CASE STUDY 1: INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY
A major retail client experienced a significant loss at one of their trading stores due to a malfunction in the refrigeration plant room. This resulted in stock losses in excess of R500 000. We were contacted to assist with locating the fault and to discuss future preventative measures.
The challenge
A major retail client initially did not use Infrared Thermography as part of a structured condition monitoring and maintenance program. They then experienced a major loss at one of their trading stores due to a refrigeration plant room malfunction. The incident occurred afterhours and they still had an older system where no alarms were connected to notify the standby personal that the cold room breaker tripped.
They experienced stock losses in excess of R500 000 due to the refrigeration failure. We were contacted to assist with locating the fault and to discuss future preventative measures. We conducted a comprehensive scan of the electrical reticulation and located the fault.
The solution
A high-resistance connection was detected on the white incoming phase of the main breaker feeding the refrigeration plant room, with the cable insulation already burnt off. The fault was caused by a poorly crimped lug, causing the main breaker to trip as the resistance increased. We recommended replacing the main breaker, cable and to re-lug the cable and thereafter to tighten all the connections according to the correct torque specifications.
The client was able to repair same and now includes regular scans from us as part of an ongoing preventative maintenance program.