ARTICLES & WHITEPAPERS
Experts in the electric power reliability industry write about safety, compliance, making the right investments, and so much more. Contributors include the most well-known companies in the industry, such as The Snell Group, IRISS, SDMyers and other big name brands.
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Article: Reliability Maintenance Augmented by Visual Plan 3D Visualization: Closing the Gap Between Inspection and Remediation
By Kelly Watt, CEO & Founder of Visual Plan, Member, EPRA
Abstract
When it comes to mechanical, electrical and critical asset management, routine manual inspection is a critical component of every reliability maintenance strategy. However, identifying and reporting findings is only as effective as the remediation strategy. Inspection reports, maintenance histories, and design basis memorandums (DBM) stored in various data silos disassociate critical information from the physical location and environmental context of an asset: this leads to communication issues, service delays, extended downtime, and even catastrophic failure.
Advances in analytics, AI, automation, and reality capture are improving efficiencies in reliability maintenance strategies by integrating predictive maintenance methodologies and documentation with streamlined visual data management to create actionable 3D visualization of the physical space and assets. No matter the inspection method, 3D visualization narrows the time gap from issue detection to remediation.
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Whitepaper: Best Practices for using Infrared Thermography for Condition Monitoring of Utility Substation Assets
By Jim Fritz, President & CEO, The Snell Group. Member, EPRA
Abstract
We have all grown dependent on power being delivered reliably and continuously whenever we need or want it. Many utility system assets are both aging and being loaded past anything previously imagined. Replacement equipment, especially transformers, may be months or years in construction and delivery. The cost of a failure in the grid can, as a result, have costly, even devastating, consequences.
Utilities have long practiced preventive maintenance (PM), but economic pressure on all line items in a budget has not spared maintenance where cost reductions have been common and considerable. The use of condition monitoring technologies, such as dissolved gas-oil analysis (DGA), airborne ultrasound, and infrared thermography, have not only helped reduce unnecessary PMs, but have also offered greater assurance that assets are performing as they should.
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Article: A Scientific Approach to Cable Asset Management
By Ben Lanz, Director, Applications Engineering, IMCORP. Member, EPRA
Abstract
Power cables are one of the most commonly overlooked power system assets and are, by default, typically addressed reactively after failure. They are also one of the most misunderstood. This article provides insight into how new scientific findings on cable care address these misunderstandings. In this article I will provide insight into some of these findings through case studies, and I’ll explain how a holistic, condition intelligence-based strategy can easily double the expected life of most assets—including cables—and maximize reliability with optimal lifecycle cost.
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Whitepaper: Choosing a Thermal Imager for Condition Monitoring
Ten years ago, you really could not find a new full-featured imager for much less than $20,000 USD. Today, there are many fantastic choices out there for condition monitoring applications with a wide range of features in prices ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 USD.
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Whitepaper: Arc Flash safety: What’s Real, What’s Not, and What YOU Need to Do to Ensure Compliance
Anywhere that electricians or other service technicians are performing energized work, the potential exists for an arc flash incident.
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