Consider these two words: preventive maintenance.
What did you think of first? Odds are quite good that it had to do with your facility’s mechanical systems, and electrical didn’t cross your mind. In most companies, not nearly enough attention is paid to the maintenance of electrical systems, which is unfortunate, because interruptions and failures can carry very costly consequences.
Lack of electrical preventive maintenance, or EPM, can lead to a variety of problems, among them failed equipment, production down time, fire risk, increased utility costs, and decreased equipment life expectancy. Many companies operate reactively, rather than preemptively, and substantial time and money is wasted. Original electrical drawings and later modifications are often poorly documented, and oftentimes information that does exist is not centrally managed. Few replacement parts are kept on hand, or can’t be easily located, for when an inevitable failure occurs.
No matter what the industry is, all businesses depend on their electrical systems. Failures can be catastrophic, for some more than others, with losses that can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. All facilities should perform EPM on a regular basis to protect their electrical assets. When following specific guidelines, a comprehensive program can often be developed by a knowledgeable facilities manager, or an electrical PM specialist like Omni can develop one for you. Once an effective program is in place, most EPM is straightforward and relatively inexpensive.
About Omni
Omni Instrumentation Services, Inc. is a premier instrumentation and electrical contractor, providing superior total care solutions since 1986. Services include instrument installation, tubing installation, instrument calibration, control loop testing, startup and commissioning, power and lighting, process control wiring, BMS wiring, telecommunications and data wiring, fire alarm wiring, security wiring, process network wiring, and control panel fabrication. Omni Instrumentation Services, Inc., is certified in Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus, DeviceNet and ASI-Bus installation.