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Evaluation of Maintenance Strategies Employed on the Critical Electromechanical Equipment in Sasol Synfuels Catalyst Preparation Unit

Evaluation of Maintenance Strategies Employed on the Critical Electromechanical Equipment in Sasol Synfuels Catalyst Preparation Unit
	© 2025 by IJETT Journal
	Volume-73 Issue-10
	Year of Publication : 2025
	Author : Pretty Maphosa, Patrick Nziu
	DOI : 10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I10P117

How to Cite?
Pretty Maphosa, Patrick Nziu,"Evaluation of Maintenance Strategies Employed on the Critical Electromechanical Equipment in Sasol Synfuels Catalyst Preparation Unit", International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, vol. 73, no. 10, pp.203-226, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I10P117

Abstract
Each industry and equipment is unique, as the product streams differ, as well as layouts and operation variables, to name a few. However, turnaround management is the most used strategy in the petrochemical industry. Equipment downtime remains the biggest challenge; thus, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the current maintenance practices used on the critical electromechanical equipment in the Sasol Synfuels Catalyst Preparation Unit. Data was collected from the SAP system database, from which the breakdown of work orders was obtained for the period from January 2016 to June 2021. The data was collected for each of the 13 electromechanical equipment identified in the catalyst preparation unit. A theoretical distribution was drawn after that to assess the effectiveness of the current maintenance strategy compared to the identified key performance indicators. The theoretical distribution analysis was used to determine the plant utilization, availability, and maintenance cost. The results concluded that the plant utilization is above the prescribed parameter of 90%. All 12 pieces of equipment had utilization results above 90% except for the arc furnace on the western unit, which resulted in 86.57%.

Keywords
Maintenance, Evaluation, SAP system database, Mean Time To Repair (MTTR), Availability, Maintenance cost, Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF).

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