Course: BFM 203 Water Treatment and Control

Lecture

(13/13)

Plant Maintenance

Every plant should have a maintenance program that is designed to ensure continuing satisfactory operation of the treatment plant facilities under a variety of operating conditions. All plants should have written instructions for the operation and maintenance of all plant equipment. These instructions are often referred to as the "O&amp;M Manual." This manual is the basis for writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) and for developing a maintenance program for each process and piece of equipment.

Planning and scheduling efforts should define the specific maintenance tasks to be performed and the time intervals for performing each task. When planning, consider routine procedures, special procedures, necessary skills, special tools and equipment required, and availability of parts.

A good maintenance program will include records management, spare parts management, cost and budget analysis and control, emergency repair procedures, and a comprehensive training program. Remember that better preventive maintenance leads to less corrective maintenance. Regular observation of each piece of equipment, while in operation, may allow the operator to identify irregular operation before further damage occurs. Redundancy in equipment and controls allows for isolation and maintenance of one part of the system while operation of another continues uninterrupted.