Predictive Maintenance with Wireless Fluke Connect tools
It’s the foundation of any electrical safety program: limiting the exposure of workers to the electrical hazards of shock and arc flash. Using test leads and clamps to probe inside a live panel when troubleshooting and performing routine maintenance always exposes workers to danger. Electrical personal protective equipment (PPE) is a last line of defense and must never be relied upon as the primary method of protecting electricians and technicians. Safe work practices, including the use of non-contact test tools that do not require electrical workers to place themselves in harm’s way, must first be considered when it comes to electrical safety.
Fluke Connect®, introduced in 2014, added a level of efficiency and effective collaboration for maintenance and troubleshooting, in all kinds of manufacturing, commercial, and retail facilities. Technicians can monitor real time results from more than 20 different Fluke test tools from a smart phone (up to 10 at a time on iPhone and 6 on Android). This information can also be securely shared, in real time, with authorized team members in other locations.
In addition, test results and maintenance data can be collected through the Fluke Connect app and stored by asset in secure Fluke Cloud™ storage. That means that troubleshooting and maintenance staff can access that data in the field to compare new measurements to baseline measurements to more quickly identify problems.
The end result is that technicians can use Fluke Connect to quickly identify and diagnose problems while securely sharing the related data, when they want and with the specific people they have given permission to view it.
Fluke released clamp meters – the Fluke 376 FC True RMS AC/DC Clamp Meter with iFlex and the Fluke 902 FC True-rms HVAC Clamp Meter allow the technicians to access tight places and work around large, awkward conductors and can transmit measurements to a smartphone or tablet for later, detailed analysis. Those measurements can be uploaded to the cloud. Technicians can combine measurement data from multiple Fluke Connect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues with ShareLive™ video calls or email, increasing productivity in the field.
The 376 and 902 clamp meters also decrease the frequency that technicians will need to wear personal protective equipment when working on high voltage/current panels. Technicians simply turn off the panel, verify the panel is de-energized using standard safety procedures, place the clamp and sync it to a smartphone with the Fluke Connect app, close the panel, reenergize it, and take measurements from a safe distance.
