Case study
A failing diaphragm pump, caught before it failed
Predictive maintenanceWaterBreweries & Beverage
A transfer line's flow signature drifted, the alert fired, and the diaphragm was replaced on a schedule instead of during a shutdown.
We detected a changing flow signature on a Carlsberg Canada transfer line. Maintenance found a failing diaphragm and replaced it during a planned stop, with no production impact.
Client: Carlsberg Canada
What the data showed
Explore the chart to inspect the readings.
| Interval | Transfer line (L/min) |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 12 |
| 00:30 | 117 |
| 01:00 | 119 |
| 01:30 | 11 |
| 02:00 | 11 |
| 02:30 | 118 |
| 03:00 | 118 |
| 03:30 | 12 |
| 04:00 | 13 |
| 04:30 | 120 |
| 05:00 | 116 |
| 05:30 | 14 |
| 06:00 | 13 |
| 06:30 | 115 |
| 07:00 | 114 |
| 07:30 | 12 |
| 08:00 | 15 |
| 08:30 | 112 |
| 09:00 | 110 |
| 09:30 | 16 |
| 10:00 | 18 |
| 10:30 | 107 |
| 11:00 | 107 |
| 11:30 | 18 |
| 12:00 | 18 |
| 12:30 | 104 |
| 13:00 | 104 |
| 13:30 | 19 |
| 14:00 | 19 |
| 14:30 | 100 |
| 15:00 | 98 |
| 15:30 | 21 |
| 16:00 | 21 |
| 16:30 | 96 |
| 17:00 | 95 |
| 17:30 | 25 |
| 18:00 | 24 |
| 18:30 | 91 |
| 19:00 | 90 |
| 19:30 | 27 |
| 20:00 | 28 |
| 20:30 | 88 |
| 21:00 | 85 |
| 21:30 | 28 |
| 22:00 | 29 |
| 22:30 | 84 |
| 23:00 | 83 |
| 23:30 | 30 |
| Before | A flow signature drifting, unnoticed, toward a shutdown |
|---|---|
| After | A scheduled diaphragm replacement, no production impact |
Background
A pump that fails in the middle of a run takes the run with it. The same pump, changed on a planned stop three weeks earlier, costs a diaphragm and an hour.
At Carlsberg, the useful warning came from monitoring the transfer line while the pump was still operating.
The problem
The diaphragm’s gradual degradation showed up as a change in the flow pattern.
“Diaphragm pumps don’t fail all at once. They degrade. And when they degrade, the flow signature changes: subtle, gradual, invisible to the naked eye. But not to a sensor.”
How we found it
Flow monitoring on the transfer line, with the baseline and the flow signature tracked continuously in the dashboard, and alerting the moment the trace moved off baseline.
What changed
The alert gave maintenance time to arrange the replacement around a planned stop.
“We saw the pattern change on a Carlsberg transfer line. Flagged it. Maintenance found the diaphragm failing, not failed, failing. They replaced it. Scheduled. Orderly. No production impact.”
The lesson
“This is what monitoring buys you. Not the repair, the timing.”
Nothing about the repair changed. Only when it happened.
Source: Quantify Environmental monitoring record, reviewed with Carlsberg Canada.
What changed
Before
A flow signature drifting, unnoticed, toward a shutdown
After
A scheduled diaphragm replacement, no production impact
Scheduledreplacement
The pump was changed on a planned stop, with no production impact.
Source: Quantify Environmental monitoring record, reviewed with Carlsberg Canada
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