Calibrator improves Eskom's productivity in card repair section
April 2001
Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
The purchase of two Fluke 743B calibrators in the Card Repair Services, a section within Eskom PTM (Witbank) has substantially improved productivity. Card Repair Services (CRS) uses the two Fluke calibrators for the repair and calibration of industrial electronic modules.
CRS provides a one-stop technical service to clients within generation, transmission, distribution and the private sector, repairing industrial electronic cards and protection relays. CRS repair approximately 3500 electronic modules a year, consisting of cards from over forty manufactures.
Eskom repair technician Daan van Tonder explains: "A customer product catalogue is available with prices immediately available on request. Electronic modules from the customer product catalogue are repaired using test procedures (work instruction), which ensures repeatability of repair, corrective action on rework and consistent service in case of staff turnover. Currently CRS have 800 test procedures available for repair. New test procedures are created continuously due to economic demand or on customer request.
"A small quantity of repair is carried out without test procedures if documentation is available and the functionality of the repair can be tested either on the work bench or in the plant. This type of repair is also carried out if prices from a supplier are extremely high or no supplier can be traced.
"Since using the 743B the department experiences less equipment plug-in errors due to the calibrator's multiple functions. The 743B is fast and gets the job done faster. We save on time and labour because the instrument captures data automatically. The data is then transferred to a PC, which generates certificates automatically. Another advantage is that the calibrator doesn't clutter the workbench."
According to Van Tonder, Eskom bought the 743 because of its ease-of-use, setup procedures and calibration data integrity. He says: "Benchtop and field calibration can be done without having to cart around extension leads, etc. The 743B offers so many functions that source and multimeter combinations are not necessary any longer."
Spescom Product Specialist Morne Maree agrees. He says: "Whether calibrating instruments, troubleshooting a problem or running routine maintenance, the Fluke 743 process calibrator can help get the job done faster. It does so many different tasks, so quickly and so well, it is the only process calibrator you need to carry."
Van Tonder is also satisfied with the service Eskom gets from Spescom. "Although none of us had any experience with the product it was not a problem. As part of its after-sales service, Spescom offered us hands-on training on the Fluke 743. It was very effective. Without the training it would have taken much longer before we could have made full use of the product."
Spescom MeasureGraph
(011) 266 1572
[email protected]
www.spescom.com
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