The 3 kEys 

• Develop a planned maintenance regime and stick with it.  For every dollar of deferred maintenance, a facility is forced to spend four dollars at some point in time, to rectify what breaks as a result. 

• Instrumentation and control systems play a vital role in heat exchanger maintenance. Temperature monitoring should track shell-side and tube-side outlet temperatures for each exchanger, as well as fluid temperatures at the entry point of the network.  

• Consider advanced technological tools—such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations—and their role in optimizing heat exchanger design and performance.  Stay abreast with the newer technologies coming online, as many are not expensive, and provide ROIs that are significant, given the amount of energy a heat exchanger consumes. 

A well-structured and proactive maintenance plan is essential for maximizing the efficiency and l...