Carrying out maintenance activities on electrical equipment within an engineered system
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to lead maintenance activities by carrying out corrective maintenance activities on electrical equipment within an engineered system, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to maintain a range of electrical equipment, such as single and three-phase power supplies, motors and starters, switchgear and distribution panels, electrical plant, control systems and equipment, and luminaries, which are working in an integrated system involving two or more of the following interactive technologies: mechanical systems, fluid power or process controllers. You will also be required to identify and implement a systematic approach to improving the equipment maintenance activities undertaken and ensure that the maintenance team have to appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding to maintain the equipment efficiently, effectively and safely.
You will be expected to isolate and disconnect items and components of the interactive technologies, in order to gain access to and remove the electrical units and components that require replacing or repair. This will involve dismantling and reassembling a variety of different types of electrical equipment which, in some instances, will need to be dismantled to component level.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the maintenance activities undertaken, and to report any problems with the maintenance activities, tools or equipment used that you cannot personally resolve, or that are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You must ensure that all tools, equipment, and materials used in the maintenance activities are removed from the work area on completion of the activities, and that all necessary job/task documentation is completed accurately and legibly. You will be expected to work with minimal supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions, and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide an in depth understanding of your work, and will provide an informed approach to applying electrical maintenance procedures. You will also know about the integrated technology assemblies and sub- assemblies, their properties, functions and associated defects, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the dismantling and reassembly process effectively. You will understand the maintenance methods and procedures used, and their application within an engineered system, in sufficient depth to be able to carry out the maintenance activities, correct faults, and ensure that the repaired equipment functions to specification and remains compliant with all standards and regulations. You will also know about the interaction of the other associated integrated technologies and have sufficient knowledge to carry out the dismantling and reassembly safely and effectively.
You will understand the safety precautions required when carrying out the maintenance activities, especially those for isolating the equipment and for taking the necessary safeguards to protect yourself and others in the workplace. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
- produce and update relevant maintenance schedules and plans
- lead maintenance activities within the limits of your personal authority
- carry out the maintenance activities in the specified sequence and in an agreed timescale
- report any instances where the maintenance activities cannot be fully met or where there are identified defects outside the planned schedule
- complete relevant maintenance documentation accurately
- dispose of waste materials in accordance with safe working practices and approved procedures
- identify and lead on making improvements to maintenance processes and procedures
- update management information and systems to support the activities of the maintenance department
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the health and safety requirements of the area in which the maintenance activity is to take place, and the responsibility these requirements place on you
- how to prioritise your own and your team's workload to ensure that targets are met
- how to communicate effectively, listen, question, support and coach others to work towards the departmental targets
- the importance of ensuring that teams have the required skills, knowledge and understanding in order to maintain equipment to the required standards
- how to complete a skills audit of team members
- how maintenance teams can access the appropriate training and development programmes once a need training need has been identified
- the isolation and lock-off procedure or permit-to-work procedure that applies to the system
- the specific health and safety precautions to be applied during the maintenance activity, and their effects on others
- how to recognise and deal with victims of electric shock (to include methods of safely isolating the power source and methods of first aid resuscitation)
- the importance of wearing protective clothing and other appropriate safety equipment during the maintenance activities
- hazards associated with carrying out electrical maintenance activities on an integrated system (such as handling fluids, stored pressure/force, electrical supplies, process controller interface, using damaged or badly maintained tools and equipment, not following laid-down maintenance procedures), and how to minimise these and reduce any risks
- how to obtain and interpret drawings, charts, specifications, manufacturers' manuals, history/maintenance reports, graphical electrical symbols, BS7671/IET wiring regulations and other documents needed for the maintenance activities
- the basic principles of how the system functions, its operation sequence, the working purpose of individual units/components, and how they interact
