenance to optimize operating costs
Daher has positioned itself for many years as the benchmark in the high-performance valve market for nuclear and energy, and supports the largest installations around the world. Naturally, the group has developed a predictive maintenance solution that can save maintenance costs in the range of 10-15%.
Today, there are two types of maintenance plans chosen by operators:
- the change of the systematic valve periodically according to a predefined maintenance plan, even if the valve is in perfect condition, resulting in financial losses;
- Changing the valve in the event of a breakdown between two maintenance plans, often meaning a stop of the line that can result in additional costs. In addition to this downtime, there is additional time to identify the failure, order a new valve, deliver, install, etc.
Based on this observation, Daher led a development project, carried out by its employees, with the aim of implementing predictive maintenance on intelligent valves. This involves equipping the valves with sensors and connecting them to an IOT platform developed by Nexess, allowing to pick up weak signals in the valve's signature (a vibration rhythm, temperature, flow,...), thus predicting possible failures.
Daher, thus intervenes as an expert in the manufacture of the valve, in the installation of sensors on it until the diagnosis of signals.
"Through this project, Daher confirms its innovation and digitalization strategy, and its positioning as a designer and producer of high-performance valves. The first tests have proved successful, so we have the ambition to commercialize this solution as early as 2019. The development of this technology is a perfect example of Daher's constructive approach in bringing in high-performance innovations to serve the competitiveness of its customers. This success also depends on the competence and motivation of the teams involved in this project, without which we would not have been able to achieve all the objectives," says Hervé de Chillaz, senior vice president of the advanced technology business unit.
To discover the new predictive maintenance solution on smart valve in virtual reality, visit the WNE in Paris Nord Villepinte, stand Daher 7-H69
Find out more: www.daher.com