Network Communications News (NCN) April 2017 | Page 34

UPS
Get your maintenance plan sorted
When it comes to managing your power supply, you can’t leave anything to chance. Here, Riello
UPS’s general manager Leo Craig guides you through the world of maintenance to give you peace of
mind that your critical equipment is protected.
A
s an electronic
device, a UPS is
likely to need repair
at some point during
its life. At that
crucial moment when it does,
you need to be assured it can
be fixed quickly to keep your
operations running smoothly.
Nobody wants to be stung by a
crafty hidden clause on an SLA
or have an unwelcome surprise
when you call on your trusty
maintenance agreement. You
need to be confident that a fully
qualified UPS engineer will visit
within the time stated in the
agreement – whether that be
four hours, eight hours, next day
etc. I say ‘qualified engineer’ here
because, believe it or not, I’ve
encountered situations where a
plumber has turned up to a UPS
34 | April 2017
repair job. It might have been
within the allocated timescale,
but it cer tainly didn’t help resolve
the issue.
To keep you on the right track,
here are some pointers to consider
when you’re choosing a UPS
maintenance agreement to make
sure you’re getting what you need.
One: Consider your supplier –
and provision for spares
Re p u tat i o n i s ke y w h e n c h o o si n g
a su p p l i e r – p i c k e i t h e r a t r u ste d
ma n u fa ct u re r o r a n a p p rove d
t h i rd p a r t y p rov i d e r. Do y o u r
re se a rc h , l o o k o n l i n e , sp e a k to
ot h e r s a n d ma ke su re y o u p i c k
a p rov i d e r y o u fe e l co mfo r ta b l e
w i t h . I n a n e m e rge n c y , i t ’ s a l so
i m p o r ta nt to k n ow t h at y o u r
su p p l i e r h a s q u i c k a cc e ss to
UP S p a r t s a n y w h e re acros s the
UK . Y o u r p rov i d e r sh o uld have a
co m p l ete sp a re p a r t s s tore as
we l l a s ex- sto c k h o l d i n g of thei r
c u r re nt UP S .
Riello UPS stocks all spare
par ts/components in various
strategically placed warehouses
across the UK combined with a
multi-million pound stock holding
at its headquar ters where UPSs
up to 500kVA are ready for
immediate dispatch.
Two: Make sure your provider
is fully trained
Y o u r UP S i s a ke y co mp on ent
i n y o u r p owe r p rote ct i on p lan –
t h e re ’ s n o ro o m fo r e r ror when i t
co m e s to re p a i r i n g i t an d getti n g
i t b a c k u p a n d r u n n i n g as q ui ckly
a s p o ssi b l e . I f y o u c h oos e to