Power Continuity Planning and Implementation
Carter Sullivan was recently contracted to design and build an infrastructure to support a UPS and future inclusion of a building generator for the NHS in Greenwich, London.
Unfortunately the site chosen for the new communications room had a number of disadvantages, including occasional light flooding and severe space constraints. Kevin Styles of Bates IT notes “the room really was at first glance unsuitable for such a project, however with no other real estate available within the Trust we had to make good from bad.”
Following an initial site meeting between Eaton Powerware (UPS supplier), Bates IT (IT providers) and Carter Sullivan we decided on the following strategy to deliver an effective PCP to meet the requirements of both the client and the working environment.
Stage 1
- Delivery, positioning and installation of a 9355 40kVA UPS with 2hr battery on a 300mm plinth
- New electrical infrastructure to support UPS and future generator inclusion
- New electrical distribution within the suite to support new IT equipment
Stage 2
- Maintenance on non UPS electrical infrastructure
- Power monitoring
Stage 3
- Installation of new Air-conditioning
Stage 4
- On going 24hr service support
The first stage was relatively straight forward with the UPS being delivered and positioned with no great difficulty.
The electrical installation included new input switch gear, an external maintenance bypass switch (EMBS), new distribution including the provision of new 16amp wall mounted commando sockets. To allow future growth we ensured that both the UPS and the new distribution had spare capacity.
The initial installation took place over 3 working days with the final connections and commissioning performed during a weekend shutdown to minimise disruption to the trust.
The site survey highlighted a requirement for Power Monitoring it was also noted that the existing electrical infrastructure supporting the non essential parts of the business required some attention. Once the UPS installation was complete we installed a new user friendly power monitor and performed some routine maintenance on the switchgear and distribution boards.
The inclusion of a power meter was due to the low rating of the buildings main fuse. Whilst performing the site survey we discovered that although capable of supporting the new equipment too much future growth may put the business at risk from fuse failure leading to power failure on one or all the incoming phases. Although we advised the client to request a fuse upgrade to the building we knew from experience that this may take some time and the ability to monitor the load being drawn could be invaluable.
Once the new electrical infrastructure was in place the client required new air-conditioning as the heat that would be generated by both the UPS and all of the supported equipment would be far greater than the cooling capability of the existing systems.
Carter Sullivan installed three new 9kW air-conditioning units allowing redundancy should a unit fail to operate.
On completion of the project Carter Sullivan handed over a system manual including notes for the client’s business continuity plan.
The project was completed on time, to budget and more importantly provided the client with a system that will meet the requirements of both the trust and the public that rely on the NHS.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss this further. Or call us on 0800 032 97 99. |
