Think for a moment about how much your facility pays annually for utilities: electricity, natural gas, etc. Now, think about taking one-fourth of an equivalent amount of money—and simply throwing it out the window!

Sure, this notion sounds crazy. But even in today’s cost-conscious world, that’s still essentially what American business does when it comes to the use of energy dollars. Recently compiled data by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (www.llnl.gov) shows that nearly one-fourth of the energy consumed by U.S. commercial and industrial firms in 2010 ended up as “rejected”—wasted and nonproductive—energy.

How much benefit would it be if your company could save even a portion of these lost energy dollars? Unless yours is different than most, my guess is significant. For this reason, plus because energy in all its forms isn’t getting any cheaper, projects that improve energy efficiency or reduce consumption only make good sense for the firm wanting to be more competitive in 2012.

How much benefit would it be if your company could save even a portion of these lost energy dollars? Unless yours is different than most, my guess is significant. For this reason, plus because energy in all its forms isn’t getting any cheaper, projecA great way to cut consumption and save money is to make use of incentives offered by many utilities. Here are a few from the electric utility side:s that improve energy efficiency or reduce consumption only make good sense for the firm wanting to be more competitive in 2012.

• AEP Ohio’s gridSMART® initiative rebates up to 50% of project costs for improvements like more efficient motors and HVAC equipment. Its Express Program pays up to 100% of costs for small-business energy efficiency projects. There is even a retroactive program with partial rebates for projects completed as far back as January 1, 2009.

  As a member of the gridSMART Solutions Provider network, D.L. Steiner will be happy to help you take advantage of these great programs. Give us a call.

• The Efficiency Smart program by American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) offers industrial/commercial customers with annual usage of 20,000 to 500,000 kWh rebates for improvements that provide permanent usage reductions. These include lighting, HVAC, motors/drives, compressors, and refrigeration units. AMP also offers a custom program for those who use more than 500,000 kWh/year.
• The Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives (OREC) offers reimbursement of 50% (up to $5,000) to its industrial and commercial clients who complete energy audits.

Check with your utility companies or contact D.L. Steiner for the energy efficiency rebates available to you. Refocusing on the basics is another path to savings. For example, how good is your power factor? Do you have a good control system to help you avoid demand charges?

By far the most effective tool for getting more from your energy dollars is the professional energy audit. An energy audit inspects and analyzes energy flows at your company to identify where energy inputs can be reduced without negatively affecting output. It prioritizes these to help you know which provide the greatest energy savings. D.L. Steiner offers several different levels of energy audits, depending on your need:

• Energy assessments, also known as “walk-through” or “one-day” audits,” that (1) compare your facility’s current energy consumption with reference standards for similar operations to determine “good,” “average,” and “bad” performance and (2) identify your facility’s most obvious areas of energy inefficiency and waste.
• Standard audits, intermediate-level audits that use data collection, interviews, facility/system studies, on-site measurement and testing, and engineering calculations to identify ECMs (energy conservation measures) appropriate for your company and the economic factors related to their implementation.
• Investment-grade audits (IGAs) that use in-depth data collection, comprehensive measurement and verification (M&V), and extensive engineering analysis to quantify the risks/rewards of energy projects—especially large capital ones—so stakeholders can be confident of the ROI before committing funds to these efforts.

As a certified energy manager (CEM), I’ve come to appreciate the value of “measure before doing.” The key to a successful energy audit is using M&V techniques that accurately determine how much energy the various initiatives will save. D.L. Steiner conducts our audits according to the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). IPMVP is the recognized standard for reliability in energy savings claims.

Regardless of how well your company does on the energy efficiency scale, chances are good its rating could be even better—maybe by as much as 25%—for a real boost to your bottom line. Contact D.L. Steiner today for more on how we can help you save energy and reduce your energy costs in 2012.

D.L. Steiner’s energy assessment is a CEM-completed engineering study that uses your company’s historical energy data, an inspection of your facility, and comparisons with industry averages to identify areas where you can increase energy efficiency and conservation—and save money!

Contact D.L. Steiner at 419-222-6048 to schedule your free energy assessment and to request our Pre-Assessment Data Collection Form.

In the previous issue of the PCC Journal, we discussed how demand control can help companies lower their utility bills by smoothing out their electrical demand (the kW amount of electricity required for operations). This article looks at six great options for setting up an effective demand control program—and eliminating those costly demand charges!

