Power Quality Problems Are Not New

They have been around since the time of Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. In many facilities power quality issues are either ignored, mismanaged or misunderstood. At most facilities whenever electrical equipment fails the process is replace it, repair it, or restore it and then forget it. Seldom is the root cause of failure ever discussed. In addition to that seldom is the total dollar loss ever calculated for that down time.

Most production facilities have streamlined their production to the lowest possible number possible. In most cases possible savings in equipment downtime is the only thing that has not been streamlined. The reason for that they do not know the root cause of the failures and they do know the true cost of downtime for their facility.

In October 2015 the Electric Power Research Institute estimated power quality losses in the United States at $119-$188 Billion dollars a year in direct cost as well as lost productivity.

SPGS’s 5-Step Solution for Eliminating Equipment Damage

In order to effectively analyze, correct, and maintain a high-quality facility electrical protection system we recommend the following 5-Step Process:

1. Identify the problems
   1. requires an evaluation the entire electrical system
   2. requires a power study
   3. verify and update one-line power drawing
   4. identify where backup power is required
   5. study downtime logs if they exist
2. Engineer the solutions
   1. design a Method of Procedure (MOP) for corrections
3. Implement the Solutions
   1. perform corrective actions
4. Test and Commission the Solutions
   1. to ensure the performance of the corrected electrical protection system
5. Train Personnel and Implement Standards
   1. to maintain the effectiveness of the electrical system

By completing this entire process, any problems in the facility’s electrical protection system will be eliminated. Through industry proven solutions, testing and commissioning the facility’s electrical protection system is thoroughly inspected and approved for use. By completing personnel training and the implementation of standards the electrical protection system will no longer be compromised by sub-standard facility protection, bonding and grounding practices allowing the facility to drastically reduce equipment loss and downtime.