How to Reduce the Costs of Annual Maintenance of Electrical Equipment?
Are you responsible for implementing maintenance programs of electrical equipment? Your objectives are clear: meet the regulatory obligations of public institutions and businesses, check that equipment is working correctly, guarantee the continuity of operations and, of course, ensure the safety of property and people (employees, general public). However, one question remains. Can you realise all these objectives and still reduce maintenance costs? The answer is probably “Yes”. But before presenting some solutions and allowing you to evaluate their effectiveness, let’s analyse the costs generated by the annual maintenance of electrical installations.
The various costs related to the annual maintenance of electrical equipment
Shutting down operations to carry out annual maintenance: a significant cost
Most companies plan maintenance programs (including the maintenance of the electrical systems) during a “slower” period. Most production plants trigger annual maintenance during summer to limit the impact on the production line. The visual inspection of equipment will require it to be shutdown (mobilising personnel to open or dismantle covers, cleaning out dust and refixing the covers). Whether your company chooses a less active period does not eliminate the problem: production will be negatively impacted by downtime.
« It is possible to carry out maintenance of energized electrical installations without impacting the smooth running of the operation of the site. »
Opening and dismantling electrical equipment: the hidden cost of “aging”
Maintenance of electrical equipment is done in separate stages. As we have seen previously, it may require cutting off the power to equipment so that technicians can inspect them safely. Opening of the cover, loosening, and tightening fixtures, will weaken and accelerate the aging of the equipment. Even if maintenance is done annually, there will be some degradation. This is what we call the hidden cost of aging. It may result in the need to replace all or part of equipment sooner than expected.
« It is possible to carry out maintenance without opening the electrical equipment to preserve it in the long term. »
Poor anticipation of a failure: the additional cost of repair
Checking electrical installations can prevent fire risks related to deterioration of electrical connections, heating or surges. During a visual inspection, the human eye cannot detect hot spots at an early stage. This results in two risks. The first is to miss an anomaly in the making. If the next annual maintenance detects it, the cost of the repair will be higher than if it had been initiated a year previously (worsening of the problem). But if again, the hot spot is not identified, then we go from a risk of additional repair costs to a potential risk of fire (further aggravation of the malfunction).
« It is possible to detect faulty electrical connections at a very early stage. »
The technical and technological improvement of the maintenance of electrical equipment is a major issue for the industry. Effective solutions have been developed to effectively reduce costs. They are based on the use of thermography coupled with IR windows. The latest innovations allow automated, real-time monitoring .
Smart IR solutions to reduce annual maintenance costs
Infrared windows to optimize preventive maintenance
Infrared windows, also called infrared portholes, are visualization interfaces directly attached to the covers of electrical equipment. During maintenance, an infrared camera is placed in front of the portholes. The use of thermography makes it possible to reveal defects invisible to the naked eye such as hot spots. Indeed, any heating of a connector emits infrared radiation. The camera captures this radiation and converts it into an image.
The control of electrical installations by infrared window and thermographic camera is done under voltage (no shutdown of the production line). It does not require opening the inspected equipment (no risk of weakening the equipment) and allows early detection of any malfunction (no additional repair costs, prevention of fire risk).
The infrared window is an essential and proven technology to improve the preventive maintenance of electrical equipment and effectively reduce the risk of fire. Note that its installation requires planning the visit of a qualified thermographer. Inspection is therefore carried out punctually and not continuously. Is there a solution for permanently monitoring electrical equipment? Yes, this innovation is the UTC.
The UTC (Ultimate Temperature Control®): an autonomous and connected sensor for predictive maintenance
Annual maintenance is a regulatory obligation. However, more regular monitoring of hazardous equipment or equipment that is subject to significant electrical loads should be the norm. This means having to schedule multiple maintenance sessions. Thanks to Wintech Groupe’s latest innovation, systems can be monitored continuously and without interruption: 24/7/365.
The UTC is a standalone and connected infrared detector. This optronic device incorporates a microbolometer – an uncooled thermal sensor similar to an infrared camera. Positioned in the area to be monitored or fitted to electrical equipment like an IR window, it allows constant monitoring. If an “abnormal” temperature is measured (overheating), the UTC sends a real-time alert via the Internet or a private communication network.
Connected to a dedicated management system, the UTC is also a monitoring tool that evaluates, over time, the resistance, wear or aging of equipment. Thanks to the UTC, the maintenance manager can get early warning on equipment that needs attention. For problems not requiring immediate intervention, he as time to plan the best time to intervene.
The UTC marks the dawn of preventive maintenance in Industry 4.0. but it is not its only use. This new thermal technology will have applications in many other domains.
