An efficient and precise sound camera
In 2016, Fingrid sought new ideas for the improvement and development of main grid maintenance work and fault repair in an open idea competition. The Noiseless Acoustics sound camera was selected as one of the top four innovations and underwent further development.
12 sound cameras have now been purchased for the use of Fingrid and have been in production use since the beginning of 2018. A three-year agreement has been made for the use of the cameras.
The cameras localise unusual sounds, which are typical signs of a nascent fault or broken device. The acoustic camera microphones are powerful and precisely pick up sounds of different frequencies.
The technology is also suitable for use in the maintenance of transmission lines. Typically, the location of a problem is only known approximately, but the sound camera finds the faulty component with ease.
“I believe that in future the use of a sound camera and drone together will become more common. A microphone attached to the drone efficiently gathers information from a wide area,” says Maintenance Manager Jari Helander about his good experiences.
According to him, prices for different sensors, for example, have recently fallen considerably. 360 sensors for measuring different variables in control equipment have been installed at Kymi Substation. This investment is paying itself back since less manpower is required and the chance of disturbances decreases.
Reported occupational safety
Fingrid is using a mobile system developed by NordSafety, which reports on the occupational safety matters of its own personnel and suppliers. System development work was a pilot project that created something new for both parties. For NordSafety, the successful end result brought much visibility and growth.
The solution makes it much easier to monitor occupational safety, when reports and notifications can be made immediately on site. The need to fill in different forms has decreased.Through proactive indicators, information can be obtained about work done for occupational safety and about latent risk factors, so that at best hazardous situations can be prevented.
“Since the introduction of the NordSafety reporting system, the number of safety observations, among other things has significantly increased. We are also able to monitor the occupational safety situation at our sites almost in real time,” says Safety Expert Karri Koskinen.
The system is in use in all investment projects and maintenance and is also being used in quality- and environmental reporting.
