Low-voltage distribution board replacement in a hospital building
At the end of 2017, the Groupement Hospitalier Est* teaching hospital issued a call for tender covering replacement of its two low-voltage distribution boards in the building housing its Neurology Department.
The existing boards are aging and supply several critical and energy intensive units including operating theatres, recovery rooms, patient rooms, etc.
Five companies including Cegelec Lyon were in competition for the contract. Cegelec’s well-oiled sales and marketing preparation and its efficient and detailed technical bid tipped the balance in its favour.
The project, which has a pre-tax value of more than €1 million, got under way in March 2018 and is set for completion in April 2019.
The operation comprises:
- Comprehensive design study based on on-site electricity capacity measurements
- Replacement of five 1,000 kVA transformers
- Construction of the two new 3,200A low-voltage distribution boards and a 630A safety distribution board
- Installation and connection
- Gradual transfer of the LV feeder wires from the old to the new distribution boards, one by one, with scheduled outages
- Removal of the old substations and distribution boards
- Revision of the BMS
The challenge is substantial. The replacement must be carried out without generating unplanned outages. To ensure continuity and avoid disrupting hospital operations, the customer gave the teams a stringent schedule. The action plan was broken down into 130 phases, unit by unit. This tedious but necessary task enabled the switchover from the old to the new system to be carried out safely with no impact on patients.
Cegelec Lyon Business Unit Manager Ludovic Cholleton and Project Manager Jean-Jacques Garcia explain:
“In our service sector activity, this type of job is probably the most technical, in terms of the worksite and also in terms of distribution board design studies. Not to mention the fact that the margin of error is zero due to the importance of the project for the final customer – lives are at stake if technical problems occur”.
The project is highly sensitive for Cegelec Lyon, which confirms its expertise in complex project management.
*The Groupement Hospitalier Est is part of the Hospices Civils de Lyon university hospital centre in charge of managing the city’s hospitals. It is an important customer for the business unit. A further contract, covering a three-year purchase order, has recently been signed with this customer.
Did you like the article ?
