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November 10, 2009 A Penton Media Publication Vol. V No. 21



CONTENTS
Maintaining Your Service Entrance, Part 3

Electrical Troubleshooting Quiz

Triage vs. Full Repair

NEC in the Facility

Safety


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About This Newsletter
This twice-a-month
e-newsletter is brought to you from the publisher of EC&M magazine.

MRO Insider addresses topics such as:

  • Working with management and supervision
  • National Electrical Code® on the production floor
  • Safety procedures and programs
  • Troubleshooting techniques
  • Equipment maintenance and testing tips
  • Managing motors and generators
  • Trends in training and education
  • Managing energy use


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    The designations "National Electrical Code" and "NEC" refer to the National Electrical Code®, which is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Association.
     
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    Maintenance
    Maintaining Your Service Entrance, Part 3
    Many tasks essential to proper maintenance of service equipment require de-energization. To perform those tasks, you must schedule an outage. Unfortunately, production departments can agree to only a limited outage window. Consequently, the work proceeds on a compressed schedule.

    Don't underestimate the amount of this compression when planning the outage. Overly-optimistic job estimates combined with scope creep can easily result in too many tasks being attempted in too little time. People take dangerous shortcuts in response to the pressure.

    For example, you can save time by eliminating a step or two in the tool count. A “100%” approach to the tool count takes time, but it provides a sure way to prevent energizing a bus bar that’s shorted to ground by a forgotten wrench.

    To read more on this story, visit EC&M's Web site.

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    The New Fluke 233 Remote Display Digital Multimeter allows you to be in two places at once. The removable magnetic display allows you to be 30 feet away from the measurement point. See how it will expand your capabilities. www.fluke.com/remote_display_meter

    Repair
    Electrical Troubleshooting Quiz
    Several years ago, your facility completed a major project that converted plant data systems, such as statistical process control (SPC), from hard-wired Ethernet to wireless. Over the past few months, various department heads have lodged complaints about “missing data” and “problems with being able to read field data in real time.” Your boss suspects the problem is in the equipment. Where do you begin?

    Visit EC&M's Web site to see the answer.
    Triage vs. Full Repair
    Suppose a motor fails because of burned windings. You replace the motor, and the symptom (dead motor) is solved. However, if you didn't solve the voltage imbalance that overheated the motor and burned those windings, you'll keep replacing that same motor until you do.

    So why don't we always fix problems completely? Quite a few good reasons exist. For example, you can replace a motor in 30 min. and get Line 1 running again. You can then turn your attention to the problem that has Line 2 down, and get it running again. We call this “fire fighting” or “triage.” Triage doesn't mean you consider a repair complete just because the emergency has passed. Make sure to mark triage-type repairs for scheduling of repair completion.

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    Motors and Drives Solutions
    Motors and drives are critical elements of most machines. Visit the Fluke solution center as a resource for all your motor and drive issues. Here you will find application notes, case studies, an on-line discussion board, videos and other resources to help you deal with these complex and important issues. www.fluke.com/motorsdrives

    Operation
    NEC in the Facility
    Keep service conductors separate from other conductors and systems. Two primary rules apply:
    1. Service conductors supplying one structure can't pass through another [230.3].
    2. Don't install other conductors in the same service raceway or cable [230.7]. Two exceptions exist. The first one is grounding conductors and bonding jumpers. The second is load management control conductors having overcurrent protection.

    To read more on this story, visit EC&M's Web site.
    Safety
    Hardhats originally were developed to protect a person's head from falling rivets and other small objects that could injure an unprotected head. Today, hardhats also provide protection from electrical shock. They do this partly by creating a distance between your face and the source, via the bill of the hat. Wearing the hat backward defeats this safety feature — and they do this partly by presenting a nonconductive barrier between your head and the source. You can defeat this safety feature through gratuitous use of conducting stickers, ink, and other materials.

    To read more on this story, visit EC&M's Web site.

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