An effective preventative maintenance plan can help businesses focus on their core business. By leveraging experienced service providers, businesses can optimize resources, concentrate on serving customers, and delegate UPS services to their providers. Electrical systems are complex, integrated systems, and routine maintenance primarily ensures the reliability of their critical components—uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Maintenance can be scheduled outside of core business hours, and any necessary replacements can be planned in advance, prioritizing appropriate protocols.
After an enterprise invests in and deploys a UPS in its data center, the next step is for technicians to back up its mission-critical equipment through a reliable maintenance plan. Once your UPS is up and running, you can begin trend reporting. The UPS and its associated batteries should be tested every six months to ensure the system is functioning correctly and that the monitoring software is up-to-date. More importantly, the UPS battery system is critical and requires more monitoring and maintenance. Organizations can analyze maintenance results and appropriately measure the expected lifespan of various components. Research shows that most data center outages are preventable. An organization’s maintenance plan should not introduce any issues that the manufacturer deems beyond system parameters and should provide appropriate support.
Five key factors that businesses should consider in preventative maintenance
(1) Contingency Plan
Contingency planning is a top priority in preventative maintenance. Organizations need to better collaborate with service providers to make it part of their business plans. This means implementing specific processes and procedures, including contingency plans, for every type of incident.
(2) Predictive (maintenance) analysis
Predictive maintenance can extend the lifespan of various components within the UPS, including the battery. Maintenance reports should include information on the overall battery pack health and fan speed.
(3) Regular maintenance/replacement cycle
An effective maintenance plan will describe service access in advance, giving the data center ample time to notify the service provider. If a replacement is needed, the service can be provided during the open maintenance window.
(4) Get help from UPS technicians
Knowledgeable and experienced UPS technicians can provide significant assistance and are crucial for the reliable operation of an organization’s UPS equipment. Businesses can receive training from UPS manufacturers and ensure timely replacement of critical spare parts.
(5) Improve system uptime
The goal of a UPS power supply system is to improve system uptime, which is easier said than done; it’s the sum of all the key factors in a UPS system. Emergency response time, predictive analytics, maintenance planning, and a combination of skilled UPS technicians can all improve system reliability and allow organizations to focus on their core business.