Prevention is better than a cure
Operational downtime carries an enormous price tag for businesses so minimising interruptions is critical.
Power outages are one of the main causes of downtime which makes suitable backup uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and battery systems vital to any operation.
It’s not enough to buy a UPS, stick it in the corner and hope that it works when needed – good system design and preventive maintenance is crucial to achieving optimal performance.
“Good system design and preventive maintenance is crucial to achieving optimal performance”
Consider a case where an older UPS has a component failure and switches to bypass where it can no longer protect the critical load. Everything would appear to be in working order for months until a fault happens with the mains power supply causing a load-loss. At this point the UPS will provide no protection.
Because your critical business activities and thousands of dollars of equipment is depending on a clean power supply, you can’t afford to wait for problems to arise in your UPS system before taking action: preventive maintenance is critical to uptime and to protecting sensitive electronics.
Prevention: The Facts
According to Eaton Corporation, some two-thirds of downtime events are preventable, with insufficient maintenance being one of the main causes. You may not be able to do much about natural disasters, but you can take steps to ensure that many potential downtime events are mitigated and enhance the return on investment on your UPS equipment by maximising its reliability and service life.
Analysis of thousands of installations across millions of operating hours has shown that for UPSs that receive preventive maintenance twice a year, the mean time between failures is more than 20 times better than for UPSs that do not receive preventive maintenance.
Systematic inspections, testing and cleaning by trained technicians will ensure the various electronic and mechanical components of your UPS are functioning to maximum potential.
Detecting and repairing problems before they evolve into significant and costly issues, ensures your UPS will deliver the level of performance you require.
Doing it Right
Every UPS contains high-wear consumable components that must be replaced according to the manufacturer’s specifications. To ensure these parts are properly cared for and correctly replaced when needed, regular maintenance is crucial.
An effective preventive maintenance strategy can be the most cost-effective measure you can take to ensure the ongoing health of both your critical equipment and overall business.
Regular maintenance practices dramatically improve UPS reliability and performance, while notably deterring downtime. Preventive maintenance is an essential component of an end-to-end solution to keep your critical networks operating at peak performance in the face of multiple risks.