SWITCHGEAR WORKERS

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hawkeye23

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I understand there are different levels and fields with electrical work thats why I ask these questions. I hope someone can fill in the blanks.
What type of electricians should be hired to work on switchgear\ generator problems. ?
What should the people who hire these electricians supply to them to do their job, like some type of operating information ? Or will they know this already because the equipment all operate the same way.
 
Not sure I know just what it is you are asking. When you say switchgear you could be talking anything from simple miniature breakers to large distribution switchboards to meduim and high voltge switching equipment. Each requires some common basic knowledge and each requires some knowledge specific to its application. What kind of generator problems are you asking about? Problems within the generator, problems with premises wiring and transfer equipment, control equipment?
 
I just spent the last 3 days retrofitting old switchgear and next we are tackling the generator issues at this facility, during the switchgear modifications we ran off rental parallel 1-megs.

Switchgear work depending on what yo need would be completed by a variety of companies, my firm does a wide variety of work from testing, repairs to modifications.
There are shops out there that rebuild draw out CBs, others that specialize in bolted pressure switches, others controls....


All depends on what you need.
 
First off there are two basic classifications which are world apart in my opinion. LV usually to 600v (LV is considered to be up to 1000v on the manufacturing world) or MV which covers above 1000v to commonly 15kv (2300, 4160, 7200, 13.2kv, 13.8kv ).
Then, if you are asking the question it is imperative that you be well versed in the switchgear that you would like experience with. At this time you seem to be a little uncertain though.
With LV gear they should be familiar with the major manufactures and their assemblies as well as citing their experience with the gear. They should be able to identify work sights for the projects that they worked on, what their responsibilities were and how they were held accountable.
This is the same for MV gear except that it is much more complex.
With either product it is also imperative that they have attended factory schools as well as other training for the gear alone with safety. They must show certification in some way or another that shows that they have completed some sort of formal training.
If you don?t have the experience of background in these areas then you will be completely dependent upon your new hires ability and competence which may be hard to manage. You?re going to have to have a lot of trust in that person and you?re going to have to be sharp enough to sort out those who are blowing a lot of smoke from those who will confidently and honestly provide you with their experience
 
Sorry guys for not being more clearer with the questions , company is in the process of getting work done and its been about a month since they started working on our LV 600v switchgear . I am not sure exactly what the problems are I am a newbie here ,it just seem like a long time to be working on the equipment. It would seem to me that they should be switchgear contractors to be working on the system with some background referances in this type of work. We been shuting down twice a day for as long as a hour a day in a different part of the company each time.
It has been said by you guys about there background and expierence they should have with this type of work , this i don't know . Iam sure the engineers checked this out . I just wanted to know what you electricians would expect from these type of contractors to do the job and from all the response i pretty much have a feel for what they should be. Just to add Iam not a complete electrician .. yet.
 
There is usually nothing particularly special with 600 volt or less switchgear.

Due to the hot work rules it can take many shutdowns and a long time to make additions or changes to existing switch gear.

I have never heard of a 'switchgear contractor' for under 600 volts.
 
hawkeye23 said:
Sorry guys for not being more clearer with the questions , company is in the process of getting work done and its been about a month since they started working on our LV 600v switchgear . I am not sure exactly what the problems are I am a newbie here ,it just seem like a long time to be working on the equipment. It would seem to me that they should be switchgear contractors to be working on the system with some background referances in this type of work. We been shuting down twice a day for as long as a hour a day in a different part of the company each time.
It has been said by you guys about there background and expierence they should have with this type of work , this i don't know . Iam sure the engineers checked this out . I just wanted to know what you electricians would expect from these type of contractors to do the job and from all the response i pretty much have a feel for what they should be. Just to add Iam not a complete electrician .. yet.
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This is a difficult question to answer. with you being a newbie you may not have developed and appreciation of understanding of the work that is required which is not unusual. It's going to take you a while. Remember that what these guys are doing in extremely important to the reliable and safe operation of your facility. You have used the term switchgear which in today?s terms has ended up meaning anything that is electrical distribution. In my mind it refers to MV draw out gears and LV power breakers which are also commonly draw out. You could be referring to panelboards and since you have not described the type of electrical equipment or the type of work being done you are asking us to take a wild guess at answering your question.
But hang in there as it looks as if you have a great opportunity to gain some experience and are smart enough to want to ask questions and learn.
After being on the business for a while you will learn about different service organizations and will personally get to know and trust the engineers and technicians. It is not something that you will magically learn overnight that's for sure.
 
iwire said:
... Due to the hot work rules it can take many shutdowns and a long time to make additions or changes to existing switch gear.
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First thing I thought of too when I read the more complete explanation. What may look like tedious drawn out slow progress to the untrained eye is basic work safety procedures to those who understand.

In addition, not knowing the processes and use of the power means you don't know what can and cannot be sequenced for shutdown. Many industrial and data center processes can have far reaching implications if shut down willy nilly. There is usually very careful planning that has to go into it.

Lastly, there are a lot of times when you don't know what problems exist until you get into the gear, ie you start out wanting to fix problem A, then discover problem B, which was hiding problem C etc etc.
 
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