Option 1: scheduled operations. Under scheduled operations, all operations are metered to determine their electrical load and then run at predetermined times, with some functions staggered so they don’t operate simultaneously. High-demand operations are then run at night, when utilities typically relax their kW demand limits. Scheduled operations often work well in situations where production is consistent from day to day.

Option 2: manual control. In a manual demand control system, someone is responsible for monitoring electrical demand (using meters) and shutting down certain equipment when the demand reaches a target level. Manual control is an effective demand control alternative—and one that’s fairly economical to implement. But if you decide on a manual system, we recommend also incorporating some type of alarm scheme to alert personnel when facility electrical demand is nearing its limit.

Option 3: interlocks, load shedders. Interlocks prevent two or more pieces of high-demand equipment from running at the same time. Load shedders automatically shut down equipment before the target electrical demand level is reached (shutdown occurs according to a prioritized schedule). Both methods depend on metering for the capabilities they provide.Interlocks and load shedders are less flexible than other demand control options, which may not make them ideal for environments where production operations change frequently. But if you want guaranteed electrical demand control, they may be the right choice for you.

Option 4: PLCs. Because of their versatility, PLCs can perform a range of demand control functions, from equipment interlocking to complex decision making. Most facilities have an abundance of PLCs, so you may already own all of the equipment you need to implement demand control.

Keep in mind, though, PLCs are not an out-of-the-box solution: they do require custom programming. On the plus side, D.L. Steiner offers complete PLC programming services for demand control applications.

Option 5: demand control systems. Demand control systems are typically whole-facility, software- and meterbased energy management applications that can be as extensive and integrated as you care to make them. With a demand control system, you can control every aspect of energy usage at your facility, not just electrical demand. Demand control systems can be expensive, but their capabilities make them worth every penny.

Option 6: special equipment. Generators and adjustable speed drives (ASDs) can help you avoid demand charges by providing as-needed auxiliary power or by flattening out the power spikes that lead to exceeding the demand limit. The expense of these systems is often offset by what that save you over time.

With the right demand control system, you can get rid of demand charges and significantly lower your facility’s electric bills—but the key is picking the best option from all the available alternatives. For assistance in identifying your ideal demand control solution, contact D.L. Steiner.

These two energy values aren’t the same thing, and they aren’t necessarily equal. Another type of energy present within the electrical system, reactive power (kVAR) counteracts working power (kW), causing it to be used less efficiently. In practice, the more kVAR you have in your system, the more apparent power (kVA) your utility must provide to supply the working power (kW) you need to run equipment.

As mentioned, power factor is the ratio of kW to kVA. The closer these values are to a 1:1 ratio, the closer you are to an ideal power factor of 1.0 and efficient power usage.

Figure 1—Less kVAR, Better Power Factor

Conversely, the more kVAR your system has, the greater the ratio between kW and kVA (0.90:1, 0.85:1, etc.) and the poorer the power factor.

Figure 2—More kVAR, Poorer Power Factor

Your utility tracks the kW you use and the kVA it must supply, and from this, it can calculate your power factor. If your power factor is below a certain level (e.g., 95%, or 0.95), the utility probably charges you a power factor penalty fee. Depending on your facility, this monthly penalty can be substantial. The good news is that power factor can be corrected to improve your kW-to-kVA ratio, which, in turn, can reduce your kW load and eliminate your power factor penalty fees.

When companies consider power factor correction, they typically think in terms of adding capacitor banks to decrease kVAR. Often, however, another excellent source of power factor correction is already installed within their plants: the synchronous motors running their processes. If your facility has synchronous motors, you may presently have all the equipment you need for better power factor and lower monthly electric costs!

Unlike induction motors that are by nature reactive, or “lagging,” synchronous motors can be set to operate in a “leading” mode that enables them to perform essentially the same function as capacitor banks, creating capacitive energy to counteract system kVARs and permit more efficient kW usage. For the production facility with (a) power factor problems and (b) synchronous motors on hand, this approach is an excellent alternative. But before you start adjusting synchronous motor settings, following are seven guidelines you should keep in mind to ensure a better, more effective project outcome.

