Posted: July 28, 2023
By: Editorial Team
It is widely documented* that a well-designed, time-based preventative maintenance program can significantly reduce failure rates in electrical equipment—saving you immense costs in emergency repair and downtime in operations.
While some facilities are currently making this investment in an Electrical Maintenance Program (EMP), as of 2023 the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70B will change this from a “Recommended” to a “Standard” practice for the development, implementation, and operation of an electrical maintenance program.
How can facilities prepare for this new standard?
The first step is to align with a trusted electrical distribution partner to set up an electrical maintenance program, which should consist of the following four ways to ensure your facilities are safe and operational.
Stay Operational with Preventative Maintenance Services
Low Voltage Preventative Maintenance
Low voltage preventative maintenance (LVPM) consists of cleaning, inspecting, and testing your electrical system, requiring a full or partial shutdown of your facility. This takes significant planning to ensure safety and timely completion to keep your business running. Loeb’s expert project management team is here to prepare and execute the plan—working around your business demands—whether it’s annually, every 5 years, or somewhere in between.
Infrared Thermography
Our team of certified thermographers can identify variances in heat patterns due to poor electrical connections, unbalanced loads, and defective components before they result in a full or partial equipment failure. Over time, we use this collected data to perform a quantitative analysis, providing a recommended electrical maintenance plan based on predictive performance.
Looking at the panel board in image 1, can you identify any problems?
Image 2 is infrared and reveals hot spots within the panel board that can only be detected with infrared technology. These thermal anomalies indicate potential issues or hazards that when left unchecked, often lead to equipment outages and unplanned downtime.
Infrared Window Supply & Installation
In high-voltage switchboards, it’s best to perform IR scans through infrared viewing windows, as 99% of arc flash incidents occur when a panel is open.
Loeb provides the Fluke IR cameras and infrared windows, and provides installation, to ensure these scans are performed safely and quickly, reducing the possibility of dangerous arc flashes.
Critical Electrical Supply Inventory Management
When critical parts fail and replacements aren’t immediately accessible, your operation may completely shut down. Don’t let this disaster strike! Loeb will create a customized plan for the material needs, warehousing, and delivery of critical supplies, ensuring a failure doesn’t lead to disaster.
Project Profile
Preventative Maintenance in Action
Keeping the world’s largest online retailer running
As the world’s largest online retailer continues to expand operations, they needed to plan and implement a proactive, preventative maintenance program, without severely disrupting their 24/7 business operations.
After discussing current challenges and needs, Loeb Electric, and Eaton’s Electrical Engineering Services & Systems (EESS) division, brought forward a full-scale Preventative Maintenance program. The program consisted of major and minor LVPM, Fluke IR window installation, IR thermography, and arc flash coordination studies. In addition, Loeb collaborated with the customer to design an arc flash relay solution specifically designed to lower the incident energy risk to associates and vendors operating or repairing electrical distribution equipment.
Through the Loeb Electric nationwide partner network, professional project management, material supply, and logistics operations, as well as the expertise of Eaton’s engineers, the program has delivered to the customer’s challenges, while ensuring their business was not significantly disrupted.
Loeb continues to project manage this nationwide preventative maintenance program and collect data to drive further improvements.
What is NFPA 70B?
The new standard of NFPA 70B will provide practical safeguards to protect people and support more reliable electrical systems. It closely aligns with NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, which indicates that even if equipment is installed properly, it may not be safe to work on unless it is “properly maintained” per the manufacturer’s instructions or industry consensus standards.
Your Electrical Maintenance Program Partner
In addition to the services above, Loeb, in partnership with Eaton’s Electrical Engineering Services, can help with:
- Survey and analysis of electrical equipment and systems
- A maintenance, equipment, and personnel documentation and records-retention policy
- Process to prescribe, implement, and document corrective measures based on collected data
- Post-maintenance review and revision process that considers failures and findings for continuous improvement
Contact us online or call 800.686.6351 to learn how Loeb’s expert preventative maintenance services can help you achieve your goals and keep your facilities running safely.
Speak with lighting & electrical distribution experts today.
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