The cartridge advantage

04 October, 2018

Inventory management

With numerous pumps across an industrial plant, a seal component inventory can be substantial and its management complex. A typical component seal would consist of at least six parts for a single and at least ten parts for a dual seal. In a recent survey of a refinery storeroom, over 1,500 parts bins were required for fewer than 700 pumps. By inventory stewardship accountants’ rules of thumb, inventory management costs between 5% and 20% of the inventory value annually. With such a complex inventory, stewardship costs are likely to be closer to 20%.

If a plant-wide cartridge seal strategy was adopted, the items held would reduce by approximately 85% and the overall stock value reduce by approximately 30%. With this simplification of the inventory portfolio, stewardship costs are likely to be at the lower end of the scale, around 5%, and further reductions could be achieved by a standardisation programme.

A properly installed component seal will provide an equal performance to an equivalent cartridge seal. However, when benefits such as dependable installation, reliability, inventory efficiency – and significant cost savings – are considered, it’s easy to see why cartridge seals are the solution of choice for best-in-class companies.

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