Reducing Downtime and Improving Reliability for Emissions Certification Lab
November 12, 2010
Once we decided to go with Re-Sol, I was very confident in Peter's (Kaub) ability to provide a reliable solution for our fuel measurement.
Customer 2010
The Challenge
A large engine manufacturer's existing fuel systems, for their Emissions Certification Lab, was creating delays in the test schedule and increasing cost due to unscheduled downtime. "30 - 40% of the cell downtime was due to the fuel measurement system", resulting in an average of 10% monthly downtime. With the cells booked at 100% and non-flexible deadlines, this caused a cascading effect on costs and scheduling.
The Solution
In looking for a solution to their problems, the customer contacted Re-Sol to come in and evaluate their testing needs. Peter Kaub, President of Re-Sol, met with the emissions testing team and worked with them to provide the right solution for their testing needs. According to the Manager for the test cell, "Re-Sol definitely went above and beyond to keep us up and running"
The Re-Sol solution combined a coriolis flow meter for measurement along with a temperature-controlled fuel conditioning system. By locating the conditioning unit close to the engine, Re-Sol was able to reduce the fuel volume, which improves the response time of the measurement and the temperature control. This also improves vapor separation, while lowering the return pressure of the fuel. The system provides very accurate measurement to help meet the rigid EPA Compliant Certification for the cell, while also covering the large heavy-duty engines.
The Savings
Since installing the Re-Sol fuel measurement system in December of 2009, the customer has not had a single day of downtime related to the fuel measurement system, recovering up to $80,000 in annual billable cost for the test cells. Along with these savings is the reduction in overtime and disruptions of the schedule. "Less downtime allows us to execute our certification test plan more efficiently".
Future Outlook
Our customer is dedicated to building highly efficient engines and emissions systems that are among the cleanest in the world. They are confident that their partnership with Re-Sol will allow them to continue to be successful.