Industrial Surge Protection for Manufacturing Facilities
TL;DR - Article Summary & Takeaways
- Industrial surge protection helps manufacturers prevent costly repeat equipment failures and repairs caused by transient overvoltage events before they damage PLCs, VFDs, automation systems, and other critical production equipment.
- An optical communications manufacturer found that they were spending $80,000 annually on equipment repairs and production downtime caused by transient overvoltage events.
- Maxivolt conducted a comprehensive facility evaluation and designed a customized industrial surge protection strategy to protect sensitive manufacturing equipment and electrical systems.
- The $29,800 investment in surge protection equipment delivered an expedited ROI of just five months, and ultimately projected to save the manufacturer nearly $2 million over the next several years through reduced equipment failures, increased uptime, and improved production reliability.
The Importance of Industrial Surge Protection to Industrial & Manufacturing Facilities
Manufacturing and industrial facilities have tremendous power requirements to supply the needs of large-scale production equipment and systems. When these systems fail, maintenance crews and plant managers often focus on replacing the failed components without addressing the root causes. In many cases, undiagnosed transient voltage and other electrical disturbances slowly degrade sensitive electronics until failures occur. While making repairs to these failed or damaged components may provide temporary relief and keep production moving, the long-term outlook is not as positive without addressing the underlying transient overvoltage issues with industrial surge protection solutions.
By partnering with Maxivolt’s power quality experts to develop an optimized surge protection strategy, manufacturers and industrial OEMs can reduce electrical failures caused by transient overvoltage and achieve:
- Reduced unplanned equipment failures
- Increased manufacturing uptime and equipment reliability
- Enhanced protection for PLCs, VFDs, and other industrial control systems
- Extended service life of electronic equipment
- Lower maintenance and equipment replacement costs
- Greater production reliability and scheduling confidence
- Reduced risk of costly downtime events and plant-wide shutdowns
For manufacturers that rely on automated equipment and electronic controls, transient voltage mitigation is not simply an electrical upgrade. It is a long-term equipment reliability and operational continuity strategy.
The Challenge: Combating Rising Levels of Equipment Failures & Production Delays
Modern manufacturing facilities rely heavily on automation systems, electronic controls, PLCs, variable frequency drives, communication systems, and precision production equipment. While these technologies improve productivity and efficiency, they also introduce greater sensitivity to electrical disturbances and transient overvoltage events.
An optical communications manufacturing facility in Keller, Texas, was experiencing increasing maintenance expenses and unplanned equipment failures. The company reported nearly $80,000 in equipment repair and replacement costs within one year, which quickly turned attention to a larger problem. In addition to direct maintenance expenses, individual machines accumulated approximately 70 days of downtime during the same timeframe.
Although replacement costs alone represented a significant financial burden, the facility also faced the more difficult challenge of quantifying lost production opportunities, schedule delays, and reduced manufacturing throughput resulting from unexpected equipment failures. The manufacturer needed a long-term solution capable of reducing electrical failures, improving equipment reliability, and minimizing costly downtime events, and turned to the experts at Maxivolt for help.
The Evaluation: Identifying Sources of Transient Voltage in Electrical Systems
Maxivolt performed a comprehensive on-site evaluation of the facility’s electrical systems to determine how transient overvoltage events were impacting production equipment. During the assessment, our team evaluated:
- Electrical distribution systems
- Sensitive manufacturing equipment and control systems
- Potential points of transient voltage exposure
- Existing equipment failure patterns and locations
- Production ecosystem and how failures hurt downstream production
- Equipment replacement costs and maintenance history
The evaluation determined that damaging voltage surges were likely originating from both internal and external sources. Internally generated transient voltage events occur continuously within manufacturing facilities due to motor starts, switching operations, and automated equipment cycling. External sources such as utility disturbances and weather-related events can further contribute to equipment degradation and sudden failures.
As these electrical disturbances often occur in microseconds and leave little visible evidence, manufacturing facilities frequently replace damaged components without addressing the underlying cause of the failures, which tends to be transient overvoltage events that can be prevented with customized industrial surge protection solutions.
