Summary
The team at Teoma Group completes large electrical supply and switchboard upgrade works quite regularly for both commercial and government clients. All of these switchboard or supply upgrade projects require a certain level of coordination and troubleshooting, but with 7 individual metered supplies, The MSB upgrade at Toomuc Reserve had these hallmark complexities with a few additions thrown in.
Project Background
With 7 metered supplies, a multitude of sports venues, and even an indoor swimming pool, The Toomuc Reserve Mains Switchboard Upgrade project called upon several areas of Teoma’s expertise. This project came about as the existing switchboard was severely degraded with rust holes in multiple locations and in need of a full replacement.
The decision was made at this time to redesign the replacement MSB for compliance, safety, and functionality with consideration to evolved use of the facility. Our team had actually completed several projects on this site over the last few years and this familiarity greatly aided our understanding of the operating requirements and the state of the existing assets.
Key Project Stats
Works Approach
From project initialisation, Steve Manning was appointed as project manager; handling all aspects from commencement to completion. With a site that is so heavily used by the community, and with so many individual sports clubs, extensive work was required to engage with all stakeholders and keep downtime to an absolute minimum.
It was identified that the swim facility and pump infrastructure was critical and could not be shut down for any length of time. Because of this, Southern Generators was engaged and Teoma facilitated backup generator connection and temporary electrical supply for these areas over the shutdown period utilising a 500kva and a 35kva generator.
The planned approach to the switchboard upgrade works was to deliver and prepare in tandem the new switchboard with all conduits in-ground and ready to transfer prior to the shutdown period. A new plinth was also installed with the new switchboard, and once the shutdown period commenced, the existing switchboard was terminated and all cabling transferred over the waiting new switchboard.
The remaining shut down period was dedicated to commissioning and testing the new installation. During this period, it was discovered that an existing cable was faulty, so the civil team excavated and installed a new conduit and cable as necessary. It was beneficial during this project that the added flexibility of maintaining an in-house civil team was integral to the smooth delivery of this project.
Upon completion of testing and commissioning of the new switchboard, the team re-energised all areas and facilities ready once again for the local community to make safe use of the premises.
Project Outcome
As an outcome, the council has been able to deliver a safe and compliant system that is fit for its purpose. This site needed this upgrade and the current installation will facilitate the use and ongoing growth of this community facility. The team at Teoma completes major switchboard upgrade works regularly, but it is always just that little bit more rewarding knowing that our works are assisting the local community in their ability to access such a wide range of sports. The council was appreciative of the expertise and capability displayed by the team throughout the entire project process.
