Tricks Of The Trade: UPS Precautions

By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the September 2006 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Q We frequently experience UPS tripping, which results in data loss and damage to our systems. What precautionary measures could help me overcome this problem? All our systems (except photocopiers, printers, and other motorized equipment) are on UPS.

Murthy Narasimha
Executive-Facilities
Jones Lang LaSalle
Hyderabad, India

AYour note indicates that the actual UPS unit trips and shuts down your computers. This leads me to ask if the UPS unit is already being serviced by a factory trained technician who is familiar with the controls and alarms for the model you have.

Other issues should also be investigated. What is the quality of the power from the utility? How old are the batteries, and what is their condition? Finally, what is the demand load placed on the UPS?

To find out more about your UPS problems, I suggest the Data Center University from APC. The courses are currently offered at no charge and provide topics on power, cooling, load calculation, and other relevant subjects.

Another resource to check out for white papers, benchmarks, and operations is Availability.com.

Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.