Electricity + Control June 2018

round up

ELECTRICAL PROTECTION + SAFETY

Predictive maintenance: Keeping electrical workers out of harm’s way

It’s the foundation of any electrical safety program: limiting the exposure of workers to the electrical hazards of shock and arc flash. Using test leads and clamps to probe inside a live panel when troubleshooting and performing routine maintenance al- ways exposes workers to danger. Electri- cal personal protective equipment (PPE) is a last line of defense and must never be relied upon as the primary method of protecting electricians and technicians. Safe work practices, including the use of non-contact test tools that do not require electrical workers to place themselves in harm’s way, must first be considered when it comes to electrical safety. Since inception Fluke Connect® has brought a new level of efficiency and ef- fective collaboration to maintenance and troubleshooting in all kinds of manufactur-

ing, commercial, and retail facilities. Tech- nicians can monitor real time results from more than 20 different Fluke test tools directly from their smart phones. This in- formation can be securely shared, in real time, with authorised team members in different locations. In addition, test results and maintenance data can be collected through the Fluke Connect app and stored by asset in secure Fluke Cloud™ storage. That means that troubleshooting and main- tenance staff can access that data in the field to compare new measurements with baseline measurements so as to more quickly identify problems. The end result is that technicians can use Fluke Connect to quickly identify and diagnose problems while securely sharing the related data when they want and with the specific people they have given per- mission to view it. Fluke’s range of released

nect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues making use of ShareLive™ video calls or email, in- creasing productivity in the field. The clamp meters also decrease the fre- quency with which technicians will need to wear personal protective equipment when working on high voltage/current panels as they are enabled to take measurements from a safe distance. The Fluke 376 FC True-rms AC/DC Clamp Meter with iFlex features • Integrated VFD LowPAS filter for low driver measurements • True RMS voltage and current for non-linear signals • Measureable to 1000 Amps DC and > 25 000 Amps AC • Finds and logs intermittent faults, and establishes base-line and trends • Creates and transmits results in re- port-form wirelessly via Fluke Con- nect ® Measurements app from site The Fluke 902 FC True-rms HVAC Clamp Meter features • Dual rated - CAT III, 600 /CAT IV, 300 V • Microamps for testing pilot light sensors • Resistance up to 60 kilohms • AC current, AC/DC voltage • Capacitance and contact temperature

clamp meters allows techni- cians to access tight places and to work around large, awkward conductors. Fur- thermore, they are able to transmit measurements to a smartphone or tablet for detailed analysis later on. Those measurements can also be uploaded to the cloud. Technicians can com- bine measurement data from multiple Fluke Con-

Enquiries:Tel: +27 (0)10 595 1821 or sales@comtest.co.za

Demand more from low voltage systems

labour and parts costs associated with fuse replacement, giving users a total-cost-of-ownership advantage. Critical, high demand power distribution systems, operating at 440/480 V or lower, need protection against extreme short-circuit fault currents. Such faults occur in systems with multiple paralleled power sources or large numbers of motor loads. The higher break- ing capacity of the Compact NSX range can be used to provide better protection and higher continuity. Class-leading performance enables the entire Compact NSX range to meet the requirements of applications that once mandat- ed costlier, bulkier protection devices. Users can realise significant cost savings by safely running higher power densities on LV plat- forms or benefitting from the higher energy efficiency and reduced space requirements of a 690 V system. Enquiries: Zanelle Dalglish.Tel. +27 (0) 11 254 6400 or email zanelle.dalglish@schneider-electric.com

Schneider Electric has an innovative high breaking capacity for the Compact NSX range of moulded case circuit breakers (MCCBs), of- fering users more from their LV infrastructure and a cost-effective al- ternative to fuses over the long term. Companies involved in the ex- ploration, extraction and processing of natural resources look for the smartest, safest, most cost-effective way to run their operations. Op- portunities to lower capital costs and operating expenses are often buried within a site’s low voltage (LV) power distribution networks. Smart alternative to high-power fuses The high breaking capacity of the Compact NSX circuit breakers will withstand demanding fault conditions, staying reliably in ser- vice after three faults. After a fault is cleared, remote control reclos- ing functionality puts circuits back into operation quickly, enabling maximum operational continuity. Discrimination and coordination will isolate faults, to avoid system-wide outages. Over the long term, this reduces the cost impacts of downtime and avoids the

Electricity + Control

JUNE 2018

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