What’s your electrical maintenance plan? Learn how to build one

Electrical maintenance plan insights

• If your manufacturing facility has an electrical maintenance plan, this will help you ensure that you’re meeting the requirements.
• If you don’t have an electrical maintenance plan, review the codes, standard and guidelines that will help your team create one.

Safe and efficient business operations depend heavily on the reliability of power systems. In the United States, NFPA 70B: Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance outlines the requirements for an effective maintenance plan for the practical safeguarding of persons, property and processes.

Power system owners and operators now may be expected to meet this standard — along with NFPA 70: National Electrical Code for any new installations and NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace when designing and implementing maintenance plans.

Even if equipment is installed correctly, it may not be considered safe to operate unless it is maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions or industry-accepted practices in a manner consistent with NFPA 70B. Owners should be aware that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) can now request documentation that complies with NFPA 70B during site audits and for various certifications.

The primary objective of a robust maintenance planning process is to develop an electrical maintenance plan (EMP) that delivers operational safety and optimal reliability while minimizing the operational cost of ownership. NFPA 70B provides a standard that, when followed, assists equipment owners and maintenance teams in this critical endeavor.

NFPA 70B-2023 for electrical maintenance plans

The NFPA 70B standard describes a systematic approach to electrical system maintenance, starting with the creation of an EMP and emphasizing the importance of preventing unplanned equipment failures to help drive safe operations and minimize downtime for greater efficiency. It outlines the requirements for an effective EMP, including:

• Roles of responsible personnel.

• Survey and analysis of electrical equipment.

• Documented maintenance procedures.

• Plan of servicing.

• Records-retention policy.

Figure 1: NFPA 70B assists equipment owners and maintenance teams in the development of electrical maintenance plans that deliver operational safety and optimal reliability while minimizing the operational cost of ownership. Courtesy: ABB Electrification, Service Division

The 2023 revision, which converted the previously published guide to a standard, provides detailed installation and operating condition-based maintenance intervals for many common types of electrical equipment. The condition assessment of the equipment is critically important to the EMP and, ultimately, to the total cost of ownership. The document defines three types of equipment conditions, with the highest of the three categories driving the maintenance interval per NFPA 70B, Sections 9.3.1, 9.3.2 and 9.3.3:

• Equipment physical condition.

• Criticality.

• Operating environment.

In addition to guidance on when the maintenance interval should occur, the standard details when system studies should occur, the content of the maintenance work scope and the type of testing that is approved (NFPA 70B, Chapter 6, Chapters 11 through 36 and Chapters 7 and 8, respectively).

Electrical maintenance plan design

Using NFPA 70B as a guide, let’s explore how an organization creates and executes an EMP and what challenges should be considered before beginning a maintenance planning project.

Step 1: Complete power system site assessment

The first major step in designing a maintenance plan is a complete power system site assessment per NFPA 70B, Section 4.4.1. Each piece of equipment must be evaluated for its condition as defined in NFPA 70B, Chapter 9 of and any other parameters that impact safety and operational efficiency. Equipment characteristics, age and maintenance history may all impact the need for maintenance activities.

Figure 2: Original equipment manufacturer documentation and industry standards can provide data needed to develop an effective electrical maintenance plan. Courtesy: ABB Electrification, Service Division

Challenge 1: Resource allocation: Allocating sufficient resources, including personnel, time and budget, for the development and implementation of an EMP can be challenging, especially for organizations where resources with the correct skill set may be limited. Personnel who develop and implement the EMP must understand the electrical equipment, its value to the process that it powers and the impact of the environment on that electrical equipment and its respective process.

Step 2: Define tasks and tests for each equipment scope of work

The tasks and tests for each equipment scope of work at each maintenance interval must be defined in detail according to NFPA 70B, Section 4.4.2. This is critical to determine the proper risk controls for any identified hazards, i.e., what safety measures must be taken should the required tasks expose personnel to electrical hazards, how long the tasks will take and how many trained employees will be required. This information will inform operational management about required shutdown times.

Challenge 2: Complexity of electrical systems: Many organizations operate complex electrical systems with diverse equipment, making it challenging to develop and document a comprehensive maintenance program that addresses the specific needs of each power system component in a cost-effective manner.

Step 3: Record keeping and review

Figure 3: Single-source solution providers bring experience and expertise to help navigate potential roadblocks, identify cost-effective solutions and ensure the electrical maintenance plan meets reliability needs while keeping the total cost of ownership in check. Courtesy: ABB Electrification, Service Division

During the execution of the maintenance plan, accurate and consistent records must be kept of what tasks and tests were carried out, their results and any discrepancies from plan (see NFPA 70B, Section 8.6). Lessons learned and other findings must be documented and reviewed in an after-project review with enough time to plan or adjust before the next round. The ability to notice trends is important to assess when the next maintenance activity is needed or when equipment may need to be replaced. Good trending depends on good record keeping.

Challenge 3: Compliance monitoring: Ensuring ongoing compliance with NFPA 70B standards requires continuous monitoring and updates to the maintenance program, which can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.

