CASE STUDY
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF BATTERY ROUTINES BY
42%, AND SAVE $630,000 IN A SINGLE YEAR.
This client is one of Canada’s largest wireless telecommunications
companies. In 2011, their Radio Access Network (RAN) engineering
group approached Multitel with a specific and unresolved need: They
needed a tool to centralize the battery ohmic data coming from the
thousands of preventive battery maintenance routines performed by their
field technicians every year. Plus, they wanted to explore new avenues of
savings and find a functional and flexible routine planning solution.
This led them to FIRM Battery Management.
CHALLENGES
NO UNIFORMITY IN THE WAY BATTERY SOH DATA WERE COLLECTED AND
PROCESSED
Up to that point, from one region to another, there was no uniformity in
the way the client collected or validated the battery state-of-health
(SOH) data. Technicians who collected battery ohmic data each had
their own methods to ascertain which batteries had failed, which should
be replaced, where, and for what reason(s). Having a tool to process all
these data became a priority: all regions should collect and analyze data
in the same standardized and normalized way, with the least manual
input possible, no emails, as little data entry as possible, and no copy
and paste.
NO NATIONAL VIEW OF BATTERY REPLACEMENT PRIORITIES
The lack of a consistency in collecting and analyzing battery data
created two problems: first, calculations had to be constantly rebuilt
when looking at data coming from one region versus another, and
second, it was impossible to prioritize batteries needing replacement
across the network. This resulted in significant administrative costs and
delays in getting a clear and prioritized yearly battery replacement plan
for the network. The client had calculated that implementing a new,
standardized process could save up to 30% from their annual battery
CapEx and OpEx budgets.
« Amongst all the solutions evaluated, FIRM Battery
Management came on top. It provided the global and
national view we needed. »
SOLUTIONS
MORE THAN A BATTERY MAINTENANCE FORM
All other vendors offered solutions that only covered the battery
maintenance aspect: some sort of form to record conductance data
and report on which battery jars were defective. However, FIRM
Battery Management enabled users to collect a larger amount of data
and provided advanced calculations that offered more insight, such as
calculating the estimated battery reserve time for each site.
MORE DATA TRIGGERING BATTERY REPLACEMENT
FIRM Battery Management allowed field technicians to collect data
that could indicate the need for battery replacement, such as visual
elements (battery leaking or bulging), site temperature, cell voltage, full
and modified capacity tests procedure following the IEEE Standard
450-2010 for maintenance, testing, and replacement of vented leadacid batteries and IEEE Standard 1188-2005 for the maintenance,
testing, and replacement of valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries
and more. Each of these data sets can indicate the need for battery
replacement, rather than relying solely on conductance or impedance
readings.
CALCULATING THE ESTIMATED BATTERY RESERVE TIME FOR EACH SITE
Moreover, FIRM Battery Management was the only solution that had
the ability to calculate the estimated battery reserve time available for
each site in the network. This saves a tremendous amount of time for
power engineers and power technicians during outages.
CASE STUDY
More than a maintenance form:
• Complete network view of batteries
• Prioritized battery replacement list
• Calculated battery reserve time
• Track battery failure still under warranty
• Optimized yearly routine program
TRACKING BATTERY WARRANTY
Notwithstanding the fact that batteries can fail, there was a general
consensus that some batteries could fail during their early days, even
while under warranty. FIRM Battery Management was the only solution
that could track battery failure while still under warranty. Moreover, by
tracking a site’s daily average and peak temperatures, it could provide
various data sets to battery manufacturers, demonstrating full
compliance to warranty terms. This meant that the client could go back
to its battery manufacturers and get new batteries at no extra charge.
WHY PERFORM ROUTINES IN SITES THAT HAVE GOOD BATTERIES?
As the client started using FIRM Battery Management to centralize
battery routine data, it found that more than 90% of the batteries were
good. So why perform a battery maintenance routine in each site, every
year? Couldn’t this new tool allow them to determine the relevance of
doing such a routine and reduce the number of routines per year?
« We are no longer blind! We know that our battery
network is healthy because we have results and
graphics showing that the batteries were accurately
tested and can supply enough backup power. »
RESULTS
First Year Savings
- $1.2M in deferred battery CapEx
- $120,000 by tracking warranty
- $630,000 in OpEx
The benefits of using FIRM Battery Management exceeded
expectations, even in the first year, in both CapEx and OpEx savings.
The first highlight: 85% of batteries that had passed their theoretical
lifetime were still good and didn’t need replacement, which meant
$1.2M in capital deferral.
Plus, FIRM Battery Management showed that 20% of the batteries
needing replacement were still under warranty, which represented an
additional saving of $120,000.
But the ultimate goal for the client was to reduce OpEx. With intelligent
battery routine prioritization, this telecom company was able to reduce
the number of battery maintenance routines by 42%, saving $630,000
by eliminating 2,100 battery maintenance routines.
The most important day-to-day big win the client experienced is that
technicians are now able to visualize their battery SOH and to know
the exact battery reserve time in one click.
If you still replace your batteries according to their age, you might
want to follow the path described here above and go for performancebased measurements and prioritization-based routine planning.
WHY GUESSTIMATE?
Tel.: (418) 847-2255 ⎮ Toll-free: (888) 685-8483 (US & Canada) ⎮ [email protected] ⎮ multitel.com | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook