Sunday, March 9, 2014

Filled Under:

Why You Must Make Electrical Infrared Inspection Part Of Your Maintenance Program

By Lisa Williamson


It is the duty and desire of electricians to have all components functioning in the most optimal level. Malfunction is often caused by damages, poor installation work, corrosion or even contamination. The most common sign of a problem in the system is excessive heat resulting from poor conductivity. If left unchecked, the results can range from unnecessary and costly power disruption to very catastrophic events such as electrocution and fires. Initially, more costly and time consuming physical inspection was the only dependable way to keep the system safe but engineers are now migrating to electrical infrared inspection method which has proven not only cheaper but more effective.

Through this method of inspection, it is much easier to locate the underlying problem reducing downtime and equipment damage. It also come with additional benefits such as prevention of catastrophic failures well in advance, help establish repair priorities, improves preventive and maintenance efficiency and provides for testing under load hence avoiding costly shutdowns.

In normal distribution, infrared surveys should be conducted on annual basis and is considered part of a regular preventive and maintenance program. This form of testing makes it possible to inspect a large number of components within the shortest time possible locating the faulty items in the system that could not be located through the physical survey or testing.

The most common system components that are subject to periodic surveys include the bus ducts, the distribution panels, distribution centers, receptacle panels, the sub-feed panels, transformers, the switchgears, the lighting system, uninterruptible power supplies, the disconnects and several other related components. With infrared surveys, the faults, loose connections and any potential hazards in these components can easily be detected with the minimal time and cost.

If you choose to use this form of testing, there is no need to shut down any part of the system as the testing is non-contact and nondestructive (NDT) at the same time. This means that all components can be inspected under their normal loads in the normal operating system. It involves scanning with the aim of revealing improper connections, damages and any form of flaws well in advance before they can result to any disaster.

With the endorsement and approval from the InterNational Electrical Testing Association and the National Fire Protection Association and other related regulatory authorities, it is a mistake to continue depending on the manual method of testing.

Among several benefits you stand to benefit from, there is the precise pinpointing of hotspots, reduced down time, elimination of unscheduled outages, reduced cost of energy due to efficiency and predictive or proactive approach to electrical maintenance program. The general reduction of resource deployed (human resources and finances) also translates to lower cost of energy.

It is important to trust the surveying services to a company that has expert engineers, the necessary machinery for the job and well proven track record in order to enjoy the full benefits of this new technology.




About the Author:







0 comments:

Post a Comment