When Voltage Dips Hit Production: How an MSME Fertilizer Plant Safeguarded Its Operations
In western Uttar Pradesh, a mid-sized fertilizer manufacturer had built its reputation on timely supply to local farmers. The factory’s operations ran around the clock, supported by a mix of process machines like rotary drum dryers, crystallizers, centrifuge strainers, pumps, blowers, compressors, HVAC systems, boilers, air scrubbers, and wastewater treatment plants (STP).
1. The Trigger: When Power Dips Halted Production
The production wasn’t always smooth. One evening, during a critical drying cycle, a sudden voltage dip caused the rotary drum dryer to slow down and trip. Almost simultaneously, a few centrifuge strainers also stopped mid-batch, leaving semi-processed material stuck inside. Maintenance staff rushed in to restart equipment, but production had already lost precious hours.
This wasn’t an isolated event. Voltage instability had been quietly impacting the plant for months. Instead of catastrophic failures, the losses were often hidden in downtime, delayed deliveries, and frequent maintenance interventions. For an MSME unit, these disruptions directly threatened profitability.
The maintenance manager was the first to raise a flag. He noticed that every dip, even if only lasting seconds, forced unplanned stops and manual intervention. Over time, availability of equipment dropped, OEE fell, and customer orders became harder to fulfill on time.
2. The Blind Spot: Why the Losses Stayed Invisible
On paper, electricity bills didn’t show a big anomaly. The monthly EB invoice looked normal, and energy costs were in line with historic trends. Finance managers naturally assumed all was well. But the real pain was hidden in lost availability and the drop in equipment reliability.
For example:
- Every dip forced machines like centrifuges, rotary dryers, pumps, and blowers into emergency stops. Restarting them wasn’t instantaneous; in some cases, operators had to wait for systems to stabilize.
- Batch processes like drying and centrifugation were especially sensitive. Even a short dip extended process cycles, wasting both time and raw material inputs.
- The HVAC and scrubbers protecting air quality tripped during voltage fluctuations, risking compliance issues.
- Maintenance teams were spending more hours resetting drives, motors, and control panels rather than working on planned upkeep.
Without sub-metering or power quality monitoring, the problem never appeared in neat financial reports. This was the classic MSME blind spot: operational losses that don’t show up in bills but quietly erode competitiveness.
3. How the Problem Tied into OEE
The factory had already been tracking Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) for its major process machines. The monitoring showed:
- Availability losses: Frequent downtime from voltage dips meant machines weren’t available when needed.
- Performance losses: Even when running, equipment like dryers and centrifuges operated below optimal speeds after dips.
- Quality risks: Interrupted drying or centrifugation cycles sometimes produced inconsistent batches, increasing rework.
For the maintenance manager, this was the proof he needed to highlight the issue at the management table. By connecting power quality disturbances to OEE losses, he could demonstrate that these weren’t just “electrical nuisances” but business-level risks.
4. Partnering for a Solution: Maintenance Meets Purchase & OEMs
The next step was internal alignment. The maintenance manager documented cases of stoppages and approached the purchase manager with warranty claims for drives and controls that kept failing.
But OEM suppliers had a clear answer:
“These aren’t product defects — they’re power quality issues. Unless voltage stability is ensured, failures will recur.”
This shifted the conversation. It was no longer about blaming equipment suppliers but about addressing the root cause. Together, the maintenance and purchase teams agreed to explore monitoring solutions that could make the invisible losses measurable.
Key interactions included:
- OEM consultations to understand acceptable voltage tolerance for sensitive machines.
- Supplier discussions that ruled out warranty coverage when voltage instability was proven.
- Cross-functional alignment between maintenance, purchase, and management to approve monitoring investments.
5. Building Visibility: Monitoring Before Mitigation
Instead of rushing into expensive fixes, the factory took a data-first approach. With Intelliware’s support, power quality analyzers and meters were deployed across key feeders supplying:
- Rotary drum dryer
- Basket centrifuge strainer
- Pumps, blowers, and compressors
- Boilers and scrubbers
- HVAC and water treatment systems
The monitoring phase revealed a consistent story:
- Voltage dips occurred at least 2–3 times a week, mostly during peak evening loads.
