Applying IT Version Control to Circuit Breaker Maintenance Test Records

CBTRs, and difficulty managing CBTR templates. The authors’ solution is explained which involves the git version control system and custom shell scripts. The benefits and applicability to other utilities is discussed. The solution described in this paper has reduced data loss from an average of 10 percent of CBTRs annually to zero – on a fleet of 2300 circuit breakers. It has also reduced the time required by office staff to manage CBTRs by 19 hours annually. This work is the first step to allow automated data analysis of circuit breaker performance oscillography across the entire fleet of the utility’s circuit breakers. Example results from automated analysis are provided. This is an important step in being able to proactively schedule circuit breaker maintenance to avoid an equipment failure which will have negative customer impact. The contribution of this paper is using open-source software to address deficiencies in proprietary software used by the circuit breaker maintenance program at the authors’ utility.