A Case Study of GAMM (Graphical Analysis for Maintenance Management) Applied to Water Pumps in a Sewage Treatment Plant, Chile

This article presents a case for practical application of the GAMM method, which has been developed and published by the authors. The GAMM method supports decision making in the overall maintenance management, through the visualization and graphical analysis of data. In addition, it allows for the identification of anomalous behavior in the equipment analyzed, whether derived from its own operations, maintenance activities, improper use of equipment or even as a result of design errors in the equipment itself. As a basis for analysis, the GAMM method uses a nonparametric estimator of the reliability function using all historical data or, alternatively, part of the history, allowing it to perform an analysis even with limited available data. In the case study presented, the GAMM method has been used to analyze two existing equipment parts in a sewage treatment plant located in Chile. The equipment analyzed were two progressive cavity pumps (BCP) which are part of the industrial process in the treatment plant. Both pumps are the same make and model and subjected to the same maintenance program, but one had a higher failure rate compared to its counterpart. The application of the GAMM method has identified deficiencies in each of the pumps being studied, thus improving decision-making and problem-solving process related to the maintenance of the pumps. RCM methodology was used to draft a new maintenance plan. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.