4,000% ROI Using TapRooT® RCA to Improve Process Reliability
A TapRooT® User Success Story
Written by Jeremy Esquivel of the Acrylates Area Reactor Trip Reduction Team
Challenge
Our Acrylates Area Oxidation Reactor was experiencing frequent unplanned shutdowns (trips) that were causing losses of large fractions of our plant capacity. Previous corrective actions seemed to have little lasting impact. Our challenge was to form a team of operators, mechanics, and an engineer and come up with ways to reduce and eventually eliminate these unnecessary shutdowns.
Action
A team was formed to study the problem. We decided that we needed better data (not conjecture) to study the reasons for the plant’s unreliability. We had heard about the TapRooT® System, and so the whole team attended a public 2-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Course.
After the course, we went back and started performing a root cause analysis of each reactor trip. Using the root cause information, we developed solid corrective actions for each problem. We also collected statistics (a rolling three-month average) about the causes of the shutdowns and looked into the Generic (systemic) Causes for the top three causes, and developed additional systemic corrective actions for these.
Results
In less than 12 months, we saw a constant, dramatic improvement in our plant reliability. Due to the reduction of the number of shutdowns and the estimated capacity available with improved reliability, we saved about $40 million in the first two years. These savings will continue to accumulate, so the total saved will be even more. We believe that in the first two years, the investment in TapRooT® RCA and the investigations produced over a 4,000% return (ROI).
Besides saving money, our team received the highest corporate award possible for these improvement efforts. It is easy to see why we believe learning and using the TapRooT® System is an excellent investment.
Learn More About Improving Reliability
Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting and TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis can help you improve equipment and process reliability. Learn to use these techniques in the 2-Day Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting & TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Course. CLICK HERE for upcoming public Equifactor® Course locations and dates.
Or CONTACT US to schedule a course at your site.
Learn even more about improving equipment reliability at the 2023 Global TapRooT® Summit being held at the Margaritaville Lake Resort, Near Houston, Texas, on April 26-28. As part of the Summit, there is an Equipment Reliability Best Practice Track that includes nine sessions packed with valuable reliability improvement information. For details about the nine sessions, CLICK HERE.
If you register for both the 2-Day Equifactor® Course on April 24-25 and the Global TapRooT® Summit on April 26-28, you will SAVE $300 OFF the course fee. To register for the course and the Summit, CLICK HERE.
If you have questions about Equifactor® Troubleshooting, TapRooT® RCA, or the Global TapRooT® Summit, feel free to call us at 865-539-2139.
Register for the FREE Equipment Reliability Network™ Newsletter
CLICK HERE to register for our monthly Equipment Reliability Network™ Newsletter to get more information about:
- Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting examples
- Root cause analysis of equipment failures
- Upcoming Equifactor & TapRooT® Courses
- Methods to improve asset reliability
- Human performance issues that cause maintenance problems
- Maintenance issues and solutions
- Equipment reliability suggested best practices from Heinz Bloch
- Preventing injuries during maintenance
