10 Things You Won't KNO Without a FLO-System Model

Serious engineers don’t run mission-critical applications on an Excel spreadsheet. 

Piping systems are a major asset for your business, so why don’t you use a mission-critical quality application to tell you what’s really going on as it’s operating?  Here are ten things a piping FLO-system model provides to increase your facilities uptime, while reducing costs:

1.)  Gain a clear picture of system changes

Change is the only constant in piping systems. From the preliminary design until the facility is retired from service, these systems are always changing. A FLO-system model chronicles system operation for everyone involved throughout the life of the system. Using the system’s as-built data and as-operated input, the system model provides everyone with “believable-to-me” results.

2.) Provide safer system operation

It’s impossible to think of everything. That’s why solving the problems caused by unintended consequences takes so much time. With a piping FLO-system model, you gain a clear picture of system operation and discover the reason(s) for those unintended consequences. More importantly, you can develop and test the best solution to those problems.

3.)  Improve operator training by simulating system operations

Experience is a good school, but the fees are high. By using a piping FLO-system model, everyone can gain experiences from it without the high cost of failure that you pay by learning from mistakes.

4.)  Optimize the utilization of installed equipment

Is it better to improve what you have, or to get something new?  With a piping FLO-system model, you can discover the current cost of system operations and look for ways to improve efficiency.

5.)  Identify system bottlenecks

Rather than add more equipment to the system, look for ways to improve the process.  The piping FLO-system model shows where energy is consumed, and which items need attention.

6.)  Troubleshooting systems

All equipment wears out over time. The key is discovering the source of the problem before it affects the quality of your product.  Using the piping FLO-system model, you can compare the as-built design to the way the system is operating.  More importantly, you can track down the reasons for the problem(s) and determine the best way to make repairs or improvements.

7.)  Identify chronic bad actors in operating equipment

Manufacturers very seldom make bad equipment. The problem usually lies in poor choices for their application.  Changes in your product or process can cause problems that are often blamed on “bad actors.”  Using a piping FLO-system model, you can determine if the equipment is operating as designed, or if changes in the process are causing the problems. Again, more importantly, you can identify the best option to discover and correct the underlying problem.

8.)  Trim 25% or more off your facility’s electrical power bill

Industrial and commercial facilities spend 25% to 65% of their electrical power to drive pumps, yet 45% of the pumping energy can be saved by improving their piping systems.  The key is finding the money.  The piping FLO-system model shows you how energy consumed by the pump is used in the system.  Equipped with this insight, you can look for ways to use the energy more efficiently and save money.

9.)  Reduce time needed for system commissioning

During commissioning, the equipment is switched on and operated as a system for the first time.  The goal of the commissioning step is to prove that the system is operating as designed and reduce the possibility of unintended consequences. The piping FLO-system model simulates how each item of equipment will operate together as a total system.  More importantly, it provides that information early enough for you to make corrections before the system is fully called into operation.

10.)  Base maintenance practices on equipment condition instead of time

In life there are two certainties, death, and taxes.  For equipment there is only one: over time, it will wear out.  On the plus side, all equipment obeys the laws of physics.  The piping FLO-system model uses as-built and as-operated data to simulate how all the items of equipment work together as a system.  It lets you compare how the system operates against its original design, instead of waiting for the equipment to fail, or checking it based on time.

Improve productivity, safety, operator training, and system performance. Save money and time. Those are the benefits of an intelligent, piping FLO-system model, and why it’s superior to simple spreadsheets.

As we say at PIPE-FLO:

Spreadsheets DON’T KNO…better to KNO w/the FLO.