Municipal Utilities

Operating personnel at a municipal power generating plant traditionally awarded contracts for the turbine lubricating oil filters to the low bidder. Southwestern Controls’ filter specialists shared with the City Engineer studies by the US Navy demonstrating that the low cost filter would be detrimental to the life of the turbines. On our recommendation, the plant evaluated a higher-quality, more expensive filter for the application.

 

The higher-quality filters greatly reduced turbine maintenance costs. This cost-saving measure was passed on to the plant’s customers, saving residents money on their electricity bills.

Municipal water systems use large check valves to prevent back flow. These valves receive a large shock load when closing, which damages the seal lip. The manufacturer wanted to redesign the valve with a shock absorber to minimize the shock load damage.

 

Southwestern Controls and another supplier assisted the manufacturer in determining optimal placement of the shock absorber onto the valve. Southwestern Controls personnel prototyped a template to locate the shock absorber on all subsequently modified valves.