Why are Protective Devices important?

(Video Transcript)

Hi everyone. I’m Nancy Regan and in this video, we’re going to talk about what a Protective Device is.

And today we are with Miles.  Miles, you are an automotive equipment expert. Is that right?

Yes, Ma’am.

The best as they come from Nashville, Tennessee. And he is here today, installing the lifts in my husband’s dream garage. And while he was teaching my husband how to use them, he started to explain about a Protective Device. So what is a Protective Device, Miles?

The Predictive device we were talking about was a disconnect for the power. So, in the instance that he’s operating the lift, raising it up with a car on there, and if the momentary switch or the contactor happens to get stuck, and he has a way to disconnect the power real close by without having to leave the vehicle unattended to find out which breaker cuts it off.

So Miles, what would happen if that failed and the electricity didn’t get cut off?

It could be a disaster because the car would continue to go up perhaps into the ceiling and then take the chance of actually breaking an arm, a component on the lift, or the car actually coming off the lift and injuring somebody below.

Wow. That could be really bad.

So that’s why it’s so important that we have Protective Devices.  And when you do Reliability Centered Maintenance, RCM gives you very powerful tools for figuring out exactly how you should maintain Protective Devices to make sure that they are available in the event that you need them.

I’m Nancy Regan from Huntsville, Alabama, with Miles from Nashville. Thank you for watching.