The Top 5 Benefits of Preventive Maintenance

From the smallest data closet to the largest enterprise data center, your approach to maintaining IT infrastructure is critical to the security, uptime and operation of your facility. The IEEE suggests that having a preventive maintenance program in place can reduce the risk of an unplanned outage by as much as 66%. Here are the top five reasons to make, and keep, Preventive Maintenance for your UPS, switchgear and cooling systems a priority.

Benefit #1:  Reduced Downtime

The best way to avoid costly downtime is to monitor the ongoing health of your IT infrastructure with regular preventive maintenance. Systematic inspections, testing and cleaning by trained technicians ensure the various electronic and mechanical components are functioning to their maximum potential.  Any wear or potential failure can be identified and resolved before a failure happens.

Electrical switchgear is the most overlooked component in the power system. A malfunction in the switchgear, however, can prevent the back-up power system from coming online and/or damage to the switchgear itself. Regular inspection and maintenance for this unassuming component can protect your uptime.

Benefit #2:  Greater Energy Efficiency

Regular maintenance keeps a UPS, switchgear, and data center cooling equipment operating at peak performance, which reduces energy costs. Something as simple as a fan which is about to wear out or a non-optimized cooling system can cause a drain to the entire system, making it less efficient. When a UPS and its cooling system run optimally, it leads to greener, more efficient data centers, which can benefit the environment and your bottom line.

Inefficient data center cooling is one of the largest contributors to higher utility costs.  With increased pressure to minimize operating expenses, optimizing data center cooling can help reduce the utility bill and help the rest of the data center equipment operate efficiently.

Benefit #3:  Improved Performance

Regular maintenance ensures peak performance through scheduled check-ups that guide adjustments to your UPS components and battery, cooling system and switchgear. If any parts of the system are not operating normally due to age or wear, it puts more stress on the rest of the system, slowing performance and shortening the life of those parts.

At the basic level, Preventive Maintenance includes regular cleaning of dust and debris and checks for ineffective contacts and connections. These minor, yet necessary, maintenance duties contribute to improved performance.

Benefit #4:  Investment Protection

While the most obvious financial benefit of Preventive Maintenance is avoiding expensive outages and associated replacement costs, maintenance can also extend the operational life of your power and cooling equipment..  Without proper servicing, even the best UPS is significantly more likely to fail when you can least afford it. By monitoring the UPS environment, load, and components, and keeping them in top condition, you can maximize the life of your UPS.

Your data center cooling system is key to protecting your IT equipment investment. Uncontrolled temperatures can reduce the life of your servers, switches, UPS and batteries. By properly maintaining your cooling system you can get the most out of your data center equipment.

And uncontrollable temperatures aren’t the only factor that can cause reduce battery life. To protect your battery investment it is important to perform regular maintenance. UPS, 2V, and Flooded batteries all have different maintenance requirements that, if ignored can become potential points of failure and require replacement. Be proactive with maintenance to protect your entire UPS system investment.

Benefit #5:  Increased IT Productivity

A trouble-free data center allows personnel to focus on core competencies and not get caught in time consuming lifecycle management. Predictable Preventive Maintenance provided by the manufacturer offers scheduled, dependable check-ups and health reports about your equipment. With the information from each service report, decisions about repair and replacement, as well as budgeting for each, can be made when planning, rather than in a downtime rush. IT departments are under pressure to ensure uninterrupted power. Regular maintenance helps you deliver on that promise by keeping your UPS, data center cooling system and switchgear ready to run properly when needed. This improves the productivity of the entire organization.

An effective Preventive Maintenance strategy can be one of the most cost-effective measures to ensure the ongoing health of both critical equipment and overall business. Additionally, more comprehensive services can help you take maintenance to the next level. Not sure where to start? A Data Center Assessment is an on-site evaluation and analysis of your data center or network closet with recommendations to maximize availability, improve energy efficiency and reduce energy-related costs and can help maximize availability as a top priority. Our analysis and assessments focus on issues such as proper cooling, electrical efficiency and power quality.

In addition to regular preventive maintenance services, factory service plans are also available to cover the cost of labor and parts in the event of a problem with your power system, UPS, or data center cooling.  This regular annual expense makes budgeting easier and eliminates the need to request emergency funding in the event of a failure.