In this issue
		Energy Services Bulletin home page
		Marshall, Schwan lighting project puts custom in customer service
		Mor-Gran-Sou partners with Boy Scouts to change lights and the world
		Western's IR cameras help utilities, customers maintain efficiency
		Technology Spotlight: Energy efficiency in new and existing computer data centers
		Energy shorts
		Calendar of events

Western's IR cameras help utilities, customers maintain efficiency

Regular infrared camera inspections at Leprino Foods' Fort Morgan plant allow maintenance to find problems like this hot wire on a food processor and schedule repairs without losing production time. Fort Morgan Utilities borrows the IR camera from Western's Equipment Loan Program to perform inspections for its large industrial accounts. (Photo by NMPP Energy)

 

Whoever coined the saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," must have been thinking about an infrared camera inspection. Well, maybe not, but that's how NMPP Energy and Fort Morgan Light and Power see the audits they perform with cameras borrowed from Western's Equipment Loan Program.

NMPP Member Services Representative Bob Meade recently coordinated a preventative inspection of Leprino Foods' Fort Morgan, Colo., plant with the city utility and Western. "It took about six hours and the help of four maintenance workers to complete the audit," he recalled. "That's a small investment of time and labor compared to the loss an equipment shutdown could cause the plant."

"The biggest plus is that we can find problems and fix them on our schedule," said Leprino Plant Engineering Manager Paul Oliveira who has been working with the city and NMPP to perform inspections for about five years.  "That's the definition of preventive maintenance. There is no down time involved because the equipment has to be running during the audit," he added.

Plant prepared for inspection

Linda Swails, who recently joined Western's Rocky Mountain Region as a public utilities specialist, accompanied Meade, Western Equipment Loan Manager Gary Hoffmann and Fort Morgan Electric Superintendent Larry Black. "The maintenance staff was well prepared for the inspection," she said. "They knew what they wanted to accomplish and they had the route through the plant planned."

That is because the Leprino plant has a rotation schedule for inspections, said Oliveira. "It's too big to do in one day, so we've divided the facility in half and audit each half in alternating years," he explained. "We also revisit problems found in the previous inspection to make sure they have been corrected."

Having in-house workers open and close electrical bays for inspectors makes the audit run smoothly, he added. "And it's important to have a detail of the areas being inspected so that when you get the report, you can go right to the hot spots."

Oliveira praised NMPP Energy for its efficient approach. "They show up when they are scheduled, they get the job done and we get the report in a timely manner," he said. "It's really a minimal intrusion."

Instant benefits create good customer relations

The most recent inspection turned up only a few potential problems, said Meade. "Of the 3,000 pieces of equipment we scanned, 35 needed some sort of attention. That's 1 percent," he observed.

That illustrates two important reasons for IR inspections: first, in a big facility, there is always something that isn't performing as efficiently as it could be; second, and perhaps more important, regular inspections keep such instances to a minimum. Facility managers are able to correct problems while they are manageable and relatively inexpensive to address. Also, they may discover small adjustments that save energy and wear on equipment, thereby reducing operating costs.

On the other hand, an inspection could uncover a major malfunction about to happen, as one did at Leprino Foods a few years ago. "One large transformers was on the verge of going out," recalled Meade. "With permission from the city, we shut it down and repaired it. That saved thousands of dollars in lost production time. Those are the incidents that really sell businesses on the value of IR inspections."

Inspections give a sense of instant gratification that builds a strong relationship between a business and its power provider. "Our utilities can provide this service to their large key accounts free of charge, and the customer sees the benefit right away," said Meade. "That's why NMPP Energy promotes it so heavily at our customer meetings. And utilities are starting to catch on."

Service supports local economy

Fort Morgan, a strong advocate for IR inspections, tries to do inspections for all of its large key accounts every two years and offers inspections to smaller customers as well. "Keeping the large accounts running keeps our meters running," said Black.

For a utility with only 5,000 meters, Fort Morgan has a lot of experience with servicing large industrial accounts. In addition to Leprino Foods, a sugar factory, a meat processing plant and a dairy provide manufacturing jobs for 22 percent of the city's workers, well above the state and national averages.

Black agrees with Meade that IR audits have helped to open lines of communication with those accounts. "Whenever our big customers need help or have a concern that might affect electrical service, they will contact us," he said.

Fort Morgan also practices what it preaches to its customers. "We use Western's cameras to scan our own substations and feeder lines once a year," Black said. "It's a great way to prevent problems."

Equipment Loan Program offers options

NMPP borrows Western's IR cameras to conduct between 30 and 50 inspections each year. Even though camera prices are going down and equipment is becoming easier to use, Meade still prefers to use the Equipment Loan Program. "NMPP is a joint action agency with a small budget and staff," he explained. "With the Equipment Loan Program, I'm not tied down to the camera our agency can afford." 

For the Leprino audit, Meade chose the FLIR ThermaCam 695. "It takes color pictures that are easy to interpret," he said. "I've been using this model for about four years." 

Hoffmann said, "We have 16 color cameras available for loan. All of them record images that can be used to illustrate reports or saved for comparison with future audits."
           
The Equipment Loan Program also offers other pieces of diagnostic equipment. A blower door can be used with an IR camera to make leaks in a building envelope show up more clearly on infrared images. Utilities can borrow a power quality analyzer to balance their power systems for maximum efficiency, or help customers identify power spikes that can cause outages and damage equipment.

Best of all, Western customers don't have to break their budgets to provide technical assistance to their own customers. They can borrow equipment as needed—in the case of the infrared camera, some utilities need it twice a year while others only borrow it every two years. The program also gives customers the chance to "test drive" a technology they are considering buying. Request an ounce of prevention, education or research online, or contact Hoffmann at 720-962-7420.