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
Hover or arrow-key across the trace to read any interval. The flagged point is the one that started the conversation.
| 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 |
The published totals are the figures in the proof register, with their sources. The interval shape is drawn from the same period and is flagged as such in the dataset.
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.”
The flow signature gave us a way to see that degradation while the pump was still operating.
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.
The established baseline gave the changing trace a reference, and the alert brought that difference to our attention.
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.”
That warning let maintenance choose when to replace the diaphragm.
The lesson
“This is what monitoring buys you. Not the repair, the timing.”
Nothing about the repair changed. Only when it happened.
Keeping the replacement on a planned stop meant the work could happen without interrupting production.
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
Where to go next
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