Nowadays, in industrial environments and strategic infrastructures, equipment management relies on increasingly precise monitoring and proactive maintenance. Manual valves are often overlooked in terms of data collect and tracking, exposing them to higher risks of failure.
Adopting solutions like embedded sensors or portable actuators, combined with preventive maintenance practices, is crucial to ensure their reliability and their integration into modern equipment management systems (valve fleet).
Valve systems require particular attention to maintain their performance. Motorized valves, equipped with advanced sensors such as absolute position or torque sensors, allow for automated data collection via standard industrial protocols.
In contrast, manual valves, while essential, require technological solutions like portable actuators with integrated sensors to compensate for a management system still often limited to manual and periodic inspections. The absence of a uniform digital tracking system for valves can lead to major safety and operational continuity risks.
Motorized valves are designed to be remotely controlled and provide real-time data on their position, status, and performance. In contrast, manual valves rely on periodic physical inspections and manual recordings, creating a significant disparity in how these two types of equipment are managed.
The lack of digital tracking of manual valves can lead to:
➡️More frequent human errors: Manual recordings are prone to omissions or misinterpretation.
➡️Delayed interventions: Without real-time data, issues with manual valves may be detected too late, increasing the risks of accidents or failures.
➡️ Lack of traceability: It’s difficult to maintain an accurate historical record of actions performed on manual valves, complicating audits and performance analysis.
Neglecting manual valves can have serious consequences:
❗Risk of malfunction : A poorly positioned or damaged manual valve can disrupt an entire industrial process.
❗Regulatory non-compliance: In some sectors, such as the chemical or oil industries, inadequate equipment tracking can lead to sanctions.
❗Impact financier : An undetected failure of a manual valve can result in significant costs, whether in terms of repair, production downtime, or liability in case of an incident.
To reduce the risks associated with this imbalance, it is essential to rethink the management of manual valves.
Here are some solutions:
✅Preventive maintenance: Implement a regular exercise schedule for manual valves to ensure their proper functioning. This proactive approach, combined with the use of tracking tools, ensures better reliability and helps prevent blockages or potential failures.
The management of manual valves, too often neglected, represents a strategic lever to improve the reliability and performance of installations.
It helps extend their lifespan, reduce maintenance costs, and improve equipment availability. It’s an investment that pays off in the long term.
By investing in tracking and management tools, companies strengthen their safety and competitiveness.
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