Why Choose Pinkertons Consulting for Root Cause Analysis?

The primary reason is twofold:

• We provide a comprehensive analysis that identifies all relevant variables, allowing us to accurately isolate the root cause.

• Failing to engage an expert like Pinkertons Consulting can lead to significantly higher costs in the long run, potentially amounting to tens of millions of dollars and resulting in contractual failures and fines.

Consider a case involving multiple electrical failures at a solar power plant, where 1000 MCM terminations failed and brought the utility offline. A thorough root cause analysis revealed that the failures were due to several factors:

1. Water Wicking: The switchgear was installed on a “dry” lakebed with a water table just three feet below the concrete pad.

2. Incorrect Thermometer and Heater Settings: These caused excessive heat inside the switchgear, leading to condensation and subsequent termination failures.

3. Workmanship Issues: Improper lug and jacket terminations, along with incorrect crimp installation, further exacerbated the problem.

By analyzing historical weather data, it was confirmed that the termination failures occurred on days when humidity was at 100%, leading to condensation inside the switchgear compartments. These combined factors resulted in over $15 million in losses due to production downtime, contractual penalties, and repair costs for the three separate termination failures.

Choosing Pinkertons Consulting ensures that such costly oversights are avoided, protecting your investment and operational integrity.

The site has not experienced termination failures since overseeing the work and increasing the heater to disipate the moisture in the enclosed switchgear.