What are the most important electrical fault diagnosis and repair skills for marine engineers?

2 Electrical measuring and testing tools

The second skill that marine engineers need to have is the ability to use electrical measuring and testing tools to perform various tasks related to electrical fault diagnosis and repair. These tools include multimeters, clamp meters, oscilloscopes, insulation testers, continuity testers, voltage testers, current probes, and more. Each tool has its own function, range, accuracy, and limitations, and marine engineers need to know how to select, operate, and interpret them correctly. By using electrical measuring and testing tools, marine engineers can check the voltage, current, resistance, frequency, waveform, insulation, continuity, polarity, and other parameters of electrical circuits and components, and identify any abnormalities or deviations from the expected values.

3 Electrical safety and protection

The third skill that marine engineers need to possess is the knowledge and practice of electrical safety and protection. Working with electricity can be hazardous, especially in the marine environment where there are risks of electric shock, fire, explosion, corrosion, and interference. Therefore, marine engineers need to follow the relevant standards, regulations, codes, and procedures to ensure the safety of themselves, the crew, the vessel, and the environment. This includes wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), using proper tools and equipment, isolating and de-energizing electrical circuits and systems before working on them, applying lockout/tagout (LOTO) methods, grounding and bonding electrical equipment, installing and maintaining electrical protection devices such as fuses, circuit breakers, relays, and surge protectors, and reporting and documenting any electrical incidents or accidents.

4 Electrical drawings and diagrams

The fourth skill that marine engineers need to acquire is the ability to read and interpret electrical drawings and diagrams. Electrical drawings and diagrams are graphical representations of electrical circuits and systems that show the layout, connection, function, and specification of electrical components and devices. They are essential for designing, installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical systems and equipment on board marine vessels and structures. Some of the common types of electrical drawings and diagrams that marine engineers encounter are schematic diagrams, wiring diagrams, block diagrams, single-line diagrams, and ladder diagrams. By reading and interpreting electrical drawings and diagrams, marine engineers can understand the logic and operation of electrical circuits and systems, locate and identify electrical components and devices, trace and isolate electrical faults, and modify or update electrical systems and equipment.

5 Electrical fault finding methods

The fifth skill that marine engineers need to develop is the application of electrical fault finding methods. Electrical fault finding methods are systematic and logical procedures that marine engineers use to diagnose and repair electrical faults in circuits and systems. There are different types of electrical faults, such as open circuits, short circuits, ground faults, overloads, underloads, overvoltages, undervoltages, harmonics, transients, and more. Each type of fault has its own characteristics, symptoms, and effects, and requires a different approach and technique to find and fix. Some of the common electrical fault finding methods that marine engineers use are visual inspection, voltage drop test, current measurement test, resistance measurement test, continuity test, polarity test, signal injection test, and component substitution test. By applying electrical fault finding methods, marine engineers can isolate and locate electrical faults, determine their causes and consequences, and implement the appropriate corrective actions.