• Complete a power quality analysis of your electrical system—Power quality analysis helps identify any harmonic, transient, and grounding issues that could impact power factor correction results. It also helps reconcile your facility’s power factor ratio with the one reported by your electric utility.
• Check your motor types—This is more than just verifying induction motors vs. synchronous motors. Some synchronous motors can be adjusted to no more than a 1.0 (unity) power factor mode, while others can be adjusted to a leading mode of 0.80 or more. For power factor correction, you need synchronous motors that can be set to a leading mode.
• Evaluate motor loading—If synchronous motors are under a full load, they may not be able to run in the leading mode, even if they have that capability. Remember, the lead is where the power factor correction is. To put motors in the lead, you may need to do some load shifting.
• Examine the motor controller—This involves determining how difficult it is to adjust the controllers in order to place the motors in the lead. If the process is too complicated, you may need to consider other options.
• Verify the magnitude of the power factor correction need—Setting your synchronous motors in the lead may reduce—but not eliminate—your power factor problem. For a total solution, you may also need to consider stationary, static, or climatic power factor correction equipment along with the synchronous motor adjustments.
• Perform preventive maintenance (PM) prior to adjusting the motors—Preventive maintenance ensures the motors and related equipment are in peak condition and operating correctly so that if a problem occurs after the adjustments are made, the equipment will shut down properly to protect itself.
• Meter motor operations—After synchronous motors have been placed in the lead, they need to be monitored to ensure they are performing as expected. If your electrical system doesn’t have the built-in metering capabilities for this, setting up a temporary metering installation is a wise investment.

In many cases, placing synchronous motors in the lead solves power factor problems without adding equipment to the system. It also eliminates related issues such as increased maintenance and decreased reliability. Additionally, when you factor ina typically better ROI than that of installing capacitors, the synchronous motor option is worth considering.

In many cases, placing synchronous motors in the lead solves power factor problems without adding equipment to the system. It also eliminates related issues such as increased maintenance and decreased reliability. Additionally, when you factor ina typically better ROI than that of installing capacitors, the synchronous motor option is worth considering.

But synchronous motor adjustments aren’t something you do as an isolated event. By following a few practical tips before and during motor adjustments, you’ll ensure this solution is as effective as it can be to deliver the power factor correction results you’re expecting.

For more information on how you can implement effective power factor correction using synchronous motors, contact D.L. Steiner, Inc.

First, understand that an electrical lockout/tagout program is not an option. Electrical lockout/tagout falls under workplace electrical safety and the overall electrical safety program mandated by OSHA and the NFPA. What’s more, NFPA 70E stipulates this program should be a documented program. Each facility should have an electrical lockout/tagout program, and this program needs to be on paper, not just in peoples’ heads. If you aren’t comfortable developing and documenting your lockout/tagout program, enlist the services of a knowledgeable professional.

Along with this, realize that an effective electrical lockout/tagout program isn’t simply your mechanical lockout/tagout program with the word electrical substituted for the word mechanical. Electrical lockout/tagout has a specific goal—the electrically safe work condition. The electrically safe work condition is a unique safety plan that must address the standards NFPA 70E has mandated:

• The conductor or circuit part has been disconnected from energized parts.
• It has been lock/tagged according to established standards.
• It has been tested to verify that voltage is absent.
• It has been properly grounded, if this is deemed necessary.

For a complete electrical lockout/tagout program, lockout/tagout procedures should be developed for each piece of equipment whose circuitry may be accessed by maintenance personnel. Naturally, the details of these procedures will vary, but all should state what the procedure is intended to accomplish. Additionally, they should specify that only a qualified electrical worker is authorized to perform the electrical lockout/tagout. Like the electrical lockout/tagout program, itself, these procedures should be documented.

Related to this is accessibility. To make proper use of the electrical lockout/tagout program and procedures, workers must have ready access to these documents. In this situation, redundancy is not a bad thing. Post or store your program/procedures in as many places as is practical so your personnel can easily find them: online, file cabinets, special notebooks, local work areas, etc. Remember, though, if you change a document in one location, make sure you also update it in all locations.

Ensure your electrical lockout/tagout program is comprehensive. Setting up a program for simple lockouts/tagouts—one worker, one piece of equipment—is not too difficult. Establishing a program that effectively addresses complex lockouts/tagouts— ones that involve multiple personnel and many forms of energy (hydraulics, steam, etc.), or ones that extend across shifts—is a different matter. Who is responsible for the entire lockout/tagout operation? How are the various types of energy coordinated during the lockout/tagout? How are shift changes handled? To be complete, your electrical lockout/tagout program should answer these and other similar questions.

