Monitoring Manual Valve Positions: A strategic advantage towards a safer, more reliable and productive future in oil & gas, storage terminals and chemical processing

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Monitoring the open and close position of manual valves is a critical practice across various industries like oil & gas, storage terminals or chemical processing to ensure safety, efficiency, and compliance. Accurate valve positioning helps prevent accidents, optimize system performance, and reduce operational downtime. By integrating manual valve monitoring into operations, organizations can enhance safety, minimize maintenance costs, and meet regulatory requirements while ensuring smooth and reliable processes.

With new technologies enabling remote monitoring through IoT, you can now manage valve positions more effectively than ever before. Leading companies like BASF, Shell, DOW, and Chevron are setting the standard by incorporating Aloxy valve position sensors into their engineering practices. Accurate valve positioning helps prevent accidents, optimize system performance, and reduce operational downtime, making it an essential step toward enhancing safety and reliability in modern operations.

The number of use cases are tremendous, every site has thousands of manual valves and monitoring these can be valuable for different reasons.

Here is what we hear from these customers when implementing the Aloxy manual valve sensor solution:

1. Operational Safety

• Prevent accidents: Incorrect valve positions can lead to leaks, overpressurization, or unintended flow, causing safety hazards.
• Emergency response: Knowing the valve position ensures faster response during emergencies, minimizing risks.
• Isolation assurance: For maintenance or repair work, ensuring valves are properly closed or open can prevent accidental exposure to hazardous materials.

2. System Efficiency

• Ensure proper flow: Accurate valve positions are crucial for maintaining optimal flow rates, reducing energy consumption, and ensuring system efficiency.
• Avoid production downtime: Misaligned valves can disrupt operations, leading to costly delays.

3. Compliance and Regulations

• Meet industry standards: Many industries require valve position monitoring to comply with safety and environmental regulations.
• Audit readiness: Documented valve positions demonstrate compliance with operational and safety protocols during inspections.

4. Preventive Maintenance

• Detect wear and tear: Continuous monitoring helps identify valves that may not be functioning properly due to wear, corrosion, or damage.
• Schedule timely repairs: Tracking usage patterns allows predictive maintenance, reducing the likelihood of failures.

5. Remote and Automated Operations

• Reduce manual errors: Automation reduces the dependency on human intervention and the associated risk of incorrect positioning.
• Enable remote monitoring: In industries like oil & gas or chemical processing, remote monitoring ensures operational control even in hazardous or hard-to-access locations.

6. Process Optimization

• Avoid cross-contamination: In systems handling different fluids or gases, incorrect valve positions can cause contamination, reducing product quality.
• Support system diagnostics: Monitoring positions helps troubleshoot flow issues or inefficiencies.

7. Cost Savings

• Minimize losses: Accurate valve positioning prevents wastage of materials and reduces operational inefficiencies.
• Lower maintenance costs: Early detection of issues reduces the need for major repairs or replacements.

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In conclusion, monitoring manual valve positions is not just a safety measure but a strategic advantage that drives operational excellence. By ensuring proper flow control, reducing risks, and optimizing maintenance, item powers refineries, storage terminals and chemical plants to enhance efficiency, minimize costs, and maintain compliance. Investing in robust valve monitoring systems is a smart step toward a safer, more reliable, and productive future. Aloxy helps you from start to finish to make your use case a success.

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Download our case study to find out more or book a meeting with your local representative.

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