Lifecycle Playbooks
Stage 09 · Steady-state operation
Operation & Troubleshooting
In operation, the question is always the same: what is failing, why, and does it need intervention now? This playbook is the diagnostic sequence from symptom to mechanism to decision.
For: Operations and reliability engineers living with the valves
You are here if
- A valve is passing and the unit cannot decide between repair and replace
- Stem leakage is creeping up and emissions compliance is watching
- A control valve hunts and everyone blames a different discipline
Where this stage goes wrong
- Symptoms treated (tighten the gland, again) while the mechanism keeps consuming the valve
- Passing valves left unquantified until they become process losses or safety issues
- Repairs done in place without root cause, guaranteeing a repeat
The Playbook
- 1Characterise the symptom preciselySeat passing vs stem leak vs body joint vs actuation misbehaviour - each has a different mechanism set.
- 2Run the diagnostic before opening anythingService history, cycling duty and conditions against the known failure mechanisms for that valve type and service.
- 3Identify the mechanism, not the partWire-drawing, chloride SCC, galvanic attack, cavitation - the mechanism decides whether repair-in-kind will survive.
- 4Decide repair vs replace vs upgradeTrim upgrade or material step-up beats repeat repair where the mechanism is service-driven.
- 5Record it against the tagFailure mechanism and fix recorded per tag turn the next failure into a pattern instead of a surprise.
Stage deliverables
Diagnostic record per eventRepair/replace decision noteTag failure history entries
Tools for this stage
Reviewed by Process Engineering, Vajra Industrial SolutionsDiscipline: Valve Service SpecificationLast reviewed: 20 June 2026
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