Closed Drain Transfer Pump Failure Analysis using Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) Method

Abstract

Maintenance is a process carried out to maintain the reliability of individual/group assets. Positive displacement type pumps are commonly used in closed drainage systems as transfer pumps in oil and gas processing plants. However, there are times when the pump fails which requires further effort to prevent the failure from recurring. Efforts that can be made to overcome this are using the method of Analysis of the Root Failure (Root Cause Failure Analysis). The RCFA method uses recollection of evidence related to design, procurement, and operation of a tool to find root causes and latent causes of problems. As a result of gaps found between the design process, procurement which leads to the root cause of pump failure, this study recommends pump-operating companies to pay more attention to piping installation to support pump performance and coordination between owner, design, and procurement to prevent this failure from recurring.