Issue & Importance
A project engineer at a chemical manufacturing plant depended on a particular brand of line blinds for pipeline isolation. Faced with sourcing challenges they opted to discontinue use.
In search of alternatives, they turned to another brand of line blinds, only to find it was too bulky for their needs. With small diameter piping and manifolds, they required a blinding solution that could blank quickly.
Line blinds serve the critical purpose of isolating lines to ensure complete downstream shut-off during repair or maintenance activities. However, the process of blanking a system involves spreading the pipeline with cheater bars, which can result in misalignment, damage to piping and vessels, and risk of physical injury to workers.
Once spread, a steel gasket plate is placed between two flanges on a pipeline system to provide absolute shut-off. The plate itself is heavy and challenging to remove, and this can be dangerous if hazardous materials are still present in the line.
Solution
Having experienced success with a previous SchuF Cam Set installation, our customer welcomed a presentation from our manufacturing partner showcasing SchuF products. Satisfied with the product’s past performance, the plant made the strategic decision to replace their existing line blinds with SchuF Cam Sets, thus initiating their Line Blind Replacement Program.
SchuF Cam Set Line Blind Valve Animation
SchuF manufacturers line blinds that are fast, safe, and easy to use. With no bolts to be loosened or removed, you can achieve an absolute positive safe shut-off in minutes. Positive isolation can be achieved in under a minute for smaller sizes and within 3 minutes for larger ones.
The Cam Set has an internal cam system that eliminates the need to spread body flanges or disrupt adjacent piping during spectacle plate changes. This prevents issues like misalignment, damage to piping and vessels, and potential physical harm to workers.
For plants with space constraints, SchuF also manufactures Cam-Slides that function in a similar way but require even less space to be operated.
Result
The chemical plant has since installed over 120+ SchuF Line Blinds. Replacing their previous line blinds with SchuF Cam Sets has resulted in quicker blanking operations, reducing downtime associated with maintenance activities alongside enhanced safety not having to use cheater bars.
Consequently, the facility now benefits from a blinding solution that not only ensures a faster swinging of the blind for isolating pipelines through ease of operation, but the blinds also adhere to the sizing constraints of their piping systems.