The Solutions: Customized Industrial Surge Protection
Following the on-site facility evaluation, Maxivolt designed a customized industrial surge protection strategy specifically for the facility’s electrical infrastructure and production requirements to reduce the growing replacement costs and minimize manufacturing delays.
The Maxivolt industrial surge protection solution included:
- Custom-sized MV-Series Maxivolt surge protection devices
- Strategic installation locations throughout the facility
- Facility-specific transient voltage mitigation recommendations
- Protection for sensitive manufacturing equipment and control systems
- Long-term equipment reliability planning
The total project investment to provide comprehensive facility protection was approximately $29,800, less than one-third of their annual expenditures spent on equipment repairs, replacement parts, and maintenance downtime.
The Results: Reduced Risk of Equipment Failure and Significant ROI
Based on the facility’s reported repair costs before implementing their surge protection solutions, the projected financial impact of implementing industrial surge protection was substantial. Conservatively, the manufacturer was expected to spend approximately $400,000 on equipment repairs during the five-year warranty period if existing failure trends continued.
Using these figures, the Maxivolt system was projected to deliver approximately $354,000 in equipment repair savings during the first five years of operation. Based solely on equipment repair costs, the investment was expected to achieve payback in approximately five months.
When considering additional savings associated with reduced downtime, increased production availability, improved equipment reliability, and lower maintenance demands, the projected lifetime savings approached $2 million over the system’s expected service life.
Looking to Reduce Manufacturing Equipment Failures?
Maxivolt designs customized industrial surge protection solutions that help manufacturing operations reduce equipment failures, improve uptime, and protect critical production assets from damaging transient voltage events.
Contact our team to schedule an on-site evaluation and learn how transient voltage mitigation can improve the reliability and profitability of your manufacturing operation.
FAQs About Industrial Surge Protection for Manufacturing Facilities
What causes equipment failures in manufacturing facilities?
Many equipment failures in manufacturing facilities are caused by transient overvoltage events, also known as power surges. These electrical disturbances can originate internally from motor starts, switching operations, and automated equipment cycling, or externally from utility issues and weather events. Over time, repeated exposure degrades sensitive electronic components and increases the likelihood of unexpected failures.
How do voltage surges damage manufacturing equipment?
Voltage surges damage manufacturing equipment by gradually weakening electronic components such as PLCs, variable frequency drives (VFDs), circuit boards, sensors, and communication systems. Although many transient voltage events occur in microseconds and go unnoticed, repeated exposure can eventually lead to equipment malfunction and premature failure.
Can industrial surge protection reduce manufacturing downtime?
Yes. Properly engineered industrial surge protection systems mitigate damaging transient voltage events before they reach sensitive equipment. By reducing electrical failures and component damage, manufacturers can decrease unplanned downtime, improve equipment availability, and maintain more consistent production schedules.
What equipment should be protected from voltage surges in a manufacturing facility?
Manufacturers should protect critical electrical and electronic assets, including PLCs, VFDs, robotic systems, industrial computers, production machinery, communication networks, control panels, and automated equipment. Protecting these systems helps improve reliability and reduce costly interruptions to production.
How do manufacturers prevent electrical equipment failures?
Preventing electrical equipment failures typically requires a combination of preventive maintenance and properly designed transient voltage mitigation strategies. Installing industrial surge protection devices at strategic points throughout the electrical distribution system helps minimize the damaging effects of voltage surges and improve long-term equipment reliability.
What is transient voltage mitigation?
Transient voltage mitigation is the process of identifying, reducing, and diverting damaging voltage surges before they reach sensitive equipment. Industrial surge protection systems are designed to absorb and redirect excess electrical energy, helping manufacturers protect equipment, reduce maintenance costs, and improve operational continuity.
How quickly can industrial surge protection pay for itself?
Payback periods vary depending on a facility’s maintenance expenses and downtime costs. In this manufacturing case study, projected equipment repair savings indicated an estimated payback period of approximately five months. When reduced downtime and increased production availability are considered, the return on investment can be even greater.
How long do industrial surge protection systems last?
Industrial surge protection systems are designed for long-term performance. Maxivolt MV-Series devices include a five-year unconditional warranty and, in many applications, continue operating effectively for more than 25 years, providing lasting protection against damaging transient voltage events.
