A Quick Guide to UPS Preventative Maintenance

by Softiex UK Softiex Like all emergency provisions, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems require thorough and diligent maintenance. Once a fault has developed and repair has become essential, then the maintenance regime has failed. Even worse, if the fault is discovered only when you need to call on your UPS then its entire purpose has been compromised. As in all things in life and business, prevention is the best policy so it's important to keep fully up to date with the options for preventive UPS battery maintenance in the UK.

An Overview of UPS Systems

A sizeable number of today's UPS systems are the smaller single phase and three phase arrangements which are often dispersed across a large site or located in server racks or the corners of computer rooms. They tend to be fitted with batteries that have a working life of no more than 4 years at standard ambient temperatures: hotter conditions will cause a sharper deterioration in their longevity. Larger models will have much longer-lasting batteries and sophisticated management systems which carry out automated daily testing and predictive algorithms designed to pre-empt problems. The smaller ones lack these capabilities and their rudimentary management systems may flag batteries as requiring inspection when, in fact, they have already failed. This gives no warning and cannot prompt an effective preventative inspection.

PMVs

Preventative Maintenance Visits (PMVs) should be one of the most prominently observed elements of any UPS maintenance contract. Instead of reacting, it enables service engineers to anticipate and proactively rectify problems of parts failure, deterioration or any other of the many causes of UPS breakdown. At the very minimum, a PMV should be made at least once a year.

The maintenance engineers will inspect every aspect of the system including cabling, circuit boards, fuses, circuit breakers, transformers, capacitors and fans. They will check batteries for evidence of leakage, damage and corrosion, testing the connections for the correct torque settings.

As well as examining individual components, the maintenance engineers will test the functionality of the UPS using mechanical checks to measure and record its operational status and electrical measurements. They will also review its performance history and check that the most up to date firmware is installed.

In-House UPS Battery Maintenance in the UK

There is a well-established service network providing UPS Battery Maintenance in the UK. Although as a nation, we are not subject to power outages on the scale of some countries, the national grid is far from infallible. This is why emergency measures like generators and UPS are vital to the efficient, uninterrupted to conduct of business. However, while a generator, for example, is the kind of equipment that can be very usefully assessed visually, the working parts of a UPS are largely invisible.

A responsible business will play its part in a preventive UPS battery maintenance  program. That largely involves accurate record keeping, because the hands-on work can only properly be carried out by service engineers. Their work can be helpfully facilitated if the client keeps comprehensive details of the equipment itself, including manufacturer's name, serial number, model, size, location and inventory-control data. A history of inspections, repairs and costs should be compiled and kept along with a maintenance schedule, subject to review and amendment in consultation with the maintenance company. At the end of each PMV, an inspection and repair report will be completed by the inspecting engineer and these too must be retained and made available during future visits.

Beyond these managerial and administrative functions, the in-house team can have only limited involvement in maintenance of the system itself but they can certainly contribute to the operating conditions. For example, they can ensure that the environment is clean and free of dust or debris. Other basic duties include making sure there is effective ventilation, regular measuring of the ambient temperature and inspecting batteries to confirm the electrolyte levels and check for leaks. If the UPS is fed by a generator then of course it too should be regularly tested.

When you have a safety net in place it's easy to feel secure, which is the whole point of installing UPS. But its performance depends on how it is looked after. Preventive maintenance by your own staff and in collaboration with qualified service engineers is the only sure way to guarantee that security.

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Created on Nov 15th 2021 02:07. Viewed 257 times.

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