Root Cause Analysis for Positive Displacement Pumps

Specialized Root Cause Analysis programs for Positive Displacement Pump Reliability & Maintenance.

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47% Reduction in unplanned downtime

85% Faults detected before failure

3-6mo Average fault lead time

5:1 Typical program ROI

Why it matters

Key Benefits

Repeat Failure Elimination

Structured root cause analysis of positive displacement pumps failures identifies the physical, human, and systemic causes behind failures of the plungers, diaphragms, check valves, and packing. Addressing root causes eliminates repeat failures rather than simply replacing broken parts.

Corrective Action Effectiveness

RCA for positive displacement pumps produces specific, measurable corrective actions with assigned owners and completion dates. Tracking corrective action implementation ensures that investigation findings translate into actual reliability improvements.

Organizational Learning

Documenting RCA findings for positive displacement pumps failures creates a knowledge base that prevents similar failures across the fleet. Sharing lessons learned across sites and equipment types multiplies the value of each investigation.

Context

Challenge & Approach

The Reliability Challenge

Progressive cavity pump stator failures are often attributed to normal wear when the root cause is dry running, excessive temperature, or media incompatibility with the elastomer. Gear pump seizures blamed on bearing failure may actually originate from system overpressure caused by downstream blockages. Diaphragm ruptures attributed to fatigue may stem from chemical attack that weakened the diaphragm material. Relief valve failures that allow system overpressure are frequently overlooked as contributing factors to pump component damage.

Our Approach

We preserve all failed components including stators, rotors, gears, diaphragms, check valves, and relief valves for detailed examination. Elastomer samples from failed stators are sent for material compatibility testing against the actual process media. Operating data—suction pressure, discharge pressure, flow rate, motor current, and temperature—is analyzed for excursions beyond design limits. We review maintenance records for recent work that may have introduced errors, such as incorrect stator fit, wrong rotor geometry, or improper torque on bolted joints. Fault trees map all possible failure paths. The RCA report documents the failure chronology, physical evidence findings, root cause determination, and corrective actions with measurable verification criteria.

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Root Cause Analysis for Positive Displacement Pumps

Key Benefits

Repeat Failure Elimination

Corrective Action Effectiveness

Organizational Learning

Challenge & Approach

The Reliability Challenge

Our Approach

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