Step 4: Long-term record-keeping

Robust long-term record-keeping procedures must be developed or improved to meet NFPA 70B requirements. This information is critical to retain and keep accessible. OSHA and other regulatory bodies will need these records to confirm the EMP is designed appropriately and has been executed per plan. Appropriate change management procedures must be followed to document adjustments and the impact of adjustments on the original plan considered.

Challenge 4: Change management: Implementing an EMP that meets the NFPA 70B standard may require significant changes in organizational discipline, culture, processes and workflows. Creating or updating the appropriate internal project management system can be a significant internal project in and of itself.

Electrical maintenance is flexible

The standard is not an inflexible document that defines only one way to do things.

Figure 4: Power system technology from yesteryear is still highly prevalent and critical. Courtesy: GE/ABB Inc.

NPFA 70B-2023 clearly states that it is not “intended to duplicate or supersede instructions provided by manufacturers.” This simple statement means that to adhere to the standard, the maintenance planning team must locate and synthesize original equipment manufacturer (OEM) documentation from different manufacturers and for a range of models potentially published over many years and with multiple revisions. Faced with this task for a complex power system with a mixture of manufacturers and vintages, organizations can be forgiven if they seek an easier path.

How can you manage and reduce the impact of these challenges while designing an EMP? First, use data to improve the maintenance plan, interval and content. Data is the basis for any appropriate maintenance plan and a continuous feedback loop must be employed to improve the plan. This data can come from several sources.

• OEM documentation and industry standards.

• Lessons learned: Each round of maintenance performed on the power system will return a great deal of information about the equipment. Within a robust maintenance planning process, this information helps to determine if the maintenance intervals and scopes of work should be modified (see NFPA 70B, Section 9.1.2).

• Continuous monitoring: Modern equipment is often or can often be equipped to capture data. In some cases, the equipment can push this data to a cloud-based continuous-monitoring system that dynamically informs the maintenance plan. These systems are not new; however, with the prevalence of mobile devices and the comfort level rising with doing business digitally, these types of systems are becoming increasingly available. NFPA 70B-2023 allows continuous monitoring and predictive techniques to be used to determine maintenance intervals and what maintenance is performed, as shown in NFPA 70B, Section 9.1.1. These techniques must be based on OEM recommendations or accepted industry practices.

Ultimately, the maintenance planner must have a defensible and rational explanation for the plan that is put in place based on good data, manufacturer’s recommendation or accepted industry practice. During an audit, when discrepancies with how the NFPA standard may be interpreted and issues arise (and they invariably will), the auditor will look for the intention and thoughtfulness of the plan put in place.

While this may not change the outcome or what has transpired, it is far too easy to find examples of industrial accidents rooted in shortcuts taken to achieve cost reductions without understanding the consequences or what may be perceived as negligence.

A second approach to consider is partnering with a single-source solution provider. While designing the maintenance plan in-house can be tempting to save on near-term costs, consider the potential longer-term cost savings and risk control that come with hiring a qualified partner for the EMP creation process.

Maintenance organizations exist that have both deep maintenance and product manufacturing experience and that also possess the experience of having created similar plans successfully, avoiding costly mistakes and inefficiencies that can plague “home-grown” efforts. The expertise of these organizations may allow them to identify the most cost-effective solutions, navigate potential roadblocks quickly and ensure the plan meets reliability needs while keeping total cost of ownership under control. In the end, the upfront cost can be dwarfed by the long-term savings they bring through their specialized knowledge.

Future trends in preventive maintenance

Artificial intelligence and digital solutions are changing many aspects of our lives. Preventive maintenance is no different. Companies around the world are developing technologies to evaluate equipment operating conditions and model future potential needs to determine maintenance activities. Soon, based on predictive monitoring algorithms, operation processes may automatically adjust production schedules, contract maintenance work and order parts while adjusting for shipping constraints. This could be the last word in the just-in-time methodology.

Table 1: An example of preventive maintenance intervals created using NFPA 70B-2023 Table 9.2.2 guidelines for equipment conditions. Courtesy: ABB Electrification Service

Many technologies on the horizon or recently released enable such a digital future. Solid-state automatic transfer switches, industrial battery backup systems, on-site solar power generation and intelligent microgrids connected with aggregated virtual power plants and utilities are just some examples of these trends in the electrification space.

Additionally, many solutions are available to retrofit nondigital equipment to be a part of this digital future. Traditional equipment maintenance practices may seem like the most cost-effective solution, but they may also compromise performance targets such as reliability and safety, leading to economic setbacks as well.

Planning for maintenance

The importance of an effective EMP cannot be overstated. It is a critical component in ensuring the safety, reliability and efficiency of power systems. The NFPA 70B standard provides a comprehensive guide for creating and implementing an EMP, but it also presents several challenges, including resource allocation, system complexity, compliance monitoring and change management.

These challenges can be mitigated by using data-driven strategies, continuous monitoring and, most importantly, partnering with a single-source solution provider. These providers bring a wealth of experience and expertise, helping to navigate potential roadblocks, identify cost-effective solutions and ensure the plan meets reliability needs while keeping the total cost of ownership in check.

Power system owners and operators must take proactive steps now to design and implement an effective EMP. Don’t wait for an audit or accident to highlight the importance of preventive maintenance. Contact a single-source solution provider and take the first step toward ensuring the safety, reliability and efficiency of your power systems. Your future self will thank you.

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