An electrical lockout/tagout program must include certain tools and training to make it workable. Electrical maintenance workers should be trained in both electrical lockout/tagout and general electrical safety so they can recognize their responsibilities while on the job. They also require an adequate supply of electrical locks and tags that are for their personal use only (i.e., no “community” locks and tags). Additionally, they need access to the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), and they need to understand when they must use the PPE (e.g., when pulling a cutout or a large breaker) and when they can remove it (e.g., after an electrical circuit has been de-energized, tested, locked, and tagged).

Finally, an electrical lockout/tagout program is not a one-time, static event. Because your electrical system and electrical safety practices continually change, your electrical lockout/ tagout program should be audited yearly to ensure it is adequate for the present state of your electrical system and that it aligns with the most recent OSHA requirements for electrical safety. Again, if you aren’t comfortable conducting this audit yourself, contact a professional.

D.L. Steiner will be happy to assist you in setting up a standards compliant electrical lockout/tagout program. Contact us today for more information.

What is a demand charge? It is the amount the electric utility charges your facility for supplying electricity at the rate it requires (demands) in order to operate. This demand rate is expressed in kW. As your facility reaches certain kW rate levels (these are set by your utility), the cost you pay per kW increases. The rule is the higher the kW demand rate, the greater the per-kW demand charge. Your utility monitors your kW demand rate, typically in 15- or 30-minute intervals, to track your peak kW demand for the billing period. It then calculates your demand charge for the period based on this peak rate.

If there are times during the period when your kW demand jumps significantly, the demand charge on your electric bill can be very costly. Additionally, at certain times of the year, exceeding your facility’s maximum kW service level (defined in your utility contract) can send your monthly demand charge through the roof! Why is this the case for both situations? Because the utility has to allocate additional resources to meet increased demand (e.g., start a backup generation plant or purchase power from another supplier).

If your facility can control electrical operations so that its kW rate is smooth, consistent, and as low as possible—without frequent or large spikes in kW demand—it will realize two benefits: (a) reduced electric charges and (b) increased electrical capacity without upgrading your electrical system. The latter comes primarily through reviewing your processes to see if any can be staggered so they don’t run at the same time. In some cases, this has no impact on operations and helps you avoid having to add new distribution equipment in order to handle the electrical load.

To determine if your facility is a candidate for saving money through electrical demand control, look at the demand charges on your electric bills for the past half-year to year. Are your demand charges excessive compared to your kWh usage? The best way to gauge this is by looking at your load factor (also listed on your bill). During regular production operations, if your facility’s load factor is below 80% and varies widely from month to month, this indicates a lack of electrical demand control. Developing and implementing a demand control program can enable you to smooth out electrical demand, allowing you to avoid spikes in the kW rate and higher demand charges

There are many techniques for controlling electrical demand to help your facility minimize its demand charges. These range from manual to automatic— but all involve a metering system to measure and monitor what’s happening inside the electrical system. This information enables you or the electrical system’s controller equipment to take appropriate actions to avoid reaching the more costly kW demand levels. In a future newsletter, we’ll discuss a few of these methods, plus their pros and cons.

For answers to your questions on controlling demand to lower electric costs, contact D.L. Steiner, Inc.

Designing for reliability—For new construction or system updates, the dollars saved installing underrated or marginal equipment is quickly offset by maintenance and downtime. All new equipment should undergo reliability testing and verification.

Designing for safety—Too often, poor design compromises system safety, for example, a design that doesn’t permit safe maintenance on breakers without shutting down a process (typically not feasible) or a design that increases the arc flash hazard risk category. All new system designs and equipment should be evaluated for safety, especially in terms of arc flash hazard.

Designing for maintenance—All equipment, no matter how well built, eventually needs maintenance, yet the system design can make equipment inefficient—or virtually impossible— to maintain. All new system designs should be reviewed to ensure ease of equipment maintenance.

Sure, the goal of electrical systems is to distribute power. But by designing them for reliability, safety, and maintenance ease, we can ensure that they do so cost effectively—and for many years to come.

When the 2009 edition of NFPA 70E was released, electrical safety auditing became part of the electrical industry’s best practices. Certainly, it will be one criterion OSHA will use to judge whether an employer is doing what it needs to provide a workplace that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees;” [OSHA General Duty Clause]

NFPA 70E Article 100.7 (H) says: “An electrical safety program shall be audited to help ensure that the principles and procedures of the electrical safety program are being followed. The frequency of audit shall be determined by the employer, based on the complexity of the procedures and the type of work being covered. Where the audit determines that the principles and procedures of the electrical safety program are not being followed, appropriate revisions shall be made.”

