Implementation of a Reliability-Centered Maintenance Plan for Fire-Tube Boilers: A Case Study in the Textile Industry

Authors

Keywords:

Maintenance Plan, RCM, Reliability, Fire-Tube Boilers, Textile Industry

Abstract

Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) application in steam systems aims to prevent potential failures by understanding their causes and consequences and determining necessary actions to preserve physical assets. The textile company frequently experiences unplanned stoppages due to steam boiler failures. This study proposes implementing an RCM plan to optimize the maintenance program for fire-tube boilers. A criticality analysis of boiler area equipment was conducted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Failure modes and effects were assessed, and the Risk Weighting Number (RWN) was calculated. Maintenance tasks were assigned using the RCM diagram based on the RWN value. The reliability block diagram of the boiler system was designed, and optimal time intervals were determined using the Weibull distribution for critical components. The literature review found no prior studies applying RCM to fire-tube boilers in the textile industry. The proposed maintenance plan's reliability, availability, and economic viability were assessed in a case study, showing a 16.15% increase in reliability and a 0.004% increase in availability. Additionally, annual maintenance cost savings of up to 27.54% could be achieved. This novel RCM methodology optimizes fire-tube boiler maintenance plans, overcomes classical model limitations, and underscores the importance of reliability analysis for effective preventive maintenance, with potential applications to other systems in the textile industry.

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Author Biographies

Erick Mejia-Portillo, Universidad Don Bosco

Erick Mejia-Portillo obtained his engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Central American University Jose Simeon Cañas (UCA), El Salvador, in 2007 Then, in co-titling of the Central American University Jose Simeon Cañas (UCA) and Don Bosco University, he obtained a Master's degree in Industrial Maintenance Management, in 2023. From February 2007 to December 2007, he held the position of maintenance assistant. From 2008 to 2010 he held the position of Workshop Manager, then from 2011 to 2012 he held the position of Maintenance Manager. Since 2012, he has held the position of Regional Workshop Maintenance and Logistics Manager in the Dept. of Machinery Base at RSBO.

Sofia Guevara-Barrera, Universidad Don Bosco

Sofia Guevara-Barrera obtained her engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA), El Salvador, in 2019. Later, in 2024, she earned a Master's degree in Industrial Maintenance Management, jointly awarded by UCA and Universidad Don Bosco. From January 2019 to December of the same year, she served as a Mechanical Maintenance Assistant in various hydroelectric power plants owned by the Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctrica del Río Lempa "CEL". Since January 2020 to the present date, she has been working as a Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor within the same institution.

Juan Aguilar-Rosa, Universidad Don Bosco

Juan Aguilar-Rosa obtained his minor degree in Aircraft Maintenance Technician from Don Bosco University (UDB), in 2015. Subsequently he got his Engineering degree in Electrical engineering at the same institution in 2020. Then, in co-titling of the Central American University José Simeón Cañas (UCA) and Don Bosco University he obtained a Master´s degree in Industrial Maintenance Management, in 2023. From November 2021 to December 2022 he held the position of Electrical Maintenance Supervisor at CASW in the Engineering Department. From January 2023 to January 2024 he held the position of Maintenance Engineer for YKK El Salvador and from February to date he has been promoted to Industrial Proyect Especialist in the Facilities Maintenance Department.

Yakdiel Rodriguez-Gallo, Don Bosco University

Yakdiel Rodríguez-Gallo is a scientist specializing in Biomedical, Telecommunications, Electronics, and Artificial Intelligence. He holds a Doctorate of Science (2019), a Master's degree in Telematics (2013), and an Engineering degree in Telecommunications and Electronics (2009, with honors) from the Central University of Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba. From 2016 to 2020, he served as an Associate Professor at UCLV. During 2018-2019, he collaborated with Otto-von-Guericke University in Germany through a DAAD scholarship. He later worked as a project manager at Add-Solution GmbH in Germany. Currently, he is a Research Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Don Bosco University, El Salvador. His research interests include Agriculture 4.0, artificial intelligence, precision agriculture, image processing, medical imaging, remote sensing, and statistical analysis. Dr. Rodríguez-Gallo received the Young Scientist Award from the Latin American Association of Medical Physics (ALFIM) in 2017, the Scientific Research Award from the Cuban Academy of Sciences in 2019, and IOP Trusted Reviewer status in 2023. He is a senior member of the IEEE El Salvador section and serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals listed in the Journal Citation Report.

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Published

2025-01-08

How to Cite

Mejia-Portillo, E., Guevara-Barrera, S. ., Aguilar-Rosa, J. ., & Rodriguez-Gallo, Y. (2025). Implementation of a Reliability-Centered Maintenance Plan for Fire-Tube Boilers: A Case Study in the Textile Industry. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 23(2), 104–113. Retrieved from https://latamt.ieeer9.org/index.php/transactions/article/view/9225

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2025): Ordinary Issue

Section

Computing