The virtual factory tour of ABB Malaysia was successfully conducted by ABB Malaysia and the School of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), on 8 November 2021 for electrical engineering students of UTM. The live event, featuring ABB Electrification in Malaysia, was attended by about 250 participants.
The event began with an introduction about ABB. Having more than 130 years of innovation experience, ABB was founded in 1883 as a manufacturer in electrical light and generators. It’s modern name “ABB”, formerly ASEA Brown Boveri, was obtained through the merger of the General Swedish Electrical Limited Company (ASEA) and Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC). Today, ABB operates mainly in robotics, power, heavy electrical equipment, and automation technology areas.
For ABB Malaysia, its electrification line, also known as the distribution solutions business line, is divided into several divisions, including the engineering, production, quality and testing, and product development divisions, headed by Operations Manager Mr. Ahmed Abdel-Naby. During the virtual tour, the students had the opportunity to take a closer look at ABB’s assembly process for low and medium voltage switchgears. Experienced ABB electrification personnel demonstrated to the students ABB’s state-of-the-art switchgear technology which improves safety, reliability, and energy efficiency. The installation of module control units and motors of switchgears, the quality control process of switchgears, and the testing of switchgears were also explained. The importance to abide by the guidelines of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for assembling switchgears and defining communication protocols was also highlighted.
The virtual tour was truly inspiring for the students. They were exposed to real-life working environment in the factory and had their questions addressed in real time. UTM School of Electrical Engineering sincerely thanks ABB Malaysia for hosting the virtual tour and looks forward to having more similar events in the future. The involvement of ABB Malaysia’s personnel in the virtual tour, namely, Ms. Nirmala Devi, Mr. Daniel Lim, Mr. Kelvin Kok, Mr. Sethu Ponniah, and Mr. Ravinsridaya Gothandapani is highly appreciated. The technical support rendered by the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society Malaysia Chapter, IEEE Power and Energy Society Malaysia Chapter, and Malaysian High Voltage Network is also gratefully acknowledged.