Let’s take a look at some of the implications that arise from this new standard raises for American industry.—implications that must be addressed if a company wants to remain OSHA compliant..

Auditing is mandatory. The little word shall is crucial. The clearest conclusion we can draw from this paragraph is that the NFPA did not intend auditing as an optional exercise. No employer can afford to ignore a regular audit of their electrical safety program. (You do have a documented electrical safety program, don’t you?)

Audit frequency is flexible. With the exception of the need for annual auditing of the lockout/tagout procedure [(NFPA 70E article 120.3 (C) (3)] a company is free to set what it considers to be an appropriate frequency for its electrical safety audit. The frequency of audit is determined by “the complexity of the procedures and the type of work covered.” This seems to beg for a progressive auditing plan. Electrical procedures would be prioritized and scheduled for auditing according to the established priority. Lockout/tagout would be audited yearly, other procedures audited every other year or some other appropriate interval. Still other procedural audits might be triggered by programmed events, such as plant shutdown or the release of new safety standards.

The NFPA 70E itself is revised on a 3-5 year schedule. The release of a new revision of the NFPA 70E standard should automatically trigger an audit of the electrical safety program. Each company should ask itself, “Are our previously compliant procedures now out of phase with the new standard?” Remember that safety standards have no grandfather clause. Just because a procedure was compliant under the 2004 (or earlier) edition of NFPA 70E does not mean that it will remain acceptable under the newer 2009 edition. The changes to NFPA70E must be reflected in corresponding changes to an employer’s electrical safety policy.

As an example of how changes in NFPA 70E can influence your safety policy, the 2009 edition now requires electricians to wear an arc-rated faceshield when working within the flash protection boundary of HRC category 1 equipment. Companies that did  their arc flash analysis under the 2004 edition and have included a PPE list on their equipment labels would now find their category 1 labels to be inaccurate and in need of revision. A proper audit would have picked up this discrepancy and promoted compliance with the new standard.

Auditing is focused on behavior. It is important to remember that the electrical safety audit is not intended to investigate the employer’s policy on paper, but to examine whether the electricians and technicians who are doing the work are actually using the policy in practice. It is important that company auditing of its electrical safety policy investigate the controls by which the policy is monitored and enforced.

Auditing profits from independent eyes. Although the bulk of auditing can and should be accomplished in-house, there is a very real need for employers to have an independent auditor periodically examine its electrical safety program. Familiarity may breed contempt, but familiarity also breeds myopia. It is easy to overlook significant gaps in the electrical safety program by being so close to the project. Fresh unbiased eyes will see what may otherwise be overlooked. In addition, it is difficult for a person involved with the day-to-day management of operations to keep abreast of the latest in electrical safety standards and best practices. Periodically bringing in a safety professional to look over your electrical safety policy is simply an effective way to help ensure that a company remains both safe and compliant to the electrical safety standards..

Auditing is not comfortable, nor easy. Yet it is an essential part of an effective electrical safety program. After all, safety is the goal and auditing helps us do the best job we can of providing an electrically safe work place.

An unsuspecting electrician opens an electrical panel only to discover that he has let loose a lethally dangerous explosion—light flashes so bright that it permanently damages eyes, heat that is 4 times the surface of the sun incinerates clothing and flesh, molten shrapnel bores upon him with bullet-like speed, and a blast wave that throws him like a rag doll with a pressure wave of hundreds or thousands of pounds per square inch.

Approximately 2000 workers will be admitted to hospital burn units this year due to thermal burns from arc flash or arc blast accidents. These accidents will result in nearly one fatality every day. Although electrical injuries are relatively rare (1 in 494 lost time accidents are electrical in nature) they nevertheless result in a disproportionate number of fatalities as 1 in 20 industrial fatalities are as a result of electrical accidents.

Most of those killed or injured workers were unaware of and unprepared for the level of hazard they were facing. Because of the immensity of the risk, responsible employers recognize the need to facilitate electrical safety through performing arc flash hazard analysis on their electrical equipment.

It costs a bunch. I just don’t see that it is worth the cost and bother.

