Facilities management
FoUR StepS to BetteR electRIcal InFRaStRUctURe ReSIlIence
By Dave Johnston, technical lead, Resilience, Siemens UK & Ireland
unsafe electrical assets for their critical power needs, putting people, operations and their bottom line at risk. When it comes to electrical infrastructure, a reactive, ‘fit and forget’ approach may seem the most cost-effective way to deal with kit that has “been in service” and working fine for decades. But as industries shift towards electrification, manufacturers will require a reliable electrical infrastructure, potentially with increased power requirements, as a new foundation to ongoing and future operations. sites evolve and grow in size and scale, often without the necessary electrical upgrades to match. and all too often, the on-site maintenance team is expected to maintain not only all mechanical and electrical elements within their site, such as process machinery, drives and conveyors for example, but in addition the electrical infrastructure network is now part of a maintenance team’s responsibility. Operational process equipment breakdowns take priority, which means that a seemingly functioning electrical network is neglected and often falls to the bottom of the list. added to this, with so much focus on operational process uptime, many teams may not have access to the latest system knowledge or training to enable them to accurately diagnose an infrastructure issue, should it arise. Failing to proactively update, inspect and
m
service electrical infrastructure equipment could cost an organisation dearly, both financially and reputationally, so understanding the risks at play is vital. Here are four steps organisations can take to improve their energy resilience.
anufacturing sites depend on a reliable, failsafe power supply. too many businesses use outdated and potentially
UnDeRStanD yoUR eneRgy USage take a top-to-bottom approach to understand power usage across your operations, and to assess whether your electrical infrastructure is still fit for purpose. Your electrical power requirements may have changed since the infrastructure was first built. it is important to understand how much of the power available is actually used and to identify any unused capacity or power losses. consider substations and switchboards. How many circuit breakers are used and what is their load current? are they working at or in excess of their rated levels due to operational expansion or is there scope for network rationalisation due to a reduction in operations? Running at or near the full load current limit
accelerates the ageing of equipment. Overheating and full load operation leads to excessive wear and tear, so carry out a full network study of load current flow and evaluate “new” fault levels. include HV/mV switchgear, lV distribution switchboards, primary power cables, transformers as well as control and protection equipment. also take into consideration any new loads that the electrical infrastructure now feeds and carry out a protection study to ensure its correct operation in the event of an electrical fault.
evalUate yoUR RISKS Just how big is your risk from electrical faults? calculate the impact of blackouts and brownouts on your business operations in terms of costs, delays, production losses, health and safety aspects and more. if you include contractual penalties from non-delivery and invalidated company insurance policies, downtime can quite literally cost tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds per day or hour. a risk profile map
of the entire site provides an overview of key energy assets that could fail and can help highlight possible risks. For example, a power failure affecting loading
bays could lead to severe delays. Raw materials that cannot be unloaded and processed mean possible wastage and reduced production capacity, while delays in loading outbound goods might result in an inability to meet customer production and delivery targets. elsewhere, supply chain and production
bottlenecks could lead to higher reliance on completed products stored in the warehouse, followed by an inability to correctly catalogue stock levels. if the outage affects the communication network, there is no visibility into incoming our outgoing goods, the factory environment and site security – and it could be necessary to evacuate non-essential personnel, delaying operations even further.
IDentIFy the weaK SpotS In yoUR eneRgy InFRaStRUctURe Once you have a good understanding of your energy risk, look at the equipment that forms part of your electrical infrastructure and identify any network single points of failure as well as potential issues that require servicing, upgrading, uprating or monitoring. What can be measured can be improved: conduct a comprehensive audit using thermal image cameras and test asset insulation mediums checking for oil (Dga) and
sF6 (Humidity/Dew Point/sO2 sulphur Dioxide) quality. include other diagnostic electrical tests such as switchgear operating times and primary contact resistance. check for unusual smells, leaks, asset corrosion and debris; pay attention to busbar and cable connections, pipework and
26 JulY/august 2021 | FactORY&HanDlingsOlutiOns
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
