Building Services/Maintenance

Overview

In today’s world people want things, now. They don’t want to wait, or in many cases, they cannot afford to wait. Downtime is not an option.

To help customers avoid costly or un-planned downtime, Pieper Electric offers a complete line of services. From simple site walk-thru’s with an owner to identify possible trouble areas to complete Scheduled Maintenance Plans, we help customers stay operational every day.

We have complete services available in the following areas: Energy Analysis and Audit Programs, Arc Flash Evaluation & Assessment, Infra-Red Scanning, Substation/Gear Cleaning & Torquing, Breaker Exercising and Testing, and the complete complement of High Voltage Services to meet any demand.

Don’t leave your Electrical system to chance. Contact us today for a free assessment.

  

Arc Flash

Pieper Arc Flash Hazard Analysis Program

Regulations:
Per NFPA-70E, IEEE and the National Electrical Code 2008 requires employers to determine if electrical hazards are present, and have each employee use the proper types of Personal Protective Equipment. NFPA 70E-2009 requires that before a worker approaches exposed electric conductors or circuit parts that have not been placed in a safe work condition; a flash hazard analysis must be performed.

Per NEC 2008, section 110.16 Flash Protection Switchboards, panel boards, industrial control panels, and motor control centers in other than dwelling occupancies, that are likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized, shall be field marked to warn qualified persons of potential electric arc flash hazards. The marking shall be located so as to be clearly visible to qualified persons before examination, adjustment, servicing or maintenance of the equipment.

Are you in compliance with NFPA-70E Osha Standards and the National Electrical Code rules on Arc Flash Hazards?

Note:

Many state OSHA's adopt the National Electrical Code as law, and state and federal OSHA organizations have cited companies for being out of compliance with NFPA-70E.

Where and when to perform Arc Flash Hazard Analysis:
Hazardous Arc Flash can occur in any electrical device regardless of voltage, in which energy is high enough to sustain an arc. In industrial settings common places for a fault include:

• Panel boards and switchboards
• Motor control centers
• Metal clad switchgear
• Transformers
• Motor starters
• High voltage switching and grounding
• Pad mount switching
• Meter bases and meter banks
• Anyplace that can have equipment failure

Some of the employees that are affected by Arc Flash Hazards are maintenance workers, electricians, operators and HVAC personnel. Examples of tasks that require fire-rated clothing under NFPA-70E are:

• Removing or installing circuit breakers or fuses
• Low voltage testing
• Working on control circuits with energized parts exposed
• Applying safety grounds
• Racking circuit breakers
• Racking starters
• Removing bolted covers
• Anytime you have exposed live parts

Effects of Arc Fault
The effects of an arcing fault can be devastating on a person. The intense thermal energy can cause severe burns in just a fraction of a second. The temperature of an arc can reach approximately 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit or about four times as hot as the surface of the sun. One of the major causes of electrical burns and deaths to workers is ignition of non fire rated clothing due to an arcing fault.

Why perform an Arc Flash Hazard Analysis?
Without an Arc Flash Hazard Analysis, you cannot properly protect your employees from an Arc Flash hazard. You must know the values for fault currents as well as clearing time for your protective devices to determine the proper personal protective equipment for your qualified personnel.

Solution:
We can perform a cost effective flash hazard analysis along with a short circuit study for your facility. Pieper has the most up to date software on short circuit and Arc Flash calculations, combined with our highly skilled technicians that will provide an accurate and cost effective study of your electrical system.

Benefits of performing an Arc Flash study:
A Pieper Electric Arc Flash study could protect you and your employees from personal injuries, medical claims, insurance cost, equipment damage and numerous fines. The effects of one single accident can be disastrous to a person and company; emotionally and financially. Contact us today for consultation at 414-831-2321.

Building Audits

According to the IEA (International Energy Agency), energy efficient buildings, industrial processes, and transportation could reduce the world’s energy needs by one third by the year 2050 and thus play a crucial role in the control of global emissions of greenhouse gases and the reduction of our carbon footprint.

Additionally, there is a global initiative that states that all new buildings and major renovations must reduce their fossil-fuel GHG-emitting consumption by 50% by 2010.

At Pieper Electric, we feel that a holistic approach to energy solutions provides the best way to tackle the challenges that lie in our future. For this reason, we offer consulting services to businesses looking to find ways to not only do their part to reduce emissions, but to help them reduce their energy consumption and above all, reduce their operating costs.

Pieper Electric is uniquely positioned with the background and experience to present you with viable options for optimum energy savings….. today.

Additionally, we offer energy and system monitoring services. In order to quantify energy consumption and system efficiencies, you not only need a starting point, but ways to assure that project goals are met. We offer everything from simple one-point monitoring to the most complex web-based educational kiosks. Contact us for a free consultation.

The audit consists of:

• Electrical preventive and predictive maintenance of major electrical system components. This includes a heat scan of the electrical service.
• Identification of electrical hazards within your building.
• Electrical system energy management recommendations

Five Reasons to Initiate Your Building Audit Today

1. 90% of building fires originate in the electrical system. Our preventive/predictive maintenance approach greatly reduces the risk of electrical fires.
2. Minimize the possibility of equipment down time and business interruption losses through preventive and predictive maintenance.
3. Minimize the chance of electrical related injury within your building by identifying and eliminating electrical hazards.
4. Save money on your energy bills by operating your building systems (Electrical & HVAC) in a more energy efficient way and through the installation of quick-payback energy efficient equipment.
5. Gain peace of mind by knowing your facility is safe and running efficiently.

Preventative Maintenance

At Pieper Electric, our job is to help you make money. And you can’t make money when your machines or facility is down. We understand that. With our planned maintenance programs and years of experience, we know how to identify problems and to provide the best solutions available, and will help you plan when to make the necessary corrections.

Our technicians use a wide variety of tests to maximize equipment life and efficiency while minimizing the risk of unexpected failure. When repairs are needed, we have the equipment and people to get our customers up and running quickly.

Large power transformers are the heart of a building's electrical system. A failure can completely shut down a business for 24 to 48 hours or longer. Replacement costs for a primary distribution transformer can exceed $30,000. Periodic oil and gas analysis, and turns ratio tests can uncover conditions that may lead to premature transformer failure.

As part of each maintenance inspection, your Pieper Electric technician reviews the electrical system for energy saving opportunities and electrical hazards.

Testing

Infrared scanning allows us to inexpensively locate loose connections, misaligned or worn contacts which waste energy and may eventually lead to equipment failure or even start an electrical fire.

Circuit breakers and fuses are the safety link of all electrical systems. Through inspection and/or testing, your Pieper Electric technician can identify potential problems and they can be addressed during scheduled times instead of becoming emergencies.

 

 

Windings of large or critical motors should be periodically tested and have megohm readings compared to previous results. Low readings or significant drops from prior results may indicate pending failure. Repair costs can be minimized and costly breakdowns prevented.

 

The ever increasing use of computers, light fixtures with electronic ballasts, variable speed drives, and other electronic loads can result in high levels of harmonic distortion. This can result in the burnout of transformers, panel boards, circuit breakers, and neutral conductors. A diagnostic power analysis can determine if dangerously high level of harmonics exist so that appropriate corrective measures can be taken.