The EPRI preventive maintenance basis products

Electric utilities need a technical basis to support preventive maintenance (PM) tasks in all types of power plants for common major components. This paper describes and demonstrates the PM basis products which have been developed by EPRI to provide the utility user with an essential reference for PM tasks and intervals for 45 component types. These products also provide in-depth technical basis information to adapt the PM tasks and intervals to plant conditions. Data for each component type embodies all the PM tasks, intervals, task objectives and scope, and the most important influences on equipment degradation and maintenance for that specific component. The data were developed by expert groups of utility maintenance and vendor personnel, who provided information on equipment degradation and PM options in workshop sessions. The EPRI PM basis products consist of, 1) 40 published reports and a project overview report, 2) a stand-alone Access 97 database, 3) a web-site hosting a server-based version which permits use of the database, and feedback of utility PM experience, 4) a PM basis working group of about a dozen utilities, and 5) documentation and training materials. The electronic databases contain an integrated application guideline which provides state-of-the-art guidance on technical decision making to support a PM program. These topics include use of the database to, 1) evaluate PM tasks and task intervals, 2) improve predictive maintenance usage, 3) make decisions on task deferrals, 4) provide source material for as-found condition reporting and evaluation, 5) provide completeness checks on failure cause evaluation, and 6) to conduct quick PM assessments at a plant. The showcase of the web site application is the vulnerability analysis tool which analyzes the complete set of recommended tasks and intervals, shows the overall effectiveness with which each degradation mechanism is addressed by each task, and summarizes the extent and depth of protection afforded by the PM program. The evaluation can be repeated for any subset of the recommended tasks with user-defined intervals, and alerts the user to gaps in the coverage, and the potential effect on reliability. (author)