As a maintenance engineer, it is quite critical to understand the estimated time for maintenance of various plant equipment. However, the time for each varies from 3 to 6 months depending on conventional motor control centers (MCCs) to smart intelligent MCCs. If you have a new MCC installation, then you will be supplied by an operations and maintenance (O&M) manual that covers mainly what is needed as part of preventive and predictive maintenance.

There are several checks that can be done during preventive and predictive maintenance, some of which requires an MCC shutdown, whereas some can be done while the system is live. If you are maintaining any MCCs, it should be considered that the MCC has been operating and tested in the whole lifecycle as per supplier instructions.

There are several other checks that need to be considered during maintenance. Some of the maintenance items pertaining particularly to smart MCCs are below.

1. Verification of any software check and backup of parameters on smart devices. You can make a record of any changes required during maintenance.
2. Visual check for any discoloration and burnt-out equipment.
3. Smart MCCs are usually unmanned and sometimes the presence of rodents can become a dangerous situation. Therefore, the physical condition checks of cables at the entry point should be considered.
4. Smart MCCs are equipped with intelligent devices and the data loggers that keeps the data for certain amounts of time. This data is very useful while doing preventive and predictive maintenance; you can do more focused preventive maintenance with this data.
5. All modifications and checks that need to be performed should be recorded in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
6. Health and safety hazards are inherently present in MCCs. Therefore, a risk assessment and method of statement shall be developed, signed by all authorities before conducting any service work.
7. Don’t overlooked the de-energized equipment. Inspecting this equipment requires specialized training, especially in safety.

If the MCCs are connected to the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), then it is much easier to get the reports and use the information for preventive and predictive maintenance. Generally, the smart motor control provides:

• Number of starts.
• Motor running hours.
• Motor running hours (total time).
• Number of trips (if any).
• Energy (KwH) consumed.