- the procedure to be adopted to establish the background of the fault
- how to evaluate the various types of information available for fault diagnosis
- how to use the various aids and reports available for fault diagnosis
- how to use various items of fault diagnostic equipment to investigate the problem
- the various fault finding techniques that can be used, and how they are applied (such as half-split, input-to-output, emergent problem sequence, six point technique, function testing, unit substitution, injection and sampling techniques and equipment self-diagnostics)
- how to evaluate sensory information (sight, sound, smell, touch)
- how to analyse evidence and evaluate possible characteristics and causes of specific faults/problems
- how to evaluate the likely risk of running the equipment with the displayed fault, and the effects the fault could have on health and safety, and on the overall process or system
- how to relate previous reports/records of similar fault conditions
- the different types of cabling and their application (such as multi-core cables, single-core cables, steel wire armoured (SWA), mineral insulated (MI), screened cables)
- the different types of electric motors and motor starters
- the different types of control systems and their various components
- the application and use of a range of electrical components (such as plugs, switches, sockets, lighting and fittings, junction boxes, consumer units)
- the various lighting systems used including tungsten, sodium, mercury vapour, LED, low energy and fluorescent
- the different types of wiring enclosures that are used (to include conduit, trunking and traywork systems)
- the care, handling and application of ohmmeters, multimeters and other electrical measuring instruments
- the procedure for obtaining replacement parts, materials and other consumables necessary for the maintenance activities
- company policy on repair/replacement of components during the maintenance activities
- the techniques used to dismantle/assemble integrated equipment (such as release of pressures/force, proof marking to aid re-assembly, plugging exposed pipe/component openings, dealing with soldered joints, screwed, clamped and crimped connections)
- methods of removing and replacing cables and wires in wiring enclosures, without causing damage to existing cables
- the use of BS7671/IET and other regulations when selecting wires and cables, and when carrying out tests on systems
- methods of attaching identification marks/labels to removed components or cables, to assist with re-assembly
- methods of checking that components are fit for purpose, and the need to replace `lifed' items (such as motor brushes, seals and gaskets, and overload protection devices)
- how to make adjustments to components/assemblies to ensure they function correctly
- how to check that tools and equipment are free from damage or defects, are in a safe and usable condition, and are configured correctly for the intended purpose
- the importance of making `off-load' checks before proving the equipment with the electrical supply on
- the generation of maintenance documentation and/or reports on completion of the maintenance activity
- the equipment operating and control procedures to be applied during the maintenance activity
- how to use lifting and handling equipment in the maintenance activity
- the problems that can occur during the electrical maintenance activity, and how they can be overcome
- the organisational procedure to be adopted for the safe disposal of waste of all types of materials
- how to conduct a systematic plan, do, check, act (PDCA) approach to problem-solving and business improvement
- how to evaluate improvement ideas in order to select those that are to be pursued
- how improvements to the process are achieved by engaging the knowledge and experience of the people working on the process
- how to create or update Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) maintenance schedules and plans.
- the techniques required to communicate information using visual control systems (such as card systems, colour coding, floor footprints, graphs and charts, team boards, tool/equipment shadow boards)
- the extent of your own authority and to whom you should report if you have a problem that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Lead a maintenance team by carrying out all the following:
- communicate the maintenance activities to the team
- involve the team in planning how the maintenance activities will be undertaken
- allocate specific maintenance activities to each team member
- involve the team in identifying improvements that could be made to the maintenance process and/or procedures
- encourage the team and/or individuals to take the lead where appropriate
Review and update maintenance procedures and plans to include three the following:
- preventive maintenance (routine inspections, and adjustments)
- corrective maintenance (activities identified from preventative maintenance activities)
- predictive maintenance (analysis of the equipment's condition)
- reactive maintenance (unexpected equipment/component failure)
- maintenance prevention (equipment/component design and development)
plus supporting documentation associated with two **of the following
6. equipment performance
7. equipment downtime/failure
8. overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
9. maintenance costs
10. health and safety
11. staff development and training
12. maintenance procedures/instructions
13. operator manuals/working instructions
14. regulatory compliance
Collect evidence regarding the fault from three **of the following sources:
- person or operator who reported the fault
- sensory input (such as sight, sound, smell, touch)
- monitoring equipment or gauges
- plant/machinery records
- recording devices
