Standby power that has actually been tested
Generators, transfer switches, batteries and fuel maintained on a calendar and proved by running under load, not by starting and stopping.
- Scope
- Diesel standby sets, transfer switches, batteries, fuel
- Run test
- Monthly, on load where the site allows
- Load bank test
- Annual, where building load cannot be used
- Survey to schedule
- Within two weeks
- Overhaul and warranty
- Managed specialist
Standby generator maintenance keeps backup power ready for the day the grid fails: batteries, fuel, coolant, the transfer switch and the engine itself, proved by regular runs under load. ITF keeps a run log per set. Major overhauls and warranty work stay with the manufacturer or its agent as managed specialist work.
- 01 Enquiry
- 02 Site survey
- 03 Scope and quote
- 04 Mobilisation
- 05 Planned schedule
- 06 Execution
- 07 Monthly report
- 08 Management review
- 09 Next cycle
Standby power that has actually been tested sits at step 5 of the fm operating cycle. You receive the annual planned maintenance schedule.
Why standby sets fail on the day
Standby generators rarely fail because the engine is worn out. They fail because of something small that nobody tested.
The starter battery is four years old. Water has condensed into the diesel tank, which on the humid coast happens faster than people expect, and microbial growth has started blocking the filters. The transfer switch has not actually transferred since commissioning.
Or the set has been run every month for ten minutes with no load. That leaves unburnt fuel and carbon in the exhaust, a condition called wet stacking, and the set struggles the first time it has to carry the building.
The calendar
Intervals start here and move with the manufacturer's guidance, the duty the set actually sees and your own risk decision.
| Check | What is done | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Visual round | Fuel level, leaks, battery charger status, alarms, enclosure and louvres, done by site staff to our checklist. | Weekly |
| Run test | Start, run and stop recorded, on load wherever the site can take a transfer. | Monthly |
| Batteries | Voltage, electrolyte or condition and terminals checked, with the installation date logged. | Monthly, replaced on date |
| Service | Oil, filters, belts, coolant condition and heaters, and the radiator cleaned of dust. | To the manufacturer's hours, or annual |
| Transfer switch | Mechanical operation checked, and a full transfer and retransfer proved. | Quarterly, or with each on-load run |
| Fuel | Water drained, a sample checked, tank and bund inspected, and polishing arranged where the sample is bad. | Quarterly sample |
| Load test | A load bank test where the building load is too light, or too sensitive, to use. | Annual |
| Overhaul and warranty work | Major overhauls, control faults on synchronised or paralleled sets, and anything under warranty, done by the manufacturer or its authorised agent. We schedule the visit, supervise it and keep their report in the same record. Managed specialist work. | To the manufacturer's schedule |
The records per set
The generator run log
Every run with load, voltage, frequency, temperatures and duration. A run with no load is recorded as exactly that.
The transfer test record
Each transfer and retransfer with its time, and anything the switch did that it should not have.
The battery record
Condition and voltage per visit, and the installation date, so a battery is replaced on a date rather than after a failed start.
The fuel record
Water drained, sample results, tank and bund condition, and every delivery logged against the tank, so the level in the log and the level in the tank agree.
The service sheet
One per visit: oil, filters, belts, coolant, heaters and radiator, against the manufacturer's hours.
The annual load test report
The set run at a planned load for a planned duration, on building load or a load bank, with the readings.
On load, or it is not a test
Starting a generator proves it starts. It does not prove it can carry your building, or that the transfer switch will move the load across and back.
- 01
Plan the window
A date agreed, the people who own the loads told in advance, and a written plan for what happens if the set does not pick up.
- 02
Open the utility supply
The set starts and takes the load through the transfer switch. Where the building load is too light or too sensitive to use, a load bank carries the test instead.
- 03
Carry and record
The set runs on load while load, voltage, frequency and temperatures are logged against time.
- 04
Hand back
Retransfer to the utility supply, a cool-down run, and the log closed with the duration and anything the set or the switch did wrong.
A set nobody had seen carry load
A Riyadh office relies on one standby set for its server room and emergency loads. The site guard starts it for ten minutes every month and signs a sheet. Nobody has seen it carry load since handover.
We plan an on-load transfer for a Friday morning with the client's IT team present. Before it, we check the battery, which is four years old and low under cranking, and sample the fuel, which has water at the bottom of the tank. The battery is replaced and the tank drained and polished.
On the day, the transfer switch hesitates on retransfer and its contacts are found worn. The switch is repaired and retested the following week.
The client holds a run log with load and duration, a transfer test record, fuel sample results before and after polishing, a battery record with the new installation date and a repair record for the switch.
Questions before the next outage
How often should a standby generator run?
A monthly run is a common starting point, and it should carry load wherever the site can take a transfer. The manufacturer's guidance and your own risk decide the final regime.
Is a monthly no-load run harmful?
Repeated light or no-load running can cause wet stacking: unburnt fuel and carbon building up in the exhaust. It is one reason we push for on-load runs and an annual load bank test.
Who supplies the fuel?
Usually your own fuel supplier. We drain the water, check the fuel's quality and record every delivery against the tank in the log.
Our generator is under OEM warranty. Can you still help?
Yes. The manufacturer keeps the warranty work, and we run the weekly and monthly checks their terms allow and hold their reports in your file.
Do you maintain UPS systems too?
UPS batteries and inverters are usually maintained by the manufacturer or a UPS specialist. We manage that specialist as managed specialist work and log their visits beside the generator's.
On the same essential board
Electrical
The LV distribution the standby set feeds, with a test record per board.
Read moreFMPlanned maintenance
Where the run tests, battery dates and load test sit on the annual calendar.
Read moreFMSpecialist systems
HV, UPS and the other systems a licensed specialist works to our scope.
Read moreITF ConsultISO 45001
Emergency preparedness inside an occupational safety system that relies on standby power.
Read morePart of one system
Every division keeps records to the same standard, so the second one you need works the way the first one did.
Book a site survey
Ask when the set last carried the building's load. If nobody can answer, the survey starts there: the battery, the fuel, the transfer switch and a plan for the first on-load test.