FACILITY PROBLEMS THREATEN BANK
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In the summer of 1998, a small bank in the Midwest had to shut down their computer systems quickly in order to prevent loss of data because their UPS did not perform as expected during a power outage. This was the first serious incident where loss of data was very prominent for the bank, but the bank also had a history of the UPS tripping daily to battery back up. With a threat now very real and seemingly eminent, they contacted us. They called to request a review of the UPS system only, but after a review of the situation, especially the unexplained tripping to battery back up, we recommended an audit of their electrical and grounding systems in addition to surveying their UPS equipment. After visual inspections, ground testing, and power quality monitoring of the electrical distribution system with a RPM Omega Power Analysis monitor, we discovered many significant problems. The first and main problem was that the facility, a 1960's single-story brick building, was missing critical grounding systems which posed equipment reliability and life safety issues. We discovered five electrical code violations with the original building construction and six additional electrical code violations since the building's construction. The site though did have very good power quality from the utility. The second problem that the bank had was that the UPS system was wired for the wrong input voltage which explained the daily trippings to battery back up. In our survey we also discovered that five of the batteries were defective and all of the batteries were near the end of their five-year life cycle. Our recommendations were to fix all of the code violations and install a deep driven ground rod with 2 ohms or less resistance to ground as one of the first steps. The bank hired an electrical contractor to correct the code violations and Computer Power & Consulting Corporation to correct the UPS. Since then, the UPS is functioning normally. The technology is now better protected and the bank can focus its attention on being a bank. This site is typical in many sites that Computer Power & Consulting Corporation surveys. The majority of problems are not the result of the quality of the power coming from the utility but of internal facility and wiring problems. From field experience, about 90 percent of "power problems" we are called in to diagnose and correct are internal not external issues. The moral of the story is? Never assume your site is wired right or that power-conditioning equipment is installed correctly. If you are having problems, have a power quality and code compliance audit performed. BACK CASE STUDIES
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