Are you responsible for implementing maintenance programs of electrical equipment? Your objectives are clear: meet the regulatory obligations of public institutions and businesses, check that equipment is working correctly, guarantee the continuity of operations and, of course, ensure the safety of property and people (employees, general public). However, one question remains. Can you realise all these objectives and still reduce maintenance costs? The answer is probably “Yes”. But before presenting some solutions and allowing you to evaluate their effectiveness, let’s analyse the costs generated by the annual maintenance of electrical installations.
The various costs related to the annual maintenance of electrical equipment
Shutting down operations to carry out annual maintenance: a significant cost
Most companies plan maintenance programs (including the maintenance of the electrical systems) during a “slower” period. Most production plants trigger annual maintenance during summer to limit the impact on the production line. The visual inspection of equipment will require it to be shutdown (mobilising personnel to open or dismantle covers, cleaning out dust and refixing the covers). Whether your company chooses a less active period does not eliminate the problem: production will be negatively impacted by downtime.
« It is possible to carry out maintenance of energized electrical installations without impacting the smooth running of the operation of the site. »
Opening and dismantling electrical equipment: the hidden cost of “aging”
Maintenance of electrical equipment is done in separate stages. As we have seen previously, it may require cutting off the power to equipment so that technicians can inspect them safely. Opening of the cover, loosening, and tightening fixtures, will weaken and accelerate the aging of the equipment. Even if maintenance is done annually, there will be some degradation. This is what we call the hidden cost of aging. It may result in the need to replace all or part of equipment sooner than expected.
« It is possible to carry out maintenance without opening the electrical equipment to preserve it in the long term. »
Poor anticipation of a failure: the additional cost of repair
Checking electrical installations can prevent fire risks related to deterioration of electrical connections, heating or surges. During a visual inspection, the human eye cannot detect hot spots at an early stage. This results in two risks. The first is to miss an anomaly in the making. If the next annual maintenance detects it, the cost of the repair will be higher than if it had been initiated a year previously (worsening of the problem). But if again, the hot spot is not identified, then we go from a risk of additional repair costs to a potential risk of fire (further aggravation of the malfunction).
« It is possible to detect faulty electrical connections at a very early stage. »
The technical and technological improvement of the maintenance of electrical equipment is a major issue for the industry. Effective solutions have been developed to effectively reduce costs. They are based on the use of thermography coupled with IR windows. The latest innovations allow automated, real-time monitoring .
Smart IR solutions to reduce annual maintenance costs
Infrared windows to optimize preventive maintenance
Infrared windows, also called infrared portholes, are visualization interfaces directly attached to the covers of electrical equipment. During maintenance, an infrared camera is placed in front of the portholes. The use of thermography makes it possible to reveal defects invisible to the naked eye such as hot spots. Indeed, any heating of a connector emits infrared radiation. The camera captures this radiation and converts it into an image.
The control of electrical installations by infrared window and thermographic camera is done under voltage (no shutdown of the production line). It does not require opening the inspected equipment (no risk of weakening the equipment) and allows early detection of any malfunction (no additional repair costs, prevention of fire risk).
The infrared window is an essential and proven technology to improve the preventive maintenance of electrical equipment and effectively reduce the risk of fire. Note that its installation requires planning the visit of a qualified thermographer. Inspection is therefore carried out punctually and not continuously. Is there a solution for permanently monitoring electrical equipment? Yes, this innovation is the UTC.
The UTC (Ultimate Temperature Control®): an autonomous and connected sensor for predictive maintenance
Annual maintenance is a regulatory obligation. However, more regular monitoring of hazardous equipment or equipment that is subject to significant electrical loads should be the norm. This means having to schedule multiple maintenance sessions. Thanks to Wintech Groupe’s latest innovation, systems can be monitored continuously and without interruption: 24/7/365.
The UTC is a standalone and connected infrared detector. This optronic device incorporates a microbolometer – an uncooled thermal sensor similar to an infrared camera. Positioned in the area to be monitored or fitted to electrical equipment like an IR window, it allows constant monitoring. If an “abnormal” temperature is measured (overheating), the UTC sends a real-time alert via the Internet or a private communication network.
Connected to a dedicated management system, the UTC is also a monitoring tool that evaluates, over time, the resistance, wear or aging of equipment. Thanks to the UTC, the maintenance manager can get early warning on equipment that needs attention. For problems not requiring immediate intervention, he as time to plan the best time to intervene.
The UTC marks the dawn of preventive maintenance in Industry 4.0. but it is not its only use. This new thermal technology will have applications in many other domains.
