Electrical Infrastructure is the single most critical component to the long-term success to an operation. The entire operation can hinge on a facility’s electrical infrastructure availability and some components are more critical than others, either because of the process they support or because they are a singular system feature. From the Utility feed on down to each load, planning is critical to ensure system availability. Important considerations are redundancy, criticality of loads, standby and emergency elements, among many others.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM RELIABILITY (Criticality) STUDIES
The best way to improve system reliability and avoid costly unplanned shutdowns is to establish a comprehensive picture of your electrical infrastructure, establish a prioritized list of maintenance and repair activities, and establish a planned maintenance schedule based on informed decisions, accurate data on the existing condition of the system, and the relative costs of repairs vs. unplanned shutdowns.
CDI Engineering Solutions is your single-source supplier for a comprehensive analysis of your facility’s electrical system, including walkdown and documentation of system conditions, and cost estimating for recommended upgrades and repairs. The facility study will document:
- Energy efficiency
- Equipment conditions
- Maintenance history
- Probability of failure
- Costs of repair/replacement
- Costs of unplanned shutdown
- A prioritized list of upgrades/repairs
- FEL and cost estimate
Our electrical engineering team has expertise in the design of plant power and electrical infrastructure facilities. CDI’s capabilities include analysis, conceptual development, design and support of 480V, 2400V, 5kV, 15kV, and 34.5kV electrical systems. Using industry standard software packages (ETAP, SKM, Easy Power), CDI can model entire power distribution systems and provide critical insight and design services including arc flash analysis, code-compliant arc flash labels, relay coordination analysis, device sizing and settings.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY STUDIES
CDI also performs energy efficiency studies with the GOAL to reduce energy consumption and overall energy budget while increasing operational efficiency and productivity.
- Perform sitewide study and find opportunities for efficiency improvements with the potentially highest impact on consumption and costs.
- Areas under consideration may include lighting, HVAC, machinery, site power generation, power factor, and more.
- Identify net-zero projects that, when performed, will achieve the stated goal. (Reduced consumption > lowered costs > positive cashflow.)
- Monitor results: establish benchmarks and target objectives and track progress against those measures on a regular basis.
It pays to perform these services!
In addition to the concrete financial and operational improvements, energy efficiency improvements will produce quantifiable environmental benefits to support your facility’s sustainability and public/community relations objectives.
A TIMELY OPPORTUNITY
We at CDI recognize the disruption to the normal business and manufacturing processes that has been caused by the COVID pandemic. Even before COVID, our
industry was reacting to the impact of depressed energy prices, increased environmental concerns, and many uncertainties about our future. In many of our client locations, staff have taken on different roles, production plans have changed, and maintenance activities delayed (or are ongoing with a reduced or skeleton crew).
It’s an excellent time to allow CDI to demonstrate how our Electrical System Reliability Study and/or Energy Efficiency Study can help you get an accurate understanding of the current state of your facilities and a path to improved operations. A complimentary webinar / “lunch & learn” session is an excellent opportunity for us to introduce CDI and explain our approach more fully. Then, if you are interested, we will offer a proposal for an analysis of the overall plant electrical infrastructure, or a component of the system, and provide a Reliability or Efficiency Study and Report for plant management to use in system improvements and strategic planning.