It has been estimated that an arc flash accident may cost the employer as much as a million dollars or more. Lost production, equipment repair or replacement, lawsuits, skyrocketing insurance premiums and OSHA fines can add up in a hurry. Arc flash hazard analysis is a form of risk management whose relatively small investment provides protection against the potentially huge costs of an arc flash accident.

My equipment is all installed according to the NEC. Doesn’t that guarantee that it is safe?

The NEC is intended to provide equipment installations that are safe from electrical hazards to workers in their normal working configuration. However, electricians and maintenance technicians by definition work on electrical equipment under abnormal circumstances—when they are broken, damaged, or in need of maintenance. These are the times that electrical arc flash accidents are most likely to occur. That is why OSHA asked the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to produce a standard providing for the safety of the worker exposed to electrical hazards. It is this standard, the NFPA 70E, that requires an arc flash hazard analysis before workers unknowingly expose themselves to potentially lethal hazards.

Hey, there’s no law that says I’ve got to do an arc flash study, is there?

It is true that OSHA regulations do not specifically require an arc flash hazard analysis. It is also true that the NFPA 70E is a consensus standard, not a law. However, OSHA can and does impose fines on companies that ignore the standards of the NFPA 70E. OSHA regulations require employers to provide workplaces that are “free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”¹ More specifically OSHA requires that “Safety-related work practices shall be employed to prevent electric shock or other injuries [emphasis added] resulting from either direct or indirect electrical contacts. . . .”² OSHA tells employers WHAT to do, that is provide electrical safety, and the NFPA 70E is the handbook telling us HOW to accomplish it. Here is what the NFPA 70E has to say about arc flash hazard analysis: “An arc flash hazard analysis shall determine the Arc Flash Protection Boundary and the personal protective equipment that people within the Arc Flash Protection Boundary shall use.”³

The NFPA also calls for equipment labels that identify the level of hazard the electrical worker may be expected to encounter: “Equipment shall be field marked with a label containing the available incident energy or required level of PPE”⁴ An effective arc flash hazard analysis identifies these necessary pieces of information for electrical worker safety. It’s not an option, it’s the law!

¹29 CFR §1903.1

²29 CFR §1910.333

³NFPA 70E-2009 Article 110.8(B)(1)(b)

⁴NFPA 70E-2009 Article 110.3(C)

Consider the variable of frequency of maintenance. If a plant were to do no preventive or scheduled maintenance, all maintenance costs would be lumped into corrective maintenance when the equipment finally fails. During equipment downtime, fixes would be initiated, but soon the breakdowns would multiply as differing systems reached the limits of their reliability at unpredictable intervals. Costs would quickly ramp up as the expense of corrective maintenance adds to the cost of lost product. The point of prohibitive expense would soon be reached.

Obviously increasing the frequency of scheduled and preventive maintenance would bring down costs by reducing lost product with only a slight increase in the costs incurred through regular maintenance. But even regular maintenance can become prohibitive if pushed beyond a certain point. If the frequency of maintenance were increased excessively eventually the cost of wasted manpower and parts replacement of still serviceable parts would eventually induce costs that are wasteful and excessive.

Somewhere between these extremes exist the “maintenance sweet spot.” D.L. Steiner, Inc. has produced an electronic tool to assist electrical maintenance personnel in discovering this sweet spot and maximizing the reliability of electrical equipment and the efficiency of maintenance activities—ReBEEMS: Reliability Based Electrical Equipment Management  System.

1. ReBEEMS is ONLINE! Once signed into the system, ReBEEMS and its maintenance tools are available from any web-enabled computer. No more thrashing through poorly organized file systems, ReBEEMS supplies instant access to an industrial-strength maintenance database.

2. ReBEEMS means INSTANT DOCUMENTATION! What are you looking for? Single-line drawings? Equipment manuals? Maintenance procedures? Test sheet results? Maintenance schedules? All can be organized electronically for you in PDF or other convenient-to-access formats.

3. ReBEEMS promotes SAFETY! The information needed to supply safe operation of your electrical equipment is easily provided through ReBEEMS database. Arc flash hazard records, shock protection boundaries, and PPE categories can be accessed and printed quickly and easily as checklists or labels.

4. ReBEEMS means RELIABILITY! ReBEEMS is based upon NFPA 70B maintenance intervals to improve reliability and predictability in your maintenance program.

Give D.L. Steiner, Inc. a call today to inquire how the ReBEEMS program may assist productivity, safety and reliability at your facility.