We have successfully designed and delivered a mission-critical power solution to support essential repair work at University Hospital Wishaw in North Lanarkshire.
Kenny Berrie, Head of Technical at DTGen, said: “Our vast experience of mission-critical NHS projects has provided us with the skills and technical knowledge to plan, design and deliver the most complex power solutions projects. We’re delighted to be able to support University Hospital Wishaw to safely maintain business as usual.”
Following a power failure on the hospital MV switchboard, caused by the main MV incomer circuit VT failing, DTGen was called in to reconfigure the system and controls of the 3 MVA static sets whilst maintaining resilience for the hospital. To carry out the work, the standby system had to be temporarily reconfigured to support the hospital load whilst the MV switchboard supplier manufactured a replacement VT.
The hospital’s mains switchboard also required repair and overhaul, so it was essential for DTGen to devise a plan to ‘island’ the 625-bed high occupancy hospital and remove it from the mains supply whilst again maintaining resilience. The complete MV switchboard had to be bypassed and the network reconfigured to allow safe working.
This resulted in a provision of a five-day 3 MVA temporary power package from the delivery partner, Aggreko, consisting of load sharing across two 1500kVA generators. These static sets were configured to account for the site’s maximum power demand of 2.6MVA throughout this phase of the project and reacting to dynamic load changes when required, with existing hospital sets on hand as standby. Consequently, these generators were able to ensure hospital resilience whilst off-grid repairs were carried out on the main MV incomer and switchboard.
The project took several months of very careful planning including site visits. The actual disconnection and connection of the package, including set up and testing, was carried out during the early hours of the Monday morning, with the hospital A&E and medical staff able to carry on as normal. The final repair and return to service was completed by the Friday with the hospital restored to the grid mains and a full system test carried out.
Duncan McBride, Operations Manager at Serco Healthcare, said: “The team at DTGen was exceptional. Working together to meticulously plan this project, we were able to seamlessly deliver the essential work to a high standard. Everything went to plan without disruption to the hospital’s power supply even when the site was taken off-grid, which was obviously an absolutely vital concern.”
To find out more about power solutions from DTGen, please visit www.dtgen.co.uk/power-solutions/
