TROUBLE SHOOTING AND MAINTENAICE PRINCIPLES

Analysis and Scheduling of Maintenance Operations for a Chain of Gas Stations

Abstract

Maintenance is one of the central issues in operational activities, which involve any type of equipment.

In this paper we have considered analysis, modeling, and scheduling of preventive maintenance operations for
fuel dispensers in a chain of gas stations. A gas station company with more than 570 dispensers in more than
40 stations is considered and the maintenance problem is studied in detail. Operations research tools,
including maintenance models and linear programming, were used to establish optimum schedules for
preventive maintenance operations

Introduction

Complex equipment and devices used in any system constitute majority of the capital invested in industry.
Equipment is subject to deterioration with usage and time, and deterioration is often reflected in higher
operation costs and lower service quality. In order to keep operational costs down while maintaining good
service quality, preventive maintenance (PM) is often performed on a scheduled basis. The cost of
maintenance-related activities in industrial facilities has been estimated by Mobley [1] as 15–40% of total
operation costs and the trend toward increased automation has forced managers to pay even more attention
to maintain complex equipment and keep them in available state.

If the equipment is maintained only when it fails, it is called corrective maintenance (CM), while preplanned
maintenance is called preventive maintenance (PM).

Traditionally it is known that the probability of failure would increase as equipment is aged, and that it would
sharply decrease after a planned preventive maintenance (PM) is implemented. It is also desired to know the
type and the rate at which a preventive maintenance should be scheduled or the maintenance policy to be
implemented.

A gas station includes several facilities and equipment that need to be maintained.

In particular, dispensers (gasoline pumps), storage tanks, car wash equipment, and other ancillary equipment
need to be kept in operational condition for effective performance and profitable service. The first gasoline
pumps were developed in 1885 in Indiana by S. F. Bowser to be used for kerosene lamps and stoves. Later,
when the automobiles were invented, these pumps were improved and used by adding a hose and several
other safety measures.

A modern fuel dispenser is divided into two main parts, including

An electronic head
Electronic head contains an embedded computer, which controls the action of the pump, drives the pump’s
displays, and communicates with an indoor sales system.

A mechanical section.
The mechanical section, which is in a self-contained unit, has an electric motor, pumping unit, meters, pulsers,
and valves to physically pump and control the fuel flow.

There are many different variations of fuel dispensers in use today. The term “gas pump” is usually used as an
informal way to refer to a fuel dispenser.
In order to maintain functionality of a gas station, all equipment has to be maintained by preventive
maintenance at scheduled times or repairs when failures occur.

Every fuel dispenser is a combination of various small components and it is essential to ensure the appropriate
performance of each component for profitable and high quality service in a gas station. Typical maintenance
activities in a gas station include

1. Mechanical pumps, meters, and lubrication equipment repair,

2. Electronic dispenser and electronic control console repair,

3. Automated system repair including automatic tank gauging, release detection systems, and Point-of-
Sale systems,

4. (POS), price scanners, card readers, and communication links,

5. Tank system repair including: tanks, pumps, leak detectors, piping, hoses, and nozzles,

6. Car wash system and ancillary equipment maintenance and repairs.

Preventive maintenance (PM) programs are implemented to reduce annual repair costs and costs associated
with equipment downtime. While preventive maintenance and repair instructions of major equipments at gas
stations are specified by the manufacturers, it is difficult to find specific studies related to maintenance
analysis of such systems.

It is well known that equipment failures occur due to wear outs and random causes. Therefore, in the most
general way, maintenance operations are classified as corrective maintenance (CM) and preventive
maintenance (PM). There are some other variations of these maintenances. However, CM and PM are the
most general procedures in industry. Causes of random failures, which result in CM, are known when trouble
shooting and can/cannot be predicted. These types of failures occur even in new systems. However, wear out
failures occur by the usage of the equipment and as the time passes. These failures can be predicted and mean
time to failure can be estimated. PM operations are carried out before the expected failures. For example,
time to failure of a gear or a belt due to usage can be estimated and the time to change the component can be
specified.

Fault: It is a condition that causes the software/component/combination of components to fail to perform

its required function. Deviation from the desired output.

Error: Refers to difference between Actual Output and Expected output.

Failure: It is the inability of a system or component to perform required function according to its
specification.

While random failures cannot be eliminated totally, wear out failures can be eliminated by PM operations and
thus a reduction in CM can be achieved. The exact effects of PM operations in reducing CM frequency are
modeled and applied to various components in the selected system. System down time and productivity are
estimated before and after the introduction of PM.

