In recent years, OEM valves have been gaining traction in the mining industry as organisations across a wide range of verticals tackle increasingly complex, custom projects. The ability to have a valve solution tailored to an organisation’s specific needs opens new opportunities for the business and will help it meet its safety and compliance requirements.
One common example of this in action is mining. Mines provide materials that are critical to our lifestyles and well-being, but at the same time, mining operations are under increasingly stringent social and regulatory pressure to be seen as “good citizens”, particularly where the environment is concerned. OEM solutions in the mining industry have helped mining companies manage their water use in the most efficient and safe way possible.
Mining isn’t the only field where bespoke solutions can assist the careful management of water use and compliance requirements within the business. Other industry verticals where OEM valve solutions have been helpful include:
· Hot water systems
· Fire pumps
· Irrigation pumps
· Mining valves
· Heating
· Pumps
· Gas
· Hydraulics and industrial
· Water
· Medical
· Motion and control technology
· Energy
What these fields have in common is that the environments that they operate in place a lot of pressure on the valves and other working parts. Organisations in these fields often look for bespoke solutions to bring additional stability and robustness into their environments to help them tackle the most demanding tasks.
Things to look out for
Occasionally an organisation will consider non-OEM parts in a bid to save money. This is particularly true of those fields that feature numerous valves operating within the environment. However, if the manufacturer of the non-OEM part does not have access to the design documents of those valves, then the end effect is only ever a “best guess.”
Valve manufacturing involves several difficult to measure processes, such as a surface finish of a valve stem, the ion nitriding of the valve cage, honing and the use of vacuum furnaces to reduce oxidation. While it’s possible to take very precise measurements of any valve and replicate those, doing so without knowing the processes used to make the valve means that a non-OEM part can’t be guaranteed to match the standards and build quality of that which it is replicating.
The part might appear to work at first, and the manufacturer might be able to produce something that looks exactly like the existing valve, but those subtle differences are likely to result in poor water control through the valve, a reduced service life from the valve being used for something that it hasn’t
been properly designed around, the galling of metal, and consequently higher instances of failure and shorter lifespans for the valves.
OEM partners
If you need bespoke valves or have custom projects that you are looking to undertake, then you need to find an OEM partner that can deliver on quality and then continue to support your environment.
It starts with the CAD designs. Being able to visualise the product to spec, before undertaking rigorous testing and product control is essential for being able to develop the kind of OEM valve that will ideally suit your environment.
Furthermore, once the value has been designed via CAD, it will form part of the design documentation that will allow the valve to be repeat produced if your operation scales or requires the production of a new one due to maintenance.
It is also important that your OEM partner has the right certifications that speak to their expertise and ability to meet standards. One example in valve manufacturing is the WaterMark – a certification that is managed by the Australian Building Codes Board (ACBC) and has an exact set of criteria in conferring certification.
WaterMark certification
WaterMark certification must be applied to any product used in a plumbing application, and a valve manufacturer being able to point to a range of WaterMark-certified valves is a good indication that that company is able to deliver to exacting quality and safety requirements.
Other certifications that you want your OEM partner to be able to produce include ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification and WH&S Management Compliance. It goes without saying that an OEM project is producing a product that has not been seen before – a manufacturer will be applying best practices, but it’s a tailored, bespoke solution specifically being designed for that particular client’s requirements.
As such, there are no test cases to demonstrate the effectiveness of the specific part in question. However, that is not to say that you can’t be certain of the quality of the product beforehand. In seeing the manufacturer’s track record with meeting standards across industries and delivering to spec in this highly precise field, you can be sure that your OEM project will deliver value.
The benefits of OEM valves
OEM valves are an opportunity to improve the efficiency and resilience of an environment. Valves are a small, but vital cog in the overall environment and even the most well-regarded “off the shelf” solutions are inherently limiting. By working with a reliable OEM manufacturer, an organisation can take a new look at its environment and identify areas for improvement.
This is why it’s important to find an OEM manufacturer that is also consultative in approach and can make suggestions based on best practices and expertise that can further assist in tailoring the solution to best meet the needs of the environment.