- condition of end product
Use a range of fault diagnostic techniques, to include two of the following:
- half-split technique
- emergent sequence
- unit substitution
- input/output
- function/performance testing
- six point technique
- injection and sampling
- equipment self diagnostics
Use a variety of diagnostic aids and equipment, to include two of the following:
- manufacturer's manual
- physical layout diagrams
- algorithms
- flow charts
- probability charts/reports
- fault analysis charts (such as fault trees)
- equipment self diagnostics
- trouble shooting guides
Use two of the following types of test equipment to help in the fault diagnosis:
- mechanical measuring equipment (such as measuring instruments, dial test indicators, torque instruments)
- electrical/electronic measuring instruments (such as multimeters, logic probes)
- fluid power test equipment (such as test rigs, flow meters, pressure gauges)
Find faults that have resulted in two of the following breakdown categories:
- intermittent problem
- partial failure/out-of-specification output
- complete breakdowns
Carry out all of the following during the maintenance activity as applicable to the equipment being maintained:
- plan and communicate the maintenance activities to cause minimal disruption to normal working
- obtain and use the correct issue of company and/or manufacturers' drawings and maintenance documentation
- adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, COSHH, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations and procedures to realise a safe system of work
- ensure the safe isolation of equipment (such as electricity, mechanical, gas, air or fluids)
- provide and maintain safe access and working arrangements for the maintenance area
- carry out the maintenance activities using appropriate techniques and procedures
- reconnect and return the system to service on completion of the maintenance activities
- dispose of waste items in safe and environmentally acceptable manner, and leave the work area in a safe condition
Use appropriate dismantling and re-assembly techniques to deal with two of the following:
fluid power components*:*
1. releasing stored pressure
2. chocking/supporting cylinders/rams/components
3. disconnecting/removing hoses/pipes
4. removing and replacing units/components (such as pumps, valves, actuators)
mechanical components:
5. draining and replenishing fluids
6. removing major mechanical units (such as gearboxes, pumps, workholding/transfer equipment)
7. removing and refitting locking and retaining devices
8. removing minor mechanical units/sub-assemblies (such as guards, structures)
9. proofmarking components to aid reassembly
10. setting, aligning and adjusting replaced units
process controller components:
11. de-activating and resetting program controller
12. disconnecting/reconnecting wires/cables
13. reloading programs and making minor amendments
14. removing and replacing program logic peripherals
15. removing and replacing input/output interfacing
* *
Carry out maintenance activities on six of the following types of electrical equipment:
- single-phase power supplies
- control systems and components
- three-phase power supplies
- electrical plant
- direct current power supplies
- wiring enclosures
- motors and starters
- luminaires
- switchgear and distribution panels
- other specific electrical equipment
* *
Carry out all of the following maintenance activities, as applicable to the equipment being maintained:
- isolating and locking off equipment
- removing and replacing damaged wires / cables
- disconnecting / reconnecting wires and cables
- removing and replacing wiring enclosures
- attaching suitable cable identification markers
- setting and adjusting replaced components
- removing electrical units/components
- making `off-load' checks before powering up
- checking components for serviceability
- functionally testing completed system
- replacing damaged/defective components
Replace/refit a range of electrical components, to include eight of the following:
- cables and connectors
- switches and sensors
- invertors and servo controllers
- contactors
- solenoids
- circuit boards
- relay components
- capacitors
- starters
- lighting fixtures
- transformers
- rectifiers
- batteries
- overload protection devices
- encoders or resolvers
- locking and retaining devices (such as cable ties, clips, proprietary fasteners)
* *
Identify and implement improvements in the services provided by the maintenance team to include two **of the following:
- equipment downtime during maintenance
- equipment performance monitoring systems
- overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
- maintenance procedures
- operator instructions
- visual management systems/documentation
- resource planning
- costs
- staff development and training
- health and safety
- procurement
- other specific improvement
Ensure that maintenance activities comply with three of the following:
- organisational guidelines and procedures
- equipment manufacturer's operating specification/range
- British, European or International standards or directives
- recognised compliance agency/body standards or directives
- health, safety and environmental requirements
- customer standards and requirements
Complete the relevant paperwork from one of the following, and pass it to the appropriate people:
- job cards
- maintenance log or report
- permits to work/formal risk assessment and/or sign-on/off procedures
- company-specific documentation
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Additional Information
You will be able to apply the appropriate behaviours required in the workplace to meet the job profile and overall company objectives, such as:
- strong work ethic
- positive attitude
- team player
- dependability
- responsibility
- honesty
- integrity
- motivation
- commitment