- The depth of dips was severe enough to trigger drive trips.
- Sensitive loads like centrifuges were impacted disproportionately compared to pumps or blowers.
By making the disturbances visible, the factory could finally link specific downtime events to power quality issues. This changed the conversation at management level: it was no longer about opinions but about evidence.
6. The Solution Path: Evaluating Options
Once data was in hand, the maintenance team worked with suppliers and Intelliware to explore mitigation. The key options considered were:
- Servo stabilizers: Already installed, but too slow to respond to sudden dips.
- Static VAR Generators (SVG/ASVG): To maintain stable voltage and reactive power compensation.
- Harmonic filters and load balancing: To reduce stress on drives and motors.
- Redundancy measures: Ensuring critical machines had buffered power supply.
Through technical discussions, the team realized that while stabilizers helped against gradual fluctuations, they weren’t enough for sudden short-duration dips. A combination of SVG/ASVG solutions with optimized load distribution emerged as the most viable approach.
7. ROI & Business Impact
The maintenance manager built a clear value proposition for management with a balanced focus on production and financial aspects that the management team could directly relate to.
Pre-Implementation Value Proposition:
- Frequent equipment stoppages in the crystallizers, centrifuge and rotary drum dryers due to voltage dips, leading to loss of productive hours.
- Higher maintenance interventions on drives, motors, and pumps, diverting manpower from preventive tasks.
- Energy efficiency losses in blowers, compressors, HVAC etc.
- Production delays that affected the delivery schedule.
- Estimated impact: 5–7% reduction in OEE and unplanned costs of ₹10–15 lakhs annually.
Decision Point:
- A ROI analysis showed that investing in an advanced SVG/ASVG system could pay back within 12–18 months, primarily through reduced downtime and lower maintenance overhead.
- The proposal was approved with management’s alignment.
Post-Implementation Realization (after 3–6 months):
- Stabilized performance of critical machines like centrifuges and rotary drum dryers.
- Noticeable reduction in tripping incidents and machine stoppages.
- Improved availability of pumps, blowers, compressors, and HVAC systems.
- OEE improved by 6–8%, translating into smoother operations and predictable production cycles.
- Maintenance team could shift focus back to preventive work, enhancing long-term reliability.
In short, the investment was justified not just technically but financially. The plant now had quantifiable improvements in uptime and OEE, aligning with both operational and business goals.
8. Broader Lessons for MSMEs
This case reflects a reality across many MSME manufacturing units in India. Voltage dips, harmonics, and poor power quality often go unnoticed until they cause visible failures. But the hidden cost is usually much higher — in delayed deliveries, reduced equipment life, and lost customer trust.
Key takeaways for MSMEs:
- Be proactive in risk management — waiting for breakdowns or external audits delays action and increases costs.
- Connect power quality to OEE — correlating impact of voltage dips, harmonics, or instability on output addresse managerial considerations.
- Engage with OEMs and suppliers early — their insights can help in selecting the right protection and mitigation technologies, while also reducing warranty disputes.
- Start with visibility — continuous monitoring ensures that investments in filters, stabilizers, or advanced SVG/ASVG systems are targeted and cost-effective.
9. Call to Action: From Visibility to Reliability
For the fertilizer MSME, solving voltage dip issues was about more than protecting equipment. It was about protecting competitiveness in a tough market. By starting with visibility and moving towards targeted mitigation, the plant secured its machines, improved OEE, and safeguarded its ability to deliver on time.
If you are an MSME facing unexplained stoppages, repeated equipment failures, or invisible losses, the first step is to map your power quality environment. From there, solutions can be built that are both technically effective and ROI-driven.
👉 At Intelliware, we work alongside maintenance managers, purchase teams, and management to make power quality visible and manageable. Our portfolio includes energy measurement, monitoring, power quality, electrical protection and control solutions tailored for MSME needs.
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