Analysis of Preventive Maintenance Operations for Fuel Dispensers

It is well known that performing preventive maintenance at scheduled points in time before an asset loses
optimum performance can help in providing acceptable levels of operability in efficient and cost-effective
manners. As the preventive maintenance is increased, the need for corrective maintenance is reduced and
subsequently, the down time of the equipment will be reduced too. A study of rescheduling the preventive
maintenance was performed by analyzing the effect of increasing the preventive maintenance on the mean
time between failures.

The study was applied on the dispenser area for the three categories of high-, medium-, and low-failure
stations. The compound mean time between maintenance activities, MTBMmt, must be obtained by
combining the rates for corrective maintenance (CM) and preventive maintenance (PM) activities. Assuming
that the CM and PM activities are independent, the compound maintenance rate for CM and PM activities is
obtained by the adding the related rates. The following notations are used for the calculations:

 Corrective maintenance rate,

 Preventive maintenance rate,

 Mean time between corrective maintenance (this is also referred to as MTBF),

 Mean time between preventive maintenance.

PREVENTIVE ACTIONS OF RETAIL OUTLETS EQUIPMENTS

1. Electronics head
What to eliminate:
 Dust : this should be done with blower or soft brush ( no solvent)
 Corrosion printed boards can be cleaned with recommended solvents
 Partial contacts physical checks and conscious formation of plugs and sockets
 States of cable materials physical thorough check
 Proper closure of doors check for door seals and locks. And close properly after
maintenance.
2. Hydraulics cabinet
 Spilling
 Leakages
 Dust
 Loose bolts, screws and nuts
 Observe rotating parts
 Exposure of rubber material housing to weather and products
 All filters at every point
 Unit/system pressure pressure and flow rates
 Electrical cable arrangement, supply parameters cable connectors.
3. STP does not require a particular PM apart from checking around the fittings for leakages and
checking the pressure and flow rates
 TROUBLE SHOOTING ANALYSIS
Root cause analysis (RCA)

Root cause analysis (RCA) describes a wide range of approaches, tools, and techniques used to uncover causes
of problems. For engineers, this could be applied to failure analysis in engineering and maintenance

Within an organization, problem solving, incident investigation, and root cause analysis are all fundamentally
connected by three basic questions:

 What's the problem?

 Why did it happen?
 What will be done to prevent it from happening again, quality control problems, safety performance,
and computer systems or software analysis?

Useful Steps

Step 1: Identify Possible Causal Factors. During the situation analysis, the project team set the vision, identified
the problem and collected data needed to better understand the current situation. ...

Step 2: Identify the Root Cause. ...

Step 3: Identify Communication Challenges. ...

Step 4: Prioritize Communication Challenges.

Simple flow diagram of a pump system

For effective and efficient trouble shooting, a personnel should have a full picture of the failed/faulty system.
He must understand:

1. System/components arrangement flow

2. Product flow
3. Electrical flow
4. Signal flow

All systems are set up to “run” or “flow” so a broad and better understanding of the designed flow for system
will give more access to solving the system problems.
 Simple trouble shooting flow chart
 INPUTS----------SYSTEM---------OUTPUT
 OUTPUT----------SYSTEM---------INPUT

Every stage of the system has a precise parameter. For example at the junction box the must be 210-240vac
for a pump to be powered on.

Simple flow diagram of a pump system (Fault/failure finding flow)

ELECTRICAL SUPPLY SYSTEM

Electrical and Signal cablings SITE CONTROLLERS (ON SITE AND

REMOTELY)

A scenario study

Complaint: pump not dispensing

Here are some steps to taking action based on Root Cause Analysis:
1. Define the problem. Narrow down the fault/failure until it becomes specific
Step: Pump not dispensing can be
 Pump not powering up
 Pump not resetting
 Pump reset but motor not working
 Pump reset, motor working but no product delivery
Etc.
2. Collect data. Depending on the definition of fault/failure gather information
  When did it happen
 Has it happen before
 What was notice before the fault/failure
 Electrical data
 Dynamic flow of system and product

3. Ask why.
 One can get lucky as to get the root cause from people on ground , but on no condition should
assume its valid but should be a factor to assist your trouble shooting
4. Determine which factors are root causes and not just symptoms.
 Dig well with standard flow check and identify the defective component by simulation. Try to
run the system and check parameters at stages
5. Identify corrective actions.
 Identify the degree of fault/failure and embark on either temporary or permanent actions
6. Identify solutions that will help the problem from recurring and do not cause other problems.
 Check for other affected components that have contributed or might fail latter due to this
occurrence
7. Implement the solution.
 Execute repairs or replacement.

8. Test run: simulate the system flow and verify parameters at related points of check