Case Study: Offshore Oil Platform achieves stable pump operation and extended pump life with GE Digital

Unstable Pump Operation Identified At An Offshore Oil Platform

Offshore Oil Platform faced unstable operation of a water‑injection pump when GE Digital’s SmartSignal solution detected rising bearing vibrations on both the drive end and non‑drive end—peaking at about 33 µm versus a model estimate of ~15 µm. GE Digital’s Industrial Performance & Reliability Center (IPRC) added the anomaly to its weekly report and identified the root cause as the pump being operated below the minimum continuous stable flow (MCSF) while running at low discharge flow.

GE Digital, using SmartSignal and complementary Bently Nevada software, worked with the customer to increase the pump’s recycle flow; after the change the bearing vibrations returned to the model estimate (~15 µm), reducing abnormal vibration levels and helping to extend the pump’s service life.