Lightning Protection of Structures and Electronic Equipment: A Case Study

Lightning-related damages to structures and electronic equipment can be mitigated by following lightning protection techniques recommended in recognized national and international standards. However, field engineers in many parts of the world doubts the effectiveness of these design practices and are reluctant to use them. The paper uses a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of some standard methods for lightning protection system for structure and equipment. The case study was undertaken at the premises of a gold mining company located in an area of high lightning activity. Frequent damages to the company's electronic and telecommunication equipment and structures became a major concern. The paper presents and discusses the techniques applied to mitigate the problem and reports the results achieved which demonstrate the effectiveness of the techniques.