The engineering skills shortage has over time become more acute. Finding the right personnel who are capable of carrying out complex maintenance tasks quickly and efficiently to keep plants up and running is an increasing challenge. The ever-growing application of renewable energy resources also adds to this challenge, particularly when it comes to measuring power quality. Mark Bakker of Fluke looks at how advancements in power quality test instrumentation are helping to alleviate some of these pressures.
With cost pressures rising and a shortage of sufficient skilled staff to carry out regular maintenance and inspection, it can be difficult to give all installed equipment the attention it needs. Constraints on costs, limited in-house technical resources and a lack of adequate training are just some of the common factors that can lead to maintenance best practices not being followed. Particularly challenging applications, such as those in hard-to-reach areas, can also contribute. The lack of technical expertise has in recent times become even more pressing, with the IET reporting that to meet demand for skilled labour, the UK requires 186,000 engineers to be trained immediately, while Germany reports a shortage of 340,000. Similar shortages are reported in France.
Plugging such vast skills gaps will not happen overnight, and so new technological solutions are required that allow personnel to carry out effective maintenance in less time and using less resources, while also ensuring maximum safety. In response, new advances in test and measurement devices which offer truly plug-and-play functionality are helping to deliver more effective and timely maintenance routines, helping to avoid the risk of downtime, reduced capacity or expensive equipment failure.
Maintenance approaches
Traditional reactive approaches to maintenance, whereby equipment is only fixed when it fails, have long since been replaced by more proactive approaches. In the 1970s and 1980s, companies began to embrace a more preventive maintenance approach. Rectifying potential faults before they develop into failures has a significant positive effect on uptime, however such an approach typically relies on numerous skilled maintenance technicians working to a schedule, manually checking equipment while drawing on their knowledge and experience to determine what, if any, attention was required. However, visual inspection alone can create a false sense of security, particularly against the backdrop of increasing time constraints, and fewer skilled engineers to look after increasing amounts of plant equipment. Indeed, processes that appear cosmetically to be running without fault on the surface can easily be overlooked, potentially concealing serious failure risks at a component level.
Increasing cost pressures, and the shortage of skilled labour, have meant that many facility operators are looking at alternative ways of keeping critical assets online. This is where test and measurement equipment can help. New tools coming on the market are specifically designed to help less experienced maintenance technicians to perform inspections and draw up reports simply and safely, without compromising on accuracy.
Power quality concerns
One of the major underlying factors that can adversely affect equipment health and performance is power quality. In industrial settings, power quality can cause a variety of issues with motors or other electrical infrastructure including transformers, switch boards, capacitor banks and cables. Failure to any of these can result in plant downtime, reduced capacity, or premature equipment failure. Measuring power quality, and building those measurements into the maintenance programme, should therefore be a key part of any preventive maintenance regime.
As more complex machines are introduced at industrial production processes or facilities like hospitals and universities, there is consequently an increasing likelihood that power quality may become an issue. The more complex the system, the more vulnerable it is to power quality issues, hence the increased need for accurate and effective testing.
In addition, industries worldwide are making bold commitments to reducing their CO2 emissions both directly and indirectly. To achieve what in some cases are highly ambitious pledges, there is a need for increased use of renewable energy sources. However, renewable energy brings with it its own challenges. Energy sources like wind and solar power are variable in their nature, and dependent on the weather and climate. They are also far more distributed along the power network than fossil fuel power stations, which can make achieving grid stability a challenge. This can have a knock-on effect on power quality for end users, particularly when it comes to complex devices and applications.
Issues associated with poor power quality can be extremely costly, leading to equipment behaving erratically and premature failures. In response, companies like Fluke have developed easy-to-use power quality testing equipment that can help expedite maintenance schedules, diagnose potential and latent problems, and ensure that any such problems are rectified before they risk developing into failures.
Simple and safe measurements
For example, Fluke has developed the 1770 Series power quality analyser, which makes it possible for well trained and inexperienced technicians alike to take measurements and analyse key power quality parameters such as harmonics, dips, swells, imbalance and inrush current, all automatically. The analyser can be used for equipment maintenance and as well as for the troubleshooting of power supply problems. Furthermore, it can also be used for energy surveys, new equipment installation, and optimization of existing equipment.
The device features integrated software which ensures test equipment delivers the correct result every time through guided setup functionality. The functionality includes the ability to auto-correct measurement connections digitally without having to change the physical probe connections, improving operator safety. The tester can be powered directly from the measured circuit, meaning there is no need for operators to seek out a nearby power outlet, or worry that logged data will be lost due to a power cord being unplugged. It also helps to address one of the most common mistakes reported by field technicians, which is forgetting to record the data prior to testing, as the device is equipped with an auto-record function.
Record and report
Once recorded, data can be transferred immediately to wherever or whomever requires it via Ethernet, WiFi or even the GSM network, ensuring that the right information reaches the right personnel in a timely manner. This helps to ensure maximum visibility of maintenance requirements across the facility. Teams working together can further save time by setting up custom views to prioritize the most important tests and data more quickly.
In summary
The structural problems that have led to the engineering skills shortage will take time to address. However, the introduction of new, more user-friendly measurement devices can help to mitigate its effects in the short term. By making power quality testing more accessible for a wider cohort of personnel, this allows field measurements to be taken faster and with greater ease and confidence, without compromising on safety and measurement integrity. In turn, this allows skilled maintenance technicians to be deployed to more complex tasks. The plug-and-play functionality of devices like the Fluke 1770 Series helps facilities to deliver more effective maintenance routines, optimize in-house skillsets, and prevent premature equipment failure.
