Stainless is only stainless while its passive layer is intact. Chlorides, aggressive cleaning chemistry and mechanical damage strip it, and the exposed surface starts to rouge and pit. Pits are the problem: they are microscopic harbours that no CIP cycle reaches, so the tank becomes a permanent reinfection source that the wash cannot clear. This is also the one PM that involves entering a confined space, which makes the procedure a safety document as much as a maintenance one.
The steps ChatterFix schedules for this PM. Every step is a checkable item on the work order — a technician can speak their way through it without touching a keyboard.
Stainless is only stainless while its passive layer is intact. Chlorides, aggressive cleaning chemistry and mechanical damage strip it, and the exposed surface starts to rouge and pit. Pits are the problem: they are microscopic harbours that no CIP cycle reaches, so the tank becomes a permanent reinfection source that the wash cannot clear. This is also the one PM that involves entering a confined space, which makes the procedure a safety document as much as a maintenance one.
Microbiological results start drifting on one tank and nobody suspects the tank itself, because it cleans on schedule and looks fine through the manway. Batches get dumped, the CIP recipe gets made more aggressive — which accelerates the pitting — and the fault only becomes obvious when someone finally goes inside with a light. By then the repair is a re-polish or a new vessel.
Annual for internal inspection and passivation. Bring it forward on any tank with an unexplained micro result, and treat a chloride-bearing sanitiser or a hot caustic excursion as a reason to inspect rather than wait.
This procedure — and every other PM for your industry — is already built into ChatterFix. Pick your industry and it lands on the right equipment, on the right interval, in about three minutes.