tomoldcars
Active member
Disclaimer;
This post is neither appliance nor homemaking related, but service people will understand. I found these forums while tracking down an obscure Westinghouse service tool that one of you now own. I’ve been hooked ever since. Our common trait is that we are all eclectic collectors with the desire to fix the things we collect. Many of you grew up in the service industry. I’ve enjoyed reading of the pitfalls you’ve related. I have 35 years in aerospace and industrial engineering, but this is a first. I humbly propose a toast to the insanity of the customer.
On Monday, one of my co-workers, Brian, went to a large manufacturer of plastics for the medical industry. He was to install a new Allen Bradley 300hp inverter for an extruder. It was completed Wednesday with start up yesterday. Power comes from a 480V, 3 phase, 600A disconnect breaker. It has been off and locked out for several years. The new $30K drive was initiated and power restored for the first time since the line was deactivated. The following is a third hand narrative related by the Chief Engineer / Owner of our company and corroborated by the drive I unloaded and the box of shrapnel Brian brought in. During the course of commissioning, power can be cycled several times. Each time power is shut off we physically check with a meter to confirm all is dead. Brian physically checked and two legs weren’t. He reported this to the facilities engineer and was told it was impossible, the breaker was off. Brian then put his meter across the two legs which read 470VAC. The customer dismissed it as “incidental floating voltage” and couldn’t hurt anyone. When Brian insisted that there was a real problem, the customer “proved it wasn’t” by grabbing a screwdriver and jamming it across the offending terminals. Next down the line was the 1800A sub panel feed that worked. The culmination of this early 4th is; One badly burned and, I suspect, unemployed maintenance engineer, One badly shaken but undamaged co-worker, One coffee can sized hole in a 12 gage cabinet and one $30K box of scrap. I won’t even speculate on the behavior of someone who should know better.
Tom
This post is neither appliance nor homemaking related, but service people will understand. I found these forums while tracking down an obscure Westinghouse service tool that one of you now own. I’ve been hooked ever since. Our common trait is that we are all eclectic collectors with the desire to fix the things we collect. Many of you grew up in the service industry. I’ve enjoyed reading of the pitfalls you’ve related. I have 35 years in aerospace and industrial engineering, but this is a first. I humbly propose a toast to the insanity of the customer.
On Monday, one of my co-workers, Brian, went to a large manufacturer of plastics for the medical industry. He was to install a new Allen Bradley 300hp inverter for an extruder. It was completed Wednesday with start up yesterday. Power comes from a 480V, 3 phase, 600A disconnect breaker. It has been off and locked out for several years. The new $30K drive was initiated and power restored for the first time since the line was deactivated. The following is a third hand narrative related by the Chief Engineer / Owner of our company and corroborated by the drive I unloaded and the box of shrapnel Brian brought in. During the course of commissioning, power can be cycled several times. Each time power is shut off we physically check with a meter to confirm all is dead. Brian physically checked and two legs weren’t. He reported this to the facilities engineer and was told it was impossible, the breaker was off. Brian then put his meter across the two legs which read 470VAC. The customer dismissed it as “incidental floating voltage” and couldn’t hurt anyone. When Brian insisted that there was a real problem, the customer “proved it wasn’t” by grabbing a screwdriver and jamming it across the offending terminals. Next down the line was the 1800A sub panel feed that worked. The culmination of this early 4th is; One badly burned and, I suspect, unemployed maintenance engineer, One badly shaken but undamaged co-worker, One coffee can sized hole in a 12 gage cabinet and one $30K box of scrap. I won’t even speculate on the behavior of someone who should know better.
Tom
