Electric.ie Magazine Nov/Dec 2016

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22 • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry •
Šƒ• ‘ ‘˜‹‰ ’ƒ”–•ǡ ƒ† Ƥ‡Ž†
maintenance is largely impractical
without extensive training. However,
–Š‡”‡ ƒ”‡ •–‹ŽŽ ƒ‹–‡ƒ ‡ –ƒ••
you can carry out that can help avoid
system failures. These include:
• Battery check Ȃ ‡‡’ ƒ ”‡ ‘”† ‘ˆ
when the battery was last changed.
ƒ––‡”‹‡• –›’‹ ƒŽŽ› Žƒ•– ˆ‘” Ƥ˜‡ ›‡ƒ”•Ǥ
A sudden loss of power can be
catastrophic, so it’s better to replace
batteries before they fail. If the battery
or power LED indicator shows a
warning light, this could be a sign that
the battery needs replacing. Specifying
• –Šƒ– †‘ ‘– ”‡“—‹”‡ „ƒ––‡”‹‡• ƒ
reduce maintenance over the life of the
installation and eliminate the risk of
battery failure.
• Check Operating Voltage – Check
the input voltage that is powering your
–‘ ƒ‡ •—”‡ –Šƒ– –Š‡ ˜‘Ž–ƒ‰‡ ‹•
™‹–Š‹ •’‡ ‹Ƥ ƒ–‹‘•Ǥ Š‹• ƒ‡• –Š‡
Ž‡•• ˜—Ž‡”ƒ„Ž‡ –‘ ƪ— –—ƒ–‹‘• ƒ†
reduces the risks associated with power
spikes and “brown out” conditions.
Simple steps to keep your PLC healthy
WAGO
The programmable logic
controller (PLC) is the brain of
a plant’s operations, and without
it critical systems cannot function.
Yet, all too often, looking after a
PLC installed base is overlooked.
Even a short outage can be costly
through lost production. This is
why it’s important to manage and
maintain your PLCs and include
–Š‡ ƒ• ƒ •‹‰‹Ƥ ƒ– ƒ•’‡ – ‘ˆ ƒ›
plant maintenance activities.
—–Š‹ƒ„Ž‡ Šƒ’’‡ ƒ† ƒ •—ơ‡”•
a sudden unexpected failure, you
‡‡† –‘ „‡ ’”‡’ƒ”‡†Ǥ ‡‡’ —’ –‘ †ƒ–‡
”‡ ‘”†• ‘ˆ ƒŽŽ ›‘—” •ǡ –Š‡‹” „”ƒ†•ǡ
Ž‘ ƒ–‹‘•ǡ •‡”‹ƒŽ —„‡”•ǡ Ƥ”™ƒ”‡
versions and available spares. This will
ƒ‡ •™ƒ’’‹‰ ‹ ƒ ‡™ “—‹ 
and easy, and can provide helpful
information on your options should
you wish to upgrade and/or switch
brands.
• Life cycle management Ȃ • ƒ”‡
generally highly reliable and can last
for many years. As technology evolves,
new features and programming
techniques emerge. It is worthwhile
tracking the life cycle of your installed
base and being aware of what is
ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡ ‘ –Š‡ ƒ”‡–Ǥ ‘— ƒ› Ƥ†
–Šƒ– ”‡’Žƒ ‹‰ ƒ „‡ˆ‘”‡ ‹– „‡ ‘‡•
obsolete brings new functionality to
your applications.
Incorporating these tasks into your
plant maintenance plan can help to
avoid failures and eliminate costly
downtime. None of the above tasks
ƒ”‡ ƒ– ƒŽŽ †‹ƥ —Ž–ǡ ƒ† •‘ –ƒ‹‰ –Š‡•‡
simple steps can help to keep your
plant’s brain healthy, and could end up
being a lifesaver for your processes.
Drives and Controls is an appointed
WAGO distributor for Ireland. To
Ƥ† ‘—– ‘”‡ ƒ„‘—– ǯ•
controller family, as well as other
interconnection and automation
products.
telephone: +353 1 4604474
email:
website:
• Keep out dust – Allowing dust to
ƒ ——Žƒ–‡ ‘ ‘” ƒ”‘—† ƒ ƒơ‡ –•
heat dissipation which can lead to
malfunctions. If there are signs of
overheating, such as warped casing
or a burning smell, then consider
”‡’Žƒ ‹‰ –Š‡ Ǥ ‡‡’‹‰ –Š‡ ’ƒ‡Ž
clear of dust and debris can not only
’”‘Ž‘‰ ƒ ǯ• Ž‹ˆ‡ǡ „—– ƒŽ•‘ Š‡Ž’ –‘
‹’”‘˜‡ –Š‡ ‡ƥ ‹‡ › ƒ† ”‡Ž‹ƒ„‹Ž‹–›
of nearby components and devices by
reducing the temperature inside the
panel.
• Check for loose connections –
Screw connections in any control
panel can come loose over time,
’ƒ”–‹ —Žƒ”Ž› ‹ ƒ”‡ƒ• •—ơ‡”‹‰ ”‡‰—Žƒ”
or constant vibrations. This risk
ƒ „‡ •‹‰‹Ƥ ƒ–Ž› ”‡†— ‡† „›
using spring pressure connection
technology, which apply constant
pressure to cables in order to keep
connections safe, secure and reliable.
• Keep regular programbackups –
 –Š‡ ‡˜‡– –Šƒ– ƒ •—††‡Ž› ˆƒ‹Ž•ǡ
the last thing you need is to have to
reprogramme the entire system. It is
important to save backups whenever
changes are made to the programme
so that in the event of a failure it can
be quickly loaded onto a replacement
ǡ ‡‡’‹‰ †‘™–‹‡ ƒ†
programming time to a minimum.
Make sure that the programming
software required to reload a project is
up to date, licenced and is installed on
ƒ ‘’ƒ–‹„Ž‡ ™‹–Š –Š‡ Ǥ
• Failure action plan – Should the