Diagnostic Trends

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Beck Ireland, Staff Writer

Advances in electrical systems maintenance technology

For the last 20 years, Randy Barnett, director of curriculum development, American Trainco, Englewood, Colo., has been keeping his clients — mostly in-house maintenance personnel in the manufacturing, institutional, and health-care markets — up-to-date on innovations in plant maintenance. “As technology gets more sophisticated, the basic maintenance person is expected to know more and do more,” says Barnett. “I tell the electricians in the class — some who've been on the job for 20 years — that what they've done in the past just isn't good enough anymore.”

To drive home the point, he often asks attendees at his onsite seminars about their own buildings. “I ask them, ‘How old is the building?’ They might say 30 or 40 years, so then I ask them, ‘How many computers, copy machines, laser printers, variable-speed drives, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) did you have in this building then?’ ” he says. “They just laugh.”

Barnett then ticks off how much of this equipment he passed by on his way to the training room. “We now supply digital loads, and, of course, that's what causes our problems,” he says. “Even little things, like compact fluorescent lighting in the commercial buildings and office areas, cause the electricians to look at their power quality meters and say, ‘Holy cow, where are all of these harmonics coming from?’ The electrician of tomorrow is going to be just as familiar with his infrared camera and power quality analyzer as the old electricians were with the Simpson 260 multimeter.”

According to the Standards Review Council at the InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA), Portage, Mich., test equipment continues to evolve, providing more data, automated operation, archiving, and comparison of test data (see New Test Methods). This, of course, says the organization, comes at a fairly steep price. To remain in accordance with ANSI/NETA MTS-2007, “Standard for Maintenance Testing Specifications for Electrical Power Distribution Equipment and Systems,” published by NETA and approved as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Washington, D.C., in July of 2007, facilities must decide either to invest in equipment and training for their in-house electrical maintenance staff or rely on independent service providers.

Have your cake

In recent years, several studies have predicted double-digit increases in the number of plants outsourcing maintenance and testing services to independent contractors. However, many plants have struck a healthy balance between hiring out for non-core tasks and keeping/training a full-time crew (“Outsourcing Options,” EC&M August 2006). At Janos Technology, Keene, N.H., Christopher Cake, maintenance supervisor, is responsible for keeping the equipment that manufactures infrared optical fabrication equipment running smoothly, as well as a variety of polishers, generators, and machine shop equipment. Cake rarely calls in outside vendors — usually the equipment manufacturer — and then only for major repairs or troubleshooting problems on electronic-controlled equipment. The majority of maintenance tasks are performed in-house. “If we're doing major improvements to the building, we'll sub it out,” he says. “General work on equipment is done in-house.”