CONTRACT NEWS QUARTZELEC DELIVERS ON LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT Contracting Service provider, Quartzelec, has continued to deliver on prestigious M&E/construction schemes during these challenging ‘COVID-19’ times. The £6m+ development in Chapel Street/Dearmans Place in Manchester being the most recently completed and where Quartzelec had been on-site from the beginning, supporting this significant re-generation scheme. Four residential blocks collectively provide 995 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and use a new open plan concept layout to maximise useable living space by removing the hallway traditionally found in apartments, giving them a distinct Manhattan style feel. The blocks, up to 22 storeys high, include new shared gardens, public areas and parking. Quartzelec undertook the full M&E services to all the landlord areas servicing the residential apartments as well as key communal areas, working alongside main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine. The works across the development included the fit out of four new substations that now provide power to
the development, along with two mechanical plant rooms housing the site boosted cold water supply and the wet riser pump room. A total of 300 parking spaces across four levels serve the development and incorporate secure access control with 60 CCTV installed cameras across the site. Over 5000 low energy microwave-controlled LED lighting units – to maintain the required lighting levels and to provide the benefit of reduced energy consumption – have also been installed over 68 residential corridors as part of the electrical and mechanical services to all areas of the development. Full domestic sprinkler protection has also been installed within the apartments and escape routes along with dry and wet risers to the four blocks, providing enhanced levels of fire safety protection. The corridors have further protection by way of a comprehensive smoke clearance system within each block, controlled by local activation of a smoke detection system. Quartzelec, quartzelec.com
VINCI WINS GRAND PARIS EXPRESS CONTRACT A joint venture made up of Vinci Construction and Vinci Energies subsidiaries has been awarded the contract by Société du Grand Paris for the general contracting work to develop 17 service structures located on the south-east stretch of Line 15 of the Grand Paris Express transport network. These technical structures will help ensure the safety and security of passengers and maintain the future Grand Paris Express line. The work, scheduled to take 59 months, began in January 2021. Worth a total of €65m, the contract primarily involves realising the structural work, metalwork, locksmithery, electrical systems, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning of the structures. At its peak, the project will involve over 200 people. The Vinci Group is also involved in other works packages of the Grand Paris Express, combining the expertise of and synergies between its subsidiaries for underground works, urban development, railway works, information technology, data and electrical engineering. Vinci Group, vinci.com
THE MET COMPLETES TEST RECEIVING OF NEW ALARM SIGNALS ECHO (Electronic Call Handling Operations), the not-forprofit security industry backed alarms handling operator, has announced the Metropolitan Police Service successfully completed its first end-to-end test receiving alarm signals via the new ECHO hub. The test signals, originating from Banham Security’s Alarm Receiving Centre, were successfully transmitted into The Met’s own Control Room. This success follows on the heels of the test by Essex Police, who in November 2020 were the first police force in the UK to have successfully received and verified confirmed signals in this way. ECHO is going live early in the year, offering a full service to any UK police force ready and able to be ECHO-connected. It is expected Essex Police and the Met will be fully prepared to handle all their police response alarm signals via ECHO by the spring of 2021. David Mair, Manager – Security Systems Unit, Metropolitan Police Service says, “We have been developing our capability to receive automated verified alarm signals from ARCs for some time. This proof of concept means all alarms with Met police response could be ECHO-connected and in line for faster police response before the end of 2021.” The NPCC estimates ECHO-connected police forces will save between one to four minutes in responding to intruder and hold up alarm activations. In its experience ‘every second counts’ in protecting people and property, and time saved by the police being ECHO-connected could be crucial in arriving at alarmed premises, providing a faster response to confirmed alarm activations from approved alarm installations. ECHO, echo.uk.net
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MARY ROSE WOULD BE ALL AT SEA WITHOUT MONITORING TECHNOLOGY Hanwell Solutions has helped preserve one of the most famous tourist attractions in the UK by developing a temperature and humidity monitoring solution to ensure the correct environmental conditions are constantly maintained for the site. Mary Rose, the 16th Century warship sunk in the Solent in 1545, is now a museum after a 34-year conservation project during which Hanwell’s technology and environmental monitoring sensors played a key role, continuously checking and recording temperature and humidity of the ship during the drying out process to minimise distortion and the cracking of wood due to environmental fluctuations. Eleanor Schofield, the Mary Rose Trust’s Head of Conservation and Collections Care, explains, “The Hanwell monitoring system was easy to set up to give us all the data we need. We link it to alarms, which are set so that if one sensor reports an environmental factor has become out of tolerance we can react quickly. The system enables us to get the problem sorted quickly, as well as helping us with routine maintenance.” Because of the unique nature of the Mary Rose, Hanwell had to design a customised solution for the conservation team. The system has been a key indicator in monitoring the drying of the timbers – if something had gone wrong it would have affected the whole ship. Over 30 sensors from the Hanwell Pro range are on the hull of the ship, continuously mapping the condition of the wood. The Hanwell system not only monitors the ship’s hull, but the vital data is also fed to the BMS system via MODBUS, data from the wireless sensors also control the separate air handling units for the collection of artefacts through a Hanwell custom built MS1000 control panel. Between the two control systems the critical environmental conditions are maintained between 18-20°C and 50-58% RH. Hanwell Solutions, hanwell.com
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