FEATURE HVAC SYSTEMS Planning for power or cooling failure Aggreko's Lewis Scremin explains how to avoid disaster by planning ahead for power or cooling failure A
robust, well-rehearsed contingency plan that addresses the impacts of
cooling equipment breakdowns or power outages will avoid turning a drama into a crisis. Get your operations back up and running as quickly as possible by having a detailed action plan in place for rapidly switching to emergency rental power and temperature control equipment. Contingency plans enable facilities
managers to plan and implement a transitory fix quickly, while a long-term solution is found. Such proactive planning can also help meet service level agreements, as well as reducing insurance premiums by mitigating risk.
1. PLAN AHEAD You can't accurately predict all emergencies, such as National Grid capacity constraints or extreme weather patterns, but some can be forecast. For example, if your cooling plant is prone to inefficiencies and breakdowns during higher ambient summer temperatures, plan to procure additional, temporary cooling capacity in advance. Analyse risk factors carefully by using historical system efficiency data to plan ahead. During your next turnaround or planned outage, use that downtime to audit your contingency needs and formalise your plan. This is a great time to identify tie-in points, discuss resourcing issues, propose various scenarios, and assess any installations needed. Enlist the help of specialists who can help and advise you at every stage, to ensure you’re prepared should disaster strike.
2. SURVEY POWER AND HVAC NEEDS Create a site map showing the location of all your equipment and identify the most common points of failure. Consider each part of your plant separately and go through critical processes. Identify which components need back-up and how that can best be achieved. Ask those 'what if?' questions. What if the switchgear fails or you have a voltage spike in your grid supply? What if the plant room floods? What if the cooling tower gets contaminated? Such scenario planning is crucial in pinpointing weak spots and identifying critical areas.
3. COMPILE A EMERGENCY 'KIT' LIST Formulate an ‘emergency’ equipment list and prioritise it by identifying the equipment that’s needed to support
16 SUMMER 2017 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT
can often be more complex. Consider details such as system pressure and flow rates, the types of fluid coolant and any constraints of your system pipework.
5. PLAN THE LOGISTICS AND PREPARE AN INSTALLATION PLAN Ensure your plan covers the speedy deployment of equipment to site and how to then regularly service and fuel it. Consider any potential delivery difficulties, such as operating in a congested city centre or a remote location, and plan the best routes. Map out the fastest installation plan so
equipment is up and running as quickly as possible. This should consider space constraints and include a cabling plan.
systems critical to business continuity, equipment that can be installed with longer timelines, and equipment that can be ‘sacrificed’. Involve the expertise of a specialist
equipment rental specialist to advise on the most suitable and cost effective options. This includes consideration of environmental factors, such as emissions and fuel consumption, security and noise restrictions. Make sure your chosen rental company has a local depot and that you have agreed priority rights to available kit.
4. DON’T FORGET THE DETAIL Don't wait until an emergency strikes to focus on the detail. Assess factors such as voltage, peak power loads, shared loads, UPS harmonics, motor-start requirements and configurations. Take account of any special requirements, such as high voltage power, transformer locations, grid connections, space and access restrictions. Specifying temperature control equipment
Figure 1:
Aggreko generators providing power to a floating hotel
6. ENSURE CONTINUITY OF SUPPLY Check that any rental equipment has 24/7 remote monitoring to help prevent failures from occurring and, therefore, downtime. For sites where mains supply is unreliable, generators can be set up with an Automatic Mains Failure panel (AMF) to take over the full load, if necessary. Factor in a continuous fuel supply, along
with a siting plan for your fuel tanks, or select generators with integrated tanks.
Figure 2:
Aggreko temperature control and power equipment, supporting emergency chiller maintenance work
7. MAKE SAFETY A PRIORITY Check that any supplier is fully approved to work in your sector and adheres to robust safety practices, including risk assessments and method statements that are specific to your site. Seek guarantees from any rental suppliers that equipment has been fully tested prior to delivery.
8. CREATE A CONTINGENCY PLAN A contingency plan will only be effective if it is properly communicated and coordinated across the organisation - with roles and responsibilities assigned and understood among key staff. It should be an accessible, documented plan for the facility that's kept live and updated. Ensure that your engineers are on stand-by should you need to speedily set up equipment. Make sure that you have a 24/7 hotline through to your emergency power supplier and that they provide proper coordination at all times.
Aggreko
www.aggreko.co.uk/products-services- overview/contingency-planning T: 03458 24 7 365
/ ENERGYMANAGEMENT
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