Not a single loss reported by Franek Technologies laboratory customers in southern California during recent wildfires as $750 million in instrumentation remains protected from damage by power loss
When the wildfires of October and November 2007 swept across southern California, laboratory managers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties breathed a sigh of relief that their laboratory emergency preparedness plans included instrumentation-grade power protection systems from Franek Technologies.
Protecting $750 million in instrumentation across these counties, Franek Technologies has yet to receive a single reported loss as a result of the fire-related power outages or fluctuations that were rampant across the state.
At its Tustin location, Franek Technologies itself experienced power loss on three consecutive days when all system alarms were sounded - but its protected equipment didn't miss a beat.
Franek Technologies's customers experienced the same peace of mind knowing that should any fire-related power irregularities occur, installed battery back-up systems would enable managed shutdowns for all protected instrumentation and related computer equipment so instrumentation would not be damaged and samples would not be destroyed.
Though temperatures have cooled across the region, fire conditions still remain.
Where laboratories on the US east coast deal with windstorms, ice storms, thunderstorms and hurricanes, firestorms are a formidable risk on the west coast and with current weather patterns and drought conditions will remain so for years to come.
The wildfires of October 2007 damaged and disabled the Southwest Power Link, a 500,000-volt power line from Arizona to San Diego, resulting in power outages to 333,500 southern California customers.
Considering a power outage or glitch even as short as 30miliseconds can damage sensitive laboratory instrumentation and cause irreplaceable sample loss, laboratories need to have supplemental power protection as a part of their laboratory management emergency preparedness plans.
"Outright power outages are not the only concern of our laboratory customers nationwide," explained Ray Hecker, VP and general manager, Franek Technologies.
"Our customers understand that though power outages can be devastating to a lab's performance, the reality is that unconditioned power with transients and spikes can be equally as damaging to highly-sensitive, and very expensive, instrumentation.
"We are proud that our LPS systems are written into the site preparation specifications for Applied Biosystems and Illumina - as it shows the importance of including supplemental power protection as part of any sound laboratory management best practices."
