NATIONAL GRID
Working on various National Grid projects since 1985, our recent contract has seen us providing transmission tower painting services and minor repairs across the UK for five years. These projects include working on 400kV and 275kV lines of varying types and sizes.
CASE STUDY UTILITIES & INDUSTRIAL
NATIONAL GRID
THE PROJECT
Duration SINCE 2016
£
Location NATIONWIDE Project Size
200,000M²+ PAINTED A YEAR Contract Value
£4-6M PER ANNUM
This project includes steelwork preparation, tower and substation painting along with Anti-Climbing Device (ACD) and Safety Sign and Information Plate (SSIP) installations. As with every award of a project, we establish our in-house teams with the necessary qualifications and experience to carry out the work to an extremely high standard. Our dedicated teams hold current National Grid authorisation, have been given advanced health and safety training and all supervisory operatives hold current Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) accreditations as standard.
INNOVATIONS
Before we begin painting with a high zinc content paint, we clean the metal back to bare steel and paint with a specially sourced primer. If we find that the metal has corroded, our team runs a special analysis to determine whether the metal can be recovered. If it can, we take extra measures to ensure further longevity including stripping the metal. Originally, the client considered replacing the steelwork but after following our recommendation to restore the steel, the client managed to make considerable cost savings. We source specialist paint and materials which suit the project requirements and ensure the best possible protection for up to 15 years.
SOLUTION
The large geographical nature of the contract requires a detailed strategy to ensure we deliver projects in a timely manner to meet power outage deadlines. Our dedicated Transmission Services Divisional Director is the main contact for all programmes that are given to us, and they oversee each phase of the project to make sure the comprehensive delivery programme is adhered to. He also assigns our transient teams with the required expertise to the projects and oversees the mobilisation of each contract. Due to the type of work, we carry out, power outages are necessary to complete the projects. This can take months in advance to plan due to the circuit system and customer disruption. National Grid provides us with a programme of towers which will fall within the scheduled outage, and we plan our strategy and organise our capable teams in advance.
THE RESULTS
We continue to complete these improvements while ensuring the health and safety of the public and our operatives. This is achieved through various methods such as cordoning off areas, using standby operatives to ensure the public does not get too close, and keeping the site tidy. We also endeavour to protect the area around the tower from debris and paint by shrouding property with sheeting or using a netting system.