The term "electrical preventive maintenance" (EPM) refers to a program of regular inspection and service of equipment to detect potential problems and to take proper corrective measures.

3.1 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

An EPM program should be developed and implemented based on the requirements of:

1. DOE 4330.413, Maintenance Management Program

2. NFPA 7013, Recommended Practice for Electrical Equipment Maintenance

3. NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces

4. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code

5. National Electrical Testing Association (NETA).

6. ANSI-C2, National Electrical Safety Code

3.2 DEFINITION

An EPM program is defined as the system that manages the conducting of routine inspections and tests and the servicing of electrical equipment so that impending troubles can be detected and reduced or eliminated. Where designers, installers, or constructors specify, install, and construct equipment with optional auxiliary equipment, that optional equipment should be part of the EPM program. Records of all inspections, tests, and servicing should be documented and reviewed.

All electrical equipment that is appropriate for EPM should be inspected, tested, and serviced in accordance with an EPM program.

Inspections, tests, and servicing shall be performed by personnel who are qualified for the work to be performed. These qualifications can be shown by appropriate documentation of work experience, on-the-job, and offsite formal training to verify understanding and retention of minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities.

3.3 MAINTENANCE

Electrical equipment should be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and instructions for the local operating environment. A copy of the manufacturer's recommendation should be documented and on file.

3.4 INSPECTION

If an EPM program does not exist, an inspection, testing, and servicing program should be developed and implemented to establish abaseline to initiate an EPM program. The inspection frequency should be as recommended by the manufacturer or as otherwise indicated in NFPA 70B. An initial period of inspection (sometimes several years) provides sufficient knowledge, which when accumulated, might permit increasing or decreasing that interval based upon documented observations and experience.

One guidance on how to determine inspection frequency is described in various sections of NFPA 70B, including but not limited to the following sections:

1. 4-4.5; Inspection Frequency forPlanning and Developing an Electrical Preventive Maintenance Program

2. 6-1.1.3; Recommended Frequency for Substations

3. 6-2.2; Frequency of Maintenance for Switchgear Assemblies

4. 7-2.2; Regular Inspections and 7-2.7; Special Inspections and Repairs for Liquid-Filled Transformers

5. 7.3.2; Regular Inspections and 7-3.7; Special Inspections and Repairs for Dry-Type Transformers

6. 8-2.6; Visual Inspection Intervals for Power Cables

7. 9-2; Frequency of Inspections for Enclosures of Motor Control Centers

8. 12-2.2.3; Recommended Frequency for Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters

9. 13-2.1; General and 13-2.3; Inspection and Cleaning for High-Voltage Fuses

10. 14-1.2; Frequency for Rotating Equipment

11. 15-2.1; Cleaning Interval for Lighting Equipment

12. 17-1.3; Visual Inspection Before and After Each Use, 17-3.1; Periodic Inspection of Crucial WearPoints,17-3.2;ExcessiveDirtAccumulation,17-3.3;InsufficientorImproperLubrication, and 17-4.2; Visually Inspected Before Each Use for Portable Electric Tools and Equipment

13. 18-2.3; Special Maintenance Tests, 18-4; Frequency of Tests, 18-16.5; Inspection Frequency and Procedures, and 18-18; Insulating-Liquid Analysis for Testing and Test Methods

14. 19-2.1.1(e); Reinspection and Retesting Within One or Two Years After Energization for General Aspects of Maintaining Medium- and Low-Voltage Distribution Systems, 19-3.7.; Frequency, 19-3.7.3; Regreasing, and 19-3.7.8; Frequency for Lubrication of Rotating Equipment

15. 19-3.13.4; Inspections Should Be Made of All New Installations and Whenever Alterations Are Made and 19-3.13.6; Recordkeeping for Electrostatics Static Grounding (see NFPA 77)

16. 19-4.3.4; Inspection and Testing of Power Supplies, 19-4.4.2; Functional Systems Testing of Interlock and Logic Systems, 19-4.6.2; Visual Inspection of Level Devices, 19-4.10.1; Frequency of Testing Safety and Shutdown Systems, 19-4.11.1; Frequency of Testing Alarm Systems, and 19-4.12.1; Visual Checking of Wiring Systems for Process Instrumentation and Control

17. 21-1.2; Frequency for Cable Tray System

18. 22-2.1.8; Routine Maintenance for Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Systems