By Richard Wilson, Service Director, Woodcock & Wilson
From small process fans to large extraction fans, whether they are used in the woodworking, food processing or other areas of the bulk and solids handling industries, all companies that operate industrial fans should be aware of the importance of having this vital machinery regularly maintained and serviced.
Too many companies fail to keep up with regular maintenance and servicing requirements, but they soon learn that the age-old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ is as accurate as ever. After all, why would anyone neglect a piece of equipment that is critical to the smooth running of their business?
Depending on its application an industrial fan can have a life span of more than forty years, during which time numerous potential problems can occur. Dirt can collect on the impeller, for instance, throwing the fan out of balance, and the bearings and motor can fail.
Should a fan unexpectedly break down, as well as the danger from critical failure of rotating parts, there is also the additional cost associated with repair and lost production time.
Regular servicing and maintenance can prolong the life of a fan, whilst neglecting to maintain and service a fan on a regular basis can lead to serious health and safety issues.
Companies have a responsibility to maintain a clean working environment, take measures to reduce emissions, avoid accidents and consider all the environmental impacts of their work.
Use of fans in the woodworking and waste management industries
One industry that uses a large number of industrial fans is woodworking, in order to remove dust from the workplace. Health and safety regulations stipulate that there must be dust extraction systems at woodworking machines to remove the dust and wood chippings before they can be breathed in.
It is the employer’s duty to keep extraction and collection systems maintained to ensure they continue to work efficiently. If a fan breaks down it can put one or more woodworking machines out of action because they fail to meet extraction regulations.
Annual fan service and maintenance is a vital plant maintenance function in the woodworking industry. Often carried out during shut down periods, fan maintenance can be done quickly and efficiently and does not have to interfere with production output.
It is laws relating to health and safety, pollution prevention and control that dominate the running of companies in other industry sectors too. Waste management and recycling in the food industry, for example, involves the correct handling of gases, fumes, dust, dirt and odours.
A number of heavy duty industrial fans would normally be in use to control emissions and prevent pollution in this kind of working environment. Again, to stay in business and keep the fans working, regular servicing and maintenance is essential. It’s surprising how quickly things can start to go wrong once you stop servicing fans and businesses can’t afford to have their fans out of action for long periods.
Another important reason to keep up with the maintenance programme is that a badly maintained fan can be noisy and vibrate which causes an uncomfortable working environment for employees, a situation that could potentially breech Noise and Vibration Legislation.
What does a typical service involve?
Regular on-site maintenance and servicing by experienced engineers can help to detect and prevent faults to all types of industrial fans, reducing the risk of breakdown, saving time and money as well as ensuring the life expectancy of the machine is maintained.
A typical service takes a full day and normally involves:
- inspecting the overall condition of fans
- inspecting fan bearings for wear and re-greasing or replacing where necessary
- inspecting, adjusting or replacing drive belts on belt driven fans
- inspecting and checking alignment of couplings on direct coupled fans and replacing couplings if necessary
- removing access doors and checking impeller for wear or damage
- test running fans and monitoring vibration levels.
It is recommended that companies enlist the support of a fan servicing company that employs qualified engineers who understand the construction principles of fan manufacture and design, as this experience allows them to draw on their in-house expertise when inspecting fans on site – crucial when fault-finding and problem solving.
In order to maintain a competitive edge, more and more companies from a wide range of industries are realising the real and tangible benefits of having a contract maintenance and repair service for their fans, enabling them to maintain and maximise production performance levels at all times.
Being energy efficient
The process industry, like every other area of industry, also has a responsibility to consider the environmental impact of its work. Businesses and other organisations are increasingly focusing on ways to minimise energy usage.
A regularly serviced and well maintained fan is by definition an energy efficient piece of machinery and neglecting to have fans serviced could impact on a company’s ability to meet its environmental targets.
Companies that use industrial fans can achieve significant energy savings by having high efficiency electric motors fitted when the regular service is carried out.
Electric motors account for as much as 65% of electric consumption in industry. Over its lifetime a motor can cost 100 times more to run than it did to buy which is an excellent reason to take energy saving seriously.
Motors are classified according to their energy efficiency. The most energy efficient 15KW motor operating for 6,000 hours per year driving a water pump can provide an energy saving of 4MWh each year when compared to the least efficient motor.
A typical medium-sized plant with 149 motors rated between 0.37 and 132kW could save around 3.4% of the annual cost of electricity for its motors by upgrading to the most efficient motors. Even greater savings are possible when energy efficient motors are used in conjunction with variable speed drives. And there are also financial incentives on offer from the government for being energy efficient. See www.eca.gov.uk for details of a scheme which provides tax and other incentives.
As well as energy savings high efficiency motors provide other excellent benefits. The use of superior materials makes for cooler operation, which means a longer life expectancy and higher reliability with less maintenance. Operating at lower temperatures also means that the motors can be fitted with smaller fans, resulting in lower noise levels.
By reducing their energy consumption and costs, businesses can boost their
competitiveness. At the same time they are also contributing to efforts to protect the environment by helping to reduce overall CO2 emissions. If high efficiency motors were used throughout Europe, energy savings equivalent to the output of several large power stations could be realised, with a dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions.
To sum up, the advantages of having your fans serviced regularly are:
- Regular servicing and maintenance enables you to comply with Health and Safety regulations and extraction regulations, maintain a clean working environment and reduce emissions.
- You can save money by keeping your fans in good repair. A well maintained fan is also more energy efficient and means you avoid the added costs of repairing badly damaged and worn machinery. Remember, things can go wrong quickly when you stop servicing your fans. Servicing can be done quickly and efficiently.
- Using a fan servicing company which employs qualified engineers who understand the construction principles of fan manufacture and design means you get a better quality, better value service.
- Setting up a repair and servicing contract gives you full security, allows your business to be more competitive and maximise production.
- If you minimise your energy use and have high efficiency electric motors fitted to your fans you can take advantage of tax incentives designed to benefit those who are energy efficient.
Woodcock & Wilson Limited
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
Can be contacted on
Tel: 01484 462777
Fax: 01484 462888
Email: service@fanmanufacturers.com
Web: www.fanmanufacturers.com
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