Factory Power Resilience Assessment for African Manufacturers
In many African markets a factory cannot assume the grid will be there. Load shedding, voltage swings and local outages decide how many shifts you actually run. This assessment asks ten practical questions and returns a score that shows where you are exposed.
1. How much of your plant's critical load is covered by backup power?
Critical load includes process equipment that is costly to restart, safety systems, controls, compressed air and IT.
2. Do you have a written critical load list with start up order?
3. How often are generators and transfer switches load tested?
4. How is fuel supply for backup generation managed?
5. Do you have a published outage schedule or alert process for planned load shedding?
6. How well are servers, network and the ERP protected from power loss?
7. How do you handle power quality issues such as sags, surges and phase loss?
8. Do you know the cost per hour of an outage by line or area?
9. Do you have an alternative energy plan such as solar or storage evaluated?
10. How often do you run a full outage and restart drill?
How to use the assessment
Answer for the plant as it runs today, not as the plan says it should. Involve the maintenance manager and the IT lead, since power is a joint concern. The score is shown as a percentage of the maximum, which maps to a band with recommended next steps. Re-run it after any investment or after a long outage, and compare results across sites if you run more than one.
What the questions measure
The questions cover four areas. Coverage and planning ask whether you know what must stay on and in what order to restart it. Equipment and fuel ask whether generators run when you need them. Information systems ask whether your servers and ERP shut down safely and come back cleanly. Cost and strategy ask whether you know the price of an outage and have evaluated alternatives such as solar and storage.
- Critical load list and start up order
- Generator testing and fuel management
- UPS, server shutdown and ERP restart
- Outage cost per hour and alternative energy
Reading your score
A low score does not mean a failing plant. It means outages are managed by luck and people rather than by design. The cheapest gains are usually a written load list, a monthly generator load test and a safe shutdown for servers. Larger investments such as solar or storage make sense after you know your outage cost per hour. Use the calculators on this site to size generator runtime and compare diesel cost with grid power.
Common mistakes
Frequent errors include sizing a generator for the full plant when only critical loads need cover, ignoring starting current of large motors, running generators without load tests, and forgetting that an ERP database can corrupt after a hard power cut. Another is treating the outage schedule as information for staff only, rather than an input for production planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this only for load shedding?
No. It covers any grid unreliability, including unplanned outages, voltage sags and phase loss. Planned load shedding is one question, but the other questions apply to any outage.
Do I need a generator to score well?
You need some form of backup for critical loads, which could be generation, batteries or solar with storage. The assessment cares about coverage, testing and planning more than the type of equipment.
How should I protect the ERP server?
Use a UPS sized for enough runtime to shut down cleanly, connect it to the server for automatic shutdown, and back it with a generator. Test shutdown and restart, including database startup and application services.
How often should I repeat the assessment?
Yearly is a good minimum. Repeat it after plant changes, a serious outage, or when the grid situation in your area changes.
If outages disrupt your ERP, MES or reporting, Netray can help design an on-prem setup that survives power loss and recovers cleanly.
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