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EPC uses SDP to Make 3000+ Warranty Claims
SenseHawk Therm helps the EPC complete the gargantuan task of identifying, classifying, and remediating PV and electrical defects on a 130 MW site within three weeks.
While aerial thermography studies conducted by O&M teams post-commissioning (6-12 months into the life of the asset) were common 5 years ago, pre-commissioning studies are starting to become de-rigueur. Asset owners are realizing the benefit of catching thermal and electrical failures early, right after construction is completed.
Further, OEMs are recognizing the validity of these studies in processing warranty claims, subject, of course, to rigorous on-field analysis. Aerial thermography reports only reveal a symptom. The root cause (which ultimately determines the validity of a warranty claim) needs to be ascertained on the field through visual inspection for damage or IV curve tracing on defective modules.
Most providers that perform aerial thermography deliver simple PDF or CSV reports of thermal defects. The translation of these reports into the action required on the field is a laborious process involving printouts, guesswork regarding the defect location, and a lot of heartburn.
The Problem: Weeks before commissioning, the solar asset owner seeks thermal study from EPC
With the hot-commissioning deadline fast approaching, an EPC in charge of constructing one of the largest solar farms in the state of Alabama, faced a major hurdle. The asset owner wants a thermal study of the asset as part of the punchlist activity prior to commissioning. The EPC needs a quick and easy solution to both identify major PV and electrical defects and remediate thermal issues. Delays, if any, will prove very costly considering the cliff dates and liquidated damages built into the EPC contract.
Since the EPC has used the SenseHawk Digitization Platform (SDP) for several activities during construction at the site, including earth moving and construction monitoring, it explores using the SDP to tackle the problem. The digital twin of the asset is already available on the platform. The digital model incorporates all information from the site with respect to the components, inverter-combiner box-string labels, and all logical and hierarchical interconnections.
The EPC has also completed an important activity that will prove to be particularly useful for warranty claims. During the final stages of construction, serial numbers of every installed module had been captured and saved onto the digital twin on the SDP.
The digital twin of the solar power created on the SDP at the start of construction
The Solution: SenseHawk is uniquely positioned to address the EPC’s problem
The EPC has three weeks to identify, classify and remediate PV and electrical defects, on a 130 MW site. Using Therm, the first two steps (identify and classify) are completed in one week.
SenseHawk’s pilots complete drone data collection and image uploads to the platform within four days. The thermography reports are available on the platform within the next three days and indicate over 5000 defects of various types, spread out over 900 acres. The EPC still has two weeks to fix these issues and close out the punch list.
The SDP has productivity tools designed for management of tasks and workflows on the field. Using the work management and collaboration features, the EPC is able to drastically reduce the time taken for defect remediation. Each recorded defect is mapped and easily turned into a task for field teams that can use the SDP mobile app to view tasks and detailed checklists, have contextual chats, and create status updates along with attachments.
Each task contains the defect type, string number, and temperature delta of the hotspot. The Project Manager is able to attach custom checklists to the tasks, one for each defect type. Defects will be automatically classified by severity; string related issues to be tackled first, followed by module-related, and finally cell-related issues.
Multiple field teams are created and defects are assigned to each of them to enable quick investigation on the field. The tasks will show up on the mobile devices allowing users to easily navigate to the exact locations of defects using their mobile GPS.
Field technicians can navigate to the exact defect location using the mobile application
Technicians spread out to individual defects and conduct investigations based on the task list. A large number of defects are found to be caused by cracked modules – caused by a bad batch from the PV supplier. Photographs of the damaged modules are attached to the associated task on the app.
Another large set of modules has abnormally hot cells probably caused by a manufacturing defect. These defects are verified on the field through IV curve tracing, and screenshots of the IV trace are added to the task associated with the defect. The EPC is able to then export the results of the on-field defect investigation into excel sheets, complete with hyperlinks to the tasks’ attachments.
Field investigation reveals broken glass on the module – a manufacturing defect – and photographs are attached to the associated task
Impact: A seemingly gargantuan task is wrapped up within 3 weeks
The generated reports clearly indicate the resolution status of each defect – some were resolved on the field, while many (over 3500) are liable for warranty claims. The photo attachments made to each defect-related task provide a quick and effortless way to verify this. The EPC submits the Excel file to the owner, who is satisfied that the defects are either already rectified or will be rectified through warranty claims and clears this item from the EPC’s punch list. This is all done within 10 days of the thermal reports being made available to the EPC—well within the commissioning deadline.
Post-commissioning, the actual task of warranty claims remains. The serial numbers that were meticulously cataloged on the SDP prior to the thermal scan, prove to be especially useful. Each defect has the corresponding module serial number associated with it. The owner is able to simply send a list of defective serial numbers to the OEM, who is able to quickly verify the claims using evidence already gathered during the on-field investigation.
In this manner, a seemingly gargantuan task is completed in less than three weeks with the help of the SDP. The power plant operates at maximum efficiency from day one, and the usually complicated task of warranty claims is reduced to a simple checklist activity.
Field investigation reveals broken glass on the module – a manufacturing defect – and photographs are attached to the associated task
To know how the SenseHawk Digitization Platform (SDP) SaaS can deliver next-gen construction and operations monitoring and management to connect your teams, drive efficiency improvements, and optimize processes, drop an email to contact@sensehawk.com.
