Premature Failures of Machinery, Equipment & Pressure Part - Contract Re-evaluation to Recover Cost & Performance

Boiler’s Pressure parts along with related Machinery, Refractory, other Equipment should give effective performance individually & collectively to produce desired contractual obligations

Most of the time, Contractually, Boiler is guaranteed for ≥ 20 years of safe & reliable operation without any pressure part failures / troubles, if maintained as per OEM guideline

Practically, Pressure Part tube failures, Equipments failures take place within few month / year of operation, while ample allowances are considered in design

During my Commissioning Experience, I understand that Most of the pressure part failures happen due to Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC), Circulation disturbances, Imbalance flow, Restriction in Thermal Expansion, Faulty Design etc

As per my knowledge, customer never get the correct & exact Root Cause Analysis. Reasons for failures are presented in bunch of suspect cause, most of them are diverted on customer’s negligence & mistakes

Remember that, If customer is able to prove that Premature failures are mainly due to faulty design / inadequate engineering. Contractual obligation & Guarantees shall support you always to get re-engineering / replacement / modification for the period ≥ 20 years

We indirectly appreciate the FREE replacement / FREE services / FREE support by the OEM, But Actually, it is a process of hiding the Defects / Faulty Designs / Poor Workmanship & Quality and finally silently neutralize Contractual obligation

After the Defect Liability Period is over, all the existing defects are Plant’s Personnel Liability & Responsibilities

In BOILER COMMISSIONING ACTIVITY, Customer avoid interfering and OEM is free to manage all defects & later it is transferred to customer

Quality Defects, Poor workmanship & Poor Material defects hide under the layer of Insulation

Specific details, process parameters & critical checks are not highlighted by OEM to get customer signed on protocol

Improper Handling & Storage, Un-clear flushing completion criteria, Ignorance of Boiler preservation after hydraulic test, Imperfect Leak test, Improper setting of Spring supports on Cold & Hot load, Water Ingress in Insulation before & after application etc

In Refractory Dry Out activity, Refractory application areas may not contain temperature sensor in required location

In Alkali Boil-out activity, Boiler Blow-down started from initial phase without adding chemicals. Activity may complete without testing of Iron, Phosphate, Oil & Grease. If Alkali boil-out results are not coming out to be favorable for OEM, long time boiler blow-down technique is used by OEM to replace boiler drum water with feed water to meet the desired results

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