Outage Management

At Proconex, we do a lot more than repairs. First of all, our portfolio of valves and control devices is second to none. We service and repair Fisher valves, of course, but also dozens of other brands. In addition, the technicians at our warehouse in Royersford, PA, coupled with our team of safety valve experts at our Swedesboro, NJ facility, NEPA gas team, and Emerson facilities, allow us to supply hard-to-find mechanical experts at the right time—all through Proconex—and managed by our outage experts.

Before every walkdown, we have a kick-off meeting to introduce all the players and get them comfortable with the full team expertise we bring to the table. We have so many Subject Matter Experts at Proconex that we are careful to impress and inform, not overwhelm, our customers.

We meet with the customer to clarify scope, and also perform a plant walkdown. This is where we try to get as much information about what we’ll be doing as possible. For example, there could be situations where the equipment is staying inline and we need to repair it while we’re there. We need to observe the condition of the valves and determine how we’re going to access them. Safety is also a top priority. We determine the safest way to work onsite including building scaffolding ahead of our mechanical work.

We create a proposal where the scope of work is clearly defined. We also provide a timeline and rough schedule. At that time, we create a list of what’s going to be pulled or repaired during the outage and how long it will be with Proconex for repairs.

Technical execution begins once the proposal is approved. Next, parts, supplies, and manpower are ordered. Some pieces will be repaired, and others replaced. Some customers kit everything and have to receive parts at their facility; other parts are shipped to one of our repair centers at Proconex. We can provide pickup and delivery, as well, to help with time constraints and overall convenience. We manage the status of every item, and while complex, it is a fluid and dynamic process up to the actual start date. All of our technicians working on the project are badged, complete their safety training, and meet the customer’s foremen before beginning work. We want no hiccups and make sure one or two leads from Proconex are available onsite at all times.

Our primary goal is to ensure everything is ordered, repaired, replaced, and reinstalled; however, customers often compliment us on the condition we leave their facility. Our objective is to clean up as if we were never there. This is a reflection of our work ethic at Proconex. We also conduct a post-outage review, including what was accomplished or not, and make a note of what may have to move to the next outage.

One of the diagnostic tools we often utilize is the FlowScanner 6000, a powerful valve diagnostic tool that can help evaluate the performance of all makes and models of control valves—accurately and efficiently. A highly portable field test instrument, the FlowScanner 6000 is ideally suited for process plant conditions. There’s no need to remove or disassemble the valves for testing. We simply hook up the FlowScanner 6000 to your valves to evaluate the valve’s operating condition and identify any corrective actions that might be required.