Preventative Maintenance
Preventative maintenance with
Infrared Thermography
Benefits of Infrared Inspections
- Reduce unscheduled down time
- Increase equipment life and performance
- No service interruption during inspection
- Lower risks
- Lower repair costs
- Prevent catastrophic failures
- Lower insurance premiums due to reduced losses
- Saves money
Detectable Conditions
- Loose/deteriorated connections
- Overloaded circuits
- Unbalanced loads
- Defective breakers
- Damaged switchgear
- Faulty fuses
- Defective equipment
Important information
The infrared inspections are conducted using a Fluke Ti450 thermal imager. Thermal Imaging systems have special detectors that are able to measure the heat radiated from your equipment in real time. The results are displayed is a graphic representation showing the distribution of temperature in the field of view at the time of inspection.
Identified problems or exceptions will indicate areas with poor connections, deteriorated insulation, unbalanced load or other condition/signs of premature failure. Overheating can cause premature deterioration and costly unplanned failure of equipment. Over-heating connectors, conductors and components will never get better. In fact, the temperature and the rate of deterioration will increase with time.
IR SCANNING
IR scanning is most commonly used to inspect electrical equipment and breaker panels, because excess heat is usually the first sign of trouble. Loose connections, imbalanced or overloaded circuits, defective breakers, faulty fuses, and material defects can all lead to equipment failure, and all of that can be prevented by IR Scanning. As all Facilities Managers know, preventive maintenance is the key to running an efficient and safe operation; particularly in buildings where an unforeseen electrical shutdown could lead to loss of life, such as hospitals or medical buildings. That’s where infrared scanning comes in. This heat index will depict which breakers are overloaded and may break down, thus allowing the tech to repair or replace them and prevent a potentially catastrophic shutdown.
Facilities Managers are incredibly busy, and don’t always have the time to sift through hundreds of pages of documents to find critical information; which is why we decided to help. We wanted to make the IR scanning process more efficient, easy to use, and more integrated with the FM’s everyday schedule.
- Reduced unplanned electrical downtime
- Increased equipment life
- No service interruptions during the inspection
- Lower overall repair costs (proactive maintenance will always be more cost-effective than reactive maintenance)
- Catastrophic failure prevention
CONTRACT
The rate per hour will be charged with a (4) hour minimum. This rate includes: (1) Certified Thermal Imaging Technician who is also a licensed Journeyman Electrician / Technician and (1) licensed Apprentice Electrician / Technician. Upon completion of the I/R scan survey you will receive one (1) electronic copy of the report, prepared within thirty (30) working days. The report will include a summary of all equipment scanned, photographs of any deficient areas, conditions and recommendations for maintenance or replacement of components or apparatus. Hard copies of the Report are available upon request. These rates are for normal working hours.
Switching of electrical equipment is the responsibility of the customer. If Kevco is requested or required to perform the switching operations no responsibility will be assumed by Kevco for any possible equipment failure during these switching operations. In the event Kevco has to perform switching, the customer will be charged for any cost incurred per Kevco established rates.
For any expenses incurred by Kevco Electrical Construction, Inc. such as: materials, lifts or any Subcontract work a 10% fee shall be added to all costs and invoiced in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Recommended repairs
Kevco Electrical Construction, Inc. agrees to provide service as required and / or as requested. Service repairs shall be charged at the rate depending on the time of day and hourly.
- For service repairs during normal business hours:
- $75.00 per hour for Journeyman / Service Technician
- $45.00 per hour for Apprentice / Service Technician
- For service repairs for after-hours or emergency:
- $112.50 per hour for Journeyman / Service Technician
- $67.50 per hour for Apprentice / Service Technician
Preventative maintenance
Arc Flash
Arc flash risk assessments are a critical part of the electrical pre-work being performed by Kevco Electrical on every job every day. The assessment will determine the likelihood of creating an arc, the arc flash boundary, the available incident energy at the working distance, and the PPE required for all portions of the workers body within that boundary. Each electrical apparatus and electrical equipment shall have an Arc Flash label installed on the front cover identifying Arc Flash requirements are defined in various standards and regulations set forth by NFPA 70e, OSHA, and other groups committed to electrical safety and safeguarding employees.
We are asking all of our customers to help us comply with these requirements by having these Arc Flash labels install on all of their electrical equipment. Kevco Electrical has the engineering and expertise in furnishing and installing these Arc Flash labels.
Arc Flash Analysis
According to NFPA 70E, there are 7 main steps that need to be taken on a study like this:
1. Acquire As-Built documentation
As-builts, One Line Diagram
2. Field verify
Equipment covers need to come off so we can visually inspect and acquire PD (protective device) manufacturer/types/sizes/settings, cable type/lengths, transformer impedance values, and KVA sizes.
3. Load information
4. Run a short circuit study
We review the 3 phase and single line to ground fault currents against the protective device “duty rating” to ensure the device can clear the fault. If the available fault current is less than the duty rating of the device, the device will do what it is intended and manufactured to do (clear it).
5. Perform a coordination study
In a properly coordinated system, the nearest protective device upstream of the fault will clear the fault without affecting protective devices further upstream. This will limit the impact of a fault on the overall electrical distribution only to where the fault is located.
6. Evaluate ARC flash
Provide recommendations to lower the incident energy levels including maximizing coordination.
7. Evaluate the system
Generating and applying the Arc, Flash labels, Training of the electrical staff, PPE requirements
Source: https://www.hallam-ics.com/blog/the-7-steps-to-complete-an-arc-flash-analysis
Short Circuit Analysis /
Breaker Coordination
In a properly coordinated system, the nearest protective device upstream of the fault will clear the fault without affecting protective devices further upstream. This will limit the impact of a fault on the overall electrical distribution only to where the fault is located.
In order to be assured that all over current protection devices are coordinated, it is necessary to look at the time vs. current characteristics of each device and compare it to the characteristics of any upstream devices.
Poor Coordination:
Ideally, where a fault occurs the localized protective device should clear the fault, otherwise, the fault travels back through the system and may trip the building main service device, thus losing power to the entire facility.
Improved Coordination:
By making adjustments to the settings of those protective devices that cross over on the time current curve, we are able to clean up the coordination issues. The fault clears at the fault location. Adjustments that we typically make on a protective device (i.e. circuit breaker with these options) include; long time delay, short time pickup, short time delay, and instantaneous.
updated panel schedules
Circuit Mapping / Coordination
Where does your circuit breaker go in your office? Believe it or not, you probably can’t tell even after you open the breaker panel door. Most panel schedules are either non-existent or out of date and impossible to read.
Your electrical breaker panel schedules are one of your buildings most important pieces of equipment. Without them, you have absolutely no idea where each individual circuit breaker goes. Good luck next time you reset one and you find out poorly marked yours really are. When you hear the scream from the next office you know you hit the wrong one!!
It is important to take care of your electrical breakers annually or bi-annually, update your panel schedules to ensure a smooth running building. Schedule routine maintenance like IR (infrared) scans to make sure that there is no overheating, check to make sure the panels are clean, dry, no holes that critters can crawl into, bi-annual regular breaker torquing to keep them running properly. Take care of your breaker panels and they will keep you powered up!
Ensure that your electrical infrastructure is organized and working as efficiently as possible. Contract needed to make site visit to provide quote.
