Bringing a new product to market is an exercise that demands the utmost care in planning and execution.
Megger is well aware that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and also that a product launch offers a unique opportunity to disrupt the existing market landscape, to challenge perceptions, and to reinforce both brand and product positioning. In a nutshell, when the launch of a truly innovative product is handled well, it can change the game entirely.
A new multifunction tester
This is definitely the case with the launch of Megger’s new MFT1741 multifunction installation tester, which tames the test that has led to more frustration for electricians than any other: the loop test. Simon Wood, Megger’s European Distribution Manager, tells Voltimum that word of the MFT1741’s unprecedented loop test performance is spreading rapidly around the industry.
“Electricians are very happy – even relieved – to find there is at last a test set that provides accurate repeatable results for loop tests,” he says, “and they’re even happier when they find out about the groundbreaking confidence display that reduces testing time and confirms the reliability of their measurements.”
The loop testing problems solved by the MFT1741 have been around for a long time. The original two-wire high-current loop tests gave reliable results quickly – and they still do today. The problem is that they can only be used on circuits that are not protected by an RCD or RCBO and, these days, there are very few of these circuits.
To get around this shortcoming, test equipment manufacturers have developed various methods of non-trip loop testing but, to minimise the risk of tripping the RCD or RCBO, these have to use small test currents. The voltage changes produced – which the instrument needs to measure to work out the loop impedance – are correspondingly small. This makes the changes hard to measure accurately, especially if there is noise present on the circuit.
And that’s not the only problem. Loop impedance measurements made with almost all instruments prior to the introduction of the MFT1741 suffer from an issue that’s often called RCD uplift. This means the instrument includes the internal impedance of certain types of RCD and RCBO in the result it produces, which is problematic because this internal impedance can be even higher than the true loop impedance. In such cases, the result shown by the instrument is almost worthless.
Longstanding problems solved
Test equipment manufacturers have, of course, tried many times over the years to address these problems and have achieved varying degrees of success. Some of the best instruments, including earlier models from Megger, provide good results in a relatively high percentage of applications but none, until the MFT1741, has provided a complete solution.
What’s so special about the way the MFT1741 works? Well, just like most other modern instruments, it automatically makes repeated measurements while it’s performing a loop test but, unlike other instruments, it doesn’t simply calculate the average and display this as the result. Instead it continually monitors the measurements and uses a proprietary new algorithm – which minimises the impact of noise and harmonics – to evaluate them.
This new approach also delivers results that are unaffected by the internal impedance of the RCD or RCBO protecting the circuit, so it makes RCD uplift a thing of the past. And there are two further bonuses. The first is that the instrument is very unlikely to trip RCDs or RCBOs during loop testing (no manufacturer can ever say that their tester will never ever cause a trip, despite what they might like you to believe). The second bonus is that the MFT1741 can be used to test circuits protected with the 10 mA RCDs or RCBOs that are often found in schools, hospitals and similar buildings, again with minimal risk of tripping.
Confidence on display
Another key benefit is the unique confidence display, which is as simple to use as it is effective. During loop tests, the confidence display shows an arc that diminishes in length as the instrument becomes more and more confident of the reliability of the result. When the arc reduces to a single dot, this indicates a high-confidence result has been achieved. This can take as little as 8 seconds on circuits with little noise present. It takes longer on noisy circuits – sometimes more than the customary 15 seconds – but it always has the very important benefit of providing right-first-time results.
Industry responsibility
While the focus of Megger’s day-to-day activity is necessarily on the development and manufacture of market-leading test equipment, the company also takes very seriously its responsibilities to the electrical industry and has a strong commitment to issues like fair competition and sustainable innovation.
Simon Wood says: “We believe in doing everything we can to ensure that the industry is provided with accurate, reliable information and we won’t hesitate to tackle any company or person that seeks to mislead the industry, whether they do this in the hope of selling more of their products or for other reasons. We recognise that we have a clear responsibility to act when inaccurate and factually incorrect statements are made.”
Industry oracle
“With considerable justification,” says Simon Wood, “Megger is seen as an industry oracle – the place to go when you need a question related to electrical testing answered. With this in mind, we make a big investment in training for our staff. All of my UK sales team have, for example, completed the City & Guilds 2391 course, and they’re all involved with regular CPD activities to make sure they stay up to date.”
“This is so that they have a detailed understanding of the issues and concerns that electrical contractors face on a daily basis, which means they can be genuinely helpful in finding solutions. As a company, we have an enormous amount of expertise and we work very hard to ensure that this is accessible to all our customers.”
Talking to customers
“Talking to our customers about their needs and challenges has another big benefit,” continued Simon Wood, “because those conversations provide invaluable guidance for our future product development. Megger is constantly looking to innovate, but our goal is always to come to market with products that will make our customers’ lives easier and more productive.”
“A good example is our MIT400/2 range of handheld insulation testers. Our customers told us they were concerned that when they set an ordinary tester for a 500 V insulation test, the output may reach deliver 625 V, as the standard allow a 25% tolerance on insulation test voltages. That might be all right for most applications, but some equipment can’t withstand a 625 V test. This specific request led to the development of the MIT400/2 range with voltage stabilisation that keeps the test voltage to within 2% of the value selected.”
“As I said previously, our primary focus at Megger is to identify our customers’ real needs, then to develop solutions that are safe, convenient, dependable and affordable. We’re proud to have been doing that very successfully for well over a century, and we certainly have no intention to stop!”