At a Glance
Company
Unnamed Manufacturer
Region / Country
United States/North America
Industry
Manufacturing
Panduit Solution
TrueEdge Vertical Wall Mount Enclosure
Manufacturer Simplifies Critical Power Delivery with Fault Managed Power
A large North American manufacturer operates a continuous production environment supported by IT and operational technology networks distributed throughout its facilities. Managing numerous uninterruptible power supply systems across the production floor created maintenance complexity, increased service costs, and required licensed electricians to work on high-voltage equipment.
The manufacturer implemented the Panduit Fault Managed Power System to centralize UPS backup and deliver Class 4 power to network equipment located throughout the production environment. The new architecture simplifies power management, improves safety and scalability, and provides additional capacity to support future growth.
Challenges
- Continuous manufacturing environment with zero tolerance for production interruptions meant infrastructure upgrades had to be completed during limited maintenance windows
- Distributed UPS equipment increased maintenance and management complexity
- High-voltage infrastructure required licensed electricians for service and modifications
- Need to support future network growth without repeatedly redesigning the power architecture
Solution
- Centralized UPS architecture supports network equipment throughout the production environment
- Panduit Class 4 Fault Managed Power System distributes power for IT and OT network infrastructure
- Remote power delivery reduced the need for high-voltage equipment at production floor network cabinets
- A scalable architecture will accommodate future expansion
Outcome
- Simplified maintenance and operation through centralized power and UPS management
- Improved personnel safety by reducing high-voltage equipment at remote network locations
- Infrastructure upgrades completed without interrupting production
- Added capacity to support future manufacturing and network expansion
Challenges
A large North American manufacturer operates a continuous production environment, with IT and OT systems distributed throughout its facilities. To maintain backup power for critical network infrastructure, each production location relied on its own UPS system positioned close to network equipment on the manufacturing floor. While effective, this approach increased maintenance demands, complicated power management, and required service activities to be performed across multiple locations. Each UPS represented another device that had to be monitored, maintained, and serviced at a remote location.
Infrastructure modifications had to be completed within tightly controlled maintenance windows. In addition, reliance on high-voltage AC power required licensed electricians for routine changes and service activities, increasing both cost and operational complexity. The manufacturer needed a safer and more efficient approach that would support continuous operations while simplifying the management of the facility-wide power infrastructure.
The Panduit Strategy and Solution:
The manufacturer implemented a Panduit Fault Managed Power System (FMPS) architecture that centralized UPS backup and distributed Class 4 power to IT and OT network equipment throughout the production environment.
Fault-managed power combines the reach and power-delivery capabilities associated with traditional electrical systems with intelligent fault detection and power management. The system continuously monitors the circuit and rapidly limits power when a fault is detected, enabling power to be delivered over longer distances while reducing exposure to electrical hazards.
In the new architecture, centralized FMPS transmitters supply fault-managed power over Class 4 cabling to FMPS receivers located near the network equipment. Receivers convert the delivered power into the output required by the connected equipment. This approach allows the centralized UPS system to provide backup power to multiple remote locations without placing separate UPS units and high-voltage AC infrastructure at each network cabinet.
Replacing the distributed UPS model with a centralized architecture reduced the number of power systems requiring ongoing maintenance. The solution also provides centralized visibility and monitoring, creating a more streamlined approach to power management and a scalable foundation for future growth.
The Implementation
FMPS deployment was completed in less than 30 minutes while manufacturing operations remained fully active. Power cutovers were executed during existing 25-minute maintenance windows, allowing infrastructure upgrades to occur without disrupting production schedules. Today, FMPS is powering the network switches that power the manufacturing floor.
Centralized UPS equipment replaced distributed UPS enclosures throughout the production facility, and Class 4 cabling was routed to network equipment throughout the manufacturing space. The implementation enabled the manufacturer to modernize its power architecture without requiring changes to established manufacturing workflows.
The architecture was also designed with additional capacity to support future expansion, reducing the need for significant infrastructure changes as business requirements evolve.
The Outcome
With Panduit FMPS in place, the manufacturer established a more efficient and scalable approach to powering critical network infrastructure. Centralizing UPS management simplified maintenance, reduced the operational burden associated with distributed equipment, and improved visibility into critical power systems. For a manufacturing environment of this scale, a comparative labor-cost model estimates that the changes made to centralize UPS management could lower annual maintenance and troubleshooting labor costs by approximately 85 percent.
Reducing the amount of high-voltage equipment at remote network cabinets also improved personnel safety and simplified future infrastructure modifications. Because the deployment was coordinated with existing maintenance requirements, the manufacturer completed the transition without disrupting production.
Following the initial implementation, the manufacturer identified opportunities to extend the architecture to additional areas as network and operational requirements evolve.
The project was completed with no production downtime, despite tight maintenance and installation constraints, demonstrating how fault-managed power can be deployed successfully in continuous manufacturing environments.
