Watch a repair in progress at your facility, especially if mechanical skill is involved. If you see covers, screws, and parts strewn about on the floor then you have a problem.
It’s not just electrical theory and application that matter. What happens, for example, if the repair technician can find only 14 of the 16 bolts that hold the panel cover in place? Or he slips on a drive belt left on the floor following an earlier repair? And how many bolts do you see with bite marks or rounded corners?
Look for these work habits in repairs performed at your facility:
- Clean containers brought to the site for the purpose of holding screws, brackets, and other small parts.
- Covers are always inspected for arc marks and cleaned before installation.
- The correct tool is used for a given fastener. For example, a wrench rather than pump pliers on a bolt.
- Fasteners are correctly lubricated (unless specified to be dry) and correctly torqued. Correct torque means using the specified value, determined by an appropriate and calibrated tool such as a torque wrench. It also means when a large area object, such as a cover that has multiple fasteners, those are torqued in the correct sequence.
