When a longtime client decided to make major changes to their existing dry product handling system, Omni was slated to handle the controls for the new process. Demand for the company’s product was increasing rapidly, and these upgrades were desperately needed. The project quickly became far more complicated, however, when it became apparent that new pneumatic control valves wouldn’t be available for another 5-6 months due to ongoing supply chain problems, and locating and refurbishing used valves would be their best alternative. Omni’s challenge would be integrating the old parts with the new system.
To find the used valves, the client contacted a dry product equipment contractor they’d worked with before. An exhaustive search turned up five used control valves of varying age and condition, and all were in desperate need of refurbishment. When the cleaned and repainted valves arrived on-site, however, it quickly became apparent that the valves were intended for indoor use, not outdoors where they would be installed at this facility. Also, the actuator, limit switches, and solenoid valves were all in poor condition and nearly unusable; if they did work, it would only be for a short while. Omni Instrumentation & Electrical Services was called in to figure out how to make these old valves compatible with the system and work like new.
The Omni team’s first step was to photograph all of the parts’ model and serial numbers, but many were faded, worn, or rusted and couldn’t be read. We worked with several manufacturers, and it took a bit of legwork to finally identify them. Many turned out to be obsolete, and we needed to order newer hardware in most cases. The items were quick-shipped where possible. The new actuators, limit switches, and solenoids were mounted with some effort and ingenuity. This was followed by testing everything at ground level, as they were to be installed 20-25 feet in the air and fixing problems after the fact would be costly and result in delays.
Between locating and reconditioning the used parts and investigating to find compatible controls, the project was completed within a three-week time period as opposed to the months it would have taken if they’d waited for new control valves. In the end, everything worked flawlessly and the client was extremely satisfied with the results.
About Omni
Omni Instrumentation & Electrical Services, Inc., located in New Jersey and Maryland, is a premier instrumentation and electrical contractor, providing superior total care solutions since 1986. Services include instrument installation, tubing installation, instrument calibration, control loop testing, startup and commissioning, power and lighting, process control wiring, BMS wiring, telecommunications and data wiring, fire alarm wiring, security wiring, process network wiring, and control panel fabrication. Omni Instrumentation & Electrical Services, Inc., is certified in Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus, DeviceNet and ASI-Bus installation.
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