On January 27th,  IEEE (PI)² Austin hosted a Technical Meeting on “Quality Assurance of Transformers.”  The speaker was Ronnie Minhaus of Transformer Consulting Services in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ronnie described how the advancements in technology have allowed design and manufacturing of transformers to be more aggressive, including reducing clearances and using of pure mineral oil during the factory acceptance testing (FAT) to ensure successful tests. In addition, he described processes to prevent compromising clean rooms and other environmental conditions during the manufacturing process, which could have an impact in the life expectancy of transformer.

Ronnie walked through the quality assurance steps necessary assure success during the manufacturing and FAT of transformers. He is an expert in FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) and he provides services for Transformer factory test acceptance.   Due to his experience, he knows some of the signs to look for in the process.  He also gave some good insight on recommended locations for a factory for the construction of transformers.  For exaple, he does not recommend a humid climate for factory testing such as Houston.  If a factory is in these areas, he would recommend extra measures to prevent moisture from getting into the material.  So, upon visiting a factory for acceptance test, he would look for those measures.   He is in Canada and he provided his contact information for those looking to hire an expert in factory acceptance testing.

Ronnie Minhaz received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Manitoba, Canada, and has Ronnie has 15 years of experience working in Transformer Manufacturing, EPCM, Utility and Construction industry.  Before founding his own company “Transformer Consulting Services Inc. (http://www.tc-servicesinc.com), Ronnie worked as Transformer Designer at Pauwels Canada (Manufacturer), as Equipment Engineer at SNC Lava Lin(EPCM) and Enmax Power(Utility), as Substation Lead Engineer at McGregor Construction(Substation Construction). Ronnie has the experience of performing Quality Assurance inspections in Transformer Manufacturing plants around the world. Besides providing services on Transformer as consultant, Ronnie has been instructor in training, workshop, conferences and seminars related to transformer around the world.

Ronnie is a registered professional engineer in the province of Alberta, Canada and an IEEE Senior member. He held various leadership positions at IEEE Section level and a regular member of IEEE PES society. He is a member of several working groups and task forces in the IEEE Transformers Committee.