Often times, the cost of doing nothing is much higher than the cost of routine preventative maintenance – this is also the case in most distribution centers. Let’s do the math.
Starting out with a very conservative estimate of 6,000 packages per hour (at $5 apiece) on one conveyor belt equates to an operational maintenance value of $30,000 per hour. What happens when something breaks?
Time is Money.
Something as simple as a circuit breaker trip, a problem resolved with a quick 15 minute reset, can cost you up to $7,500 based on the example above. If this quick-fix doesn’t get you back online, replacing the breaker is your next option. Depending on the configuration of your panel, this can take up to 45 minutes (not including shipping/delivery time) costing you $22,500, and must be concluded with a Lock Out Tag Out program to avoid injury. Neither of these options are viable without having the proper replacement breaker in stock at your facility. Delivery and installation of a new breaker after ordering with expedited shipping can take up to 4 hours, a cost of $120,000 for your building.
Sometimes, the problem lies within the panel, often a short circuit or grounding malfunction, causing the entire panel to need replacing. This process takes up to 3 days, or a cost of $720,000. Alas, there is a silver lining to this situation. These incidents are easily avoided with a Preventative Maintenance program from ECS Technical Services. Panel, Transformer, Low Voltage, and Medium Voltage maintenance programs clean out all dust and debris from equipment that can cause overheating and shorts as well as exercising all the moving parts like breakers and disconnects so they work properly when you need them most. Routine Infrared studies can show loose connections and possible arcing inside live equipment without putting anyone in danger or shutting down the equipment. Often included in our Infrared (IR) studies is a code compliance check. The electrical code gets an update every 3 years. Sometimes items that were code compliant when they were installed would no longer be if inspected today.
The Status Quo is Changing
The world is changing at an alarming pace for distribution centers. More online shopping daily, more types of 
products, and expedited delivery time means more automation, conveyance, robots, powered lifts, and electric forklifts. All of this equates to more power needs. So, how much capacity does your building have? How much can you add? How much have you changed already in recent years? How much will it cost?
We at ECS Technical Services know you are going to be making improvements to your systems. All of them. Some of those systems also require code compliance testing annually, semi-annually, or even more often. We offer subcontractor management for construction, maintenance and break fix including fire alarm and sprinkler system testing and a 24/7 emergency line handled directly by our in-house staff. We also offer a merged approach to all fire alarm and sprinkler system testing to reduce the impact on your building by putting all code compliance contractors on site at one time. This sounds like it could be a headache for staff, but we provide on site supervision and management to minimize cost, building risk and staff involvement.
Can You Afford to Wait?
Our primary focus is distribution centers so we know your buildings and operations. Your job, is our business – our goal is maximizing your uptime, and cutting your operational costs with routine preventative maintenance. Contact us today for more information on how ECS Technical Services can save you time and money.
1. Wet Pipe Sprinklers – The most common type of fire sprinkler system. A wet pipe system is easy to maintain and install. Wet pipe systems are filled with water with specific sprinkler head spacing. Each sprinkler head acts as its own heat detector. During a fire, the heat causes the core of the sprinkler head to burst discharging water. Not all the sprinkler heads are activated at once since each head is its own detector. The head will only burst when exposed to heat or broken off by physical contact. The advantage of this independence is that it can help to significantly reduce damage in the event of a false alarm since water will only be released from one head. It is not a surprise this type of system is still the most common application in the industry to this day.
2. Dry Pipe Systems – A dry pipe sprinkler system is much like a wet pipe system except that the water is not contained within the pipes. Instead of water, the pipes in a dry system are pressurized by air or nitrogen. Water is still used to suppress a fire in these systems but is held back by a valve until the system is activated. A dry pipe system is a perfect application in environments that experience extreme cold where a wet pipe system would be subject to pipe freezing and impairments to the fire protection.
3. Pre-action Sprinkler Systems – A pre-action system is a dry pipe system where the water is held back by an electronically controlled valve that is connected to a fire detection system. Only after the fire detection system is activated will water enter the systems pipes and each sprinkler head is activated individually. A pre-action system is great for applications where accidental discharge of sprinklers would cause extensive damage like data centers and libraries.
4. Deluge Systems – A deluge sprinkler system is specifically designed for high-hazard areas in a building. In this system design, the pipes are dry and unpressurized, sprinkler heads are open, connection to a water source directly, and water is held back by a valve. When the system detects a fire, water is pumped through the systems pipes and is discharged through all the open heads flooding the affected area.
5. In-Rack Sprinklers – In-rack fire sprinklers are used in warehouse racking systems to contain fires to small areas and prevent the entire racking area from being ruined by a fire. These sprinklers are designed and located in close proximity to racking areas often installed in the middle of each aisle with heads on every level of the rack.
6. ESFR – Early Suppression Fast Response systems are another fantastic application for warehouses. An ESFR systems heads are designed to emit a higher concentration of larger droplets of water. ESFR systems are high volume, high velocity systems and can be located in the ceiling to protect storage areas in place of in-rack sprinklers.
24-Hour Emergency Service with ECS Technical Services
different types of these electrical environments such as overheard power lines, energized equipment, and large facility power systems which require higher levels of protection, this blog will cover your basic electrician PPE.
or a fire sprinkler device has been tampered. Address the issue before it causes potential damage.
the panel. Also, any notification devices (horns, bells, strobes, speakers) will be activated. In every case when the system is monitored, the fire department will be dispatched.
construction contract is signed, and a change order must be added. On average, 65% of all projects valued over $250,000 experience a minor change order and 35% of these projects experience a major change order. On the new fast-track project delivery method, where design is still on-going after contracting signing, expect change orders as a common occurrence. Implementing a tracking system to keep up with the ongoing design may be beneficial.
to keep work on track. This practice puts project managers between a rock and a hard place at times. It is important that you understand not proceed with the change order work without your client’s approval and signature.
the change orders as the drawing re-visions come off the press (or electronic transfers, keeping the environment in mind). Some new facility fast track projects are known to have one 100+ drawing revisions, which in turn equal 100+ change orders. Then there is the other 100+ change orders from all the rework created by previous work already in place.
incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent tubes. Light is created once particles that carry the current mix together within the semiconductor material. These were first used as indicator lights, but are now used extensively for indoor, outdoor, and ornamental lighting.
The most significant advantage of LED’s when compared to traditional lighting would be lifespan. The average LED lasts between 50,000 to 100,000 hours, 2-4 times longer than the average fluorescent and 40 times longer than an incandescent bulb. This in return reduces maintenance costs.
protection engineer to help determine the best methods for detection. Remember, the intent of this life safety goal is to provide early detection and early notification for the occupants of the facility and the responding public fire department. The more capable your system is in accomplishing this, the better. The protection of lives has to be the number one priority for any system upgrade.
representatives of the building may choose to detect fires of a certain size or rely on the capabilities of an automatic sprinkler system. If the idea is to detect the fire before sprinkler system actuation, then the design of the fire alarm system will require more detection than building code’s minimum requirements for detection. Again, depending on the type of detection and the limits of the size of fire detected, limiting the extent of damage may provide equal benefits for the environment as the life safety design.
exceeds the design used for detection to meet a life safety goal. Fires cause intense and often irreparable amounts of damage. Having the proper types of fire detection gives your building the chance to have a fire stopped in the time necessary to prevent such damage. Not committing to strong mission continuity goal can lead to major costs and significant down time.
