Online monitoring of cable condition is more effective and less intrusive than doing so offline, according to John Sheriff, sales and services director of Martec Cable Services.
Speaking at the African Utilities Week (AUW) conference and exhibition at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Sheriff supplied valuable and technical information on the monitoring of cables and the online technologies created by Martec.
Concerning offline and online cable condition assessment, Sheriff said “both technologies have their place”, but espoused the benefits of online monitoring.
Sheriff said the process for assessing cables begins with scanning, using a radio frequency (RF) sniffer. Once the scanning is complete, the collected data is sent online to CableWISE in the United States, where it is compiled appropriately, analysed and presented to the customer.
The customer in question will receive a report, which is constructed on a one-to-five level system. “One” indicates there is minimal to no risk, whereas “five” represents the highest chance of failure.
Sheriff described the RF sniffer as one’s “first line of defence when entering a sub-station”, which is used alongside an ultrasound device, a transient earth voltage (TEV) scanner and an infrared scanner.
However, Sheriff said infrared and ultrasound are not without their limitations.
“There are always limitations, that is why you have various tools in your tool box.
“Predictive maintenance strategy for distribution networks can only be effective if it is built upon a solid foundation of knowledge. How do you build a solid foundation? By using different technologies and then combining those technologies.”
