Utility power plants have an impressive track record for uptime. They have developed predictive maintenance protocols and parts inventories that document the life of each component down to the tiniest fuse. They know when components will need replacing, and how to use each one most efficiently during its lifetime. They have service and maintenance experts checking systems all the time, waiting to find a problem. And it works — when was the last time your local power plant closed down due to parts failure?
Interestingly, and despite the equal importance of back-up power, the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industry has been slow to adopt a similar standard. Notwithstanding the high costs of this approach, we still see site mangers operating on a “run until parts failure” basis, and maintenance companies allowing events and breakdowns because of faulty parts. Of course at that point a UPS service provider comes in and fixes the problem. But the damage — in terms of lost revenue and business interruption — has already happened.