Nationwide Power™ is the leading provider in the critical power supply industry. Our core business is the sales and service of uninterruptible power supplies and UPS batteries, along with supporting other critical power components such as emergency generators, switch gear, and HVAC. We publish critical power related case studies, highlighting best practices and quality standards.
From the time we perform our first PM inspection, we actively monitor and recommend age-based replacements of components that have service life cycles.
We make these recommendations in advance and prior to component failure to maximize uptime and reliability. We continue to follow up on our recommendations until they are either implemented, component failure occurs, or our customer notifies us to discontinue the notifications.
In this case study, we review the details of an emergency call we received from a non-contracted customer for an MGE Galaxy 5000 100kVA UPS. The combination of not having routine maintenance and the failure to act on age-based replacement requirements led to a larger, more costly outcome. To protect the confidentiality of the customer, the customer will be referred to as Company A.
| Product | MGE Galaxy 5000 100kVA UPS |
| Application | Data Center |
| Synopsis | Company A, a non-contracted customer, submitted a request for emergency service for their MGE Galaxy 5000 100kVA UPS, in which a battery in the UPS equipment caught fire. Although this customer is not under a service contract, Nationwide Power was hired in the past to service three other UPS units on site. As such, going forward, the customer will receive scheduled alerts for age-based service needs on those specific units. For nearly nine months, Company A has been receiving age-based replacement recommendations for the UPS batteries in the three previously serviced UPS units. After receiving quotes for UPS battery replacements in the three units, Company A also requested a quote for a single battery in an MGE Galaxy 5000 100kVA UPS. Nationwide Power had not previously serviced this UPS unit, nor did the initial battery install. Our battery department advised the customer that its MGE Galaxy UPS batteries were still under warranty, and the most cost-effective solution was to request replacement through their previous vendor. Nationwide Power continued to follow up on the outstanding three quotes. Over the course of nearly nine months, Company A failed to take any action to move forward. Unfortunately, if age-based replacement requirements are not addressed in a timely manner, they may inevitably lead to much larger and costly issues. These include full system failures and unsafe conditions, like fires. In this case, the excessive delay in replacing the single bad battery in the MGE Galaxy 5000 led to a battery fire, which ultimately resulted in the full string requiring replacement, rather than just one single battery. |
| Preliminary Actions | Nationwide Power provided Company A with instructions to replace the single bad battery in the MGE Galaxy 5000 UPS, at no cost to the customer. Company A failed to take any action for several months, which ultimately led to the fire. |
| Resolution | Due to the fire within the UPS, Company A was forced to replace all batteries in the 100kVA unit at an out-of-pocket cost of nearly $14,000. Thankfully, the fire in the UPS was contained to the battery cabinet and did not create further damage to the UPS unit itself, or the entire building as a whole. |
| Root Cause | Next to human error, battery failure is the second highest cause of downtime. All it takes is one weak battery to bring down an entire UPS system, and the cost of downtime often far outweighs the cost of replacing the batteries in a timely fashion. If Company A had been proactive in replacing the single bad UPS battery, this incident and the additional expense of replacing all batteries would not have occurred. |
| Additional Reading | Identifying qualified UPS service providers: Case Study #131 | Emergency UPS Service For A Discontinued Liebert NXb 30kVA UPS News Article: The Importance of Preventive Maintenance |
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