CPE Facility Operations & Maintenance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A facility manager wants to reduce lighting energy costs without a capital investment. The BEST immediate action is to:
- Install LED fixtures throughout the building
- Implement an occupancy-based lighting schedule (Correct answer)
- Replace ballasts in fluorescent fixtures
- Install daylight harvesting sensors
Correct answer: Implement an occupancy-based lighting schedule
Implementing a lighting schedule that turns off lights in unoccupied areas requires no capital outlay and yields immediate savings.
Question 2: Which type of maintenance is performed based on equipment condition data rather than fixed time intervals?
- Corrective maintenance
- Preventive maintenance
- Condition-based maintenance (Correct answer)
- Run-to-failure maintenance
Correct answer: Condition-based maintenance
Condition-based maintenance (CBM) uses real-time monitoring data to trigger maintenance only when equipment condition warrants it.
Question 3: When sizing a backup generator for critical facility loads, which load type requires special consideration due to high inrush current?
- Resistive heating loads
- LED lighting loads
- Large motor starting loads (Correct answer)
- Electronic control panels
Correct answer: Large motor starting loads
Electric motors draw 5–8 times their full-load current during starting, which must be accounted for in generator sizing.
Question 4: A cooling tower's approach temperature is increasing over time. The most likely cause is:
- Increased ambient humidity
- Scale buildup on fill media reducing heat transfer (Correct answer)
- Oversized condenser water pumps
- Low refrigerant charge in the chiller
Correct answer: Scale buildup on fill media reducing heat transfer
Scale deposits on cooling tower fill reduce heat transfer efficiency, causing the leaving water temperature to approach the wet-bulb temperature more slowly.
Question 5: In reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), which failure mode characteristic determines whether preventive replacement is effective?
- Whether the failure is costly to repair
- Whether there is a distinct age-related wear-out pattern (Correct answer)
- Whether the equipment is critical to production
- Whether the failure is detectable by operators
Correct answer: Whether there is a distinct age-related wear-out pattern
Time-based preventive replacement is only effective when a component shows a clear increasing failure rate with age (wear-out pattern).
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of a facility's computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)?
- To automatically repair equipment faults
- To track, schedule, and document maintenance activities and asset history (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for skilled maintenance technicians
- To monitor real-time equipment performance data
Correct answer: To track, schedule, and document maintenance activities and asset history
A CMMS centralizes work orders, asset records, PM schedules, parts inventory, and maintenance history to improve maintenance planning.
Question 7: Which piping system component is used to prevent water hammer in high-velocity liquid lines?
- Check valve
- Pressure reducing valve
- Surge arrestor or water hammer arrestor (Correct answer)
- Ball valve
Correct answer: Surge arrestor or water hammer arrestor
Water hammer arrestors absorb hydraulic shock caused by sudden valve closure, protecting pipes and fittings from pressure surges.
CPE Facility Operations & Maintenance 3
A facility manager wants to reduce lighting energy costs without a capital investment.
The BEST immediate action is to: