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for the duration of construction to

maintain the existing workshop’s

1,500A supply; the replacement of a

35-year-old main switch board with

a new 2,000A main switch board; as

well as the installation of a power

distribution system to feed four new

power busbar distribution rails, two

50T cranes, a 10T crane and 20 new

welding stations; along with all general

electrics for the workshops

new facilities.

A new lighting control system was

installed that incorporated day light

harvesting technology, to control

the lighting throughout the factory,

service trenches and carpark.

A new fibre link from the Telstra

network was installed to service the

expanding IT needs of Plasser. The

fibre link installation was staged

as the existing production facility

needed to maintain its services while

construction was under way.

Kerfoot also worked with the client

to design a new CCTV system to help

the client maintain a safe workplace

– vandalism and theft in the area is

quite high. A fibre link was installed

between buildings to maintain the

CCTV link, which was networked so it

could be monitored remotely.

A wireless fire smoke and EWIS

system was also installed, to cover the

new factory floor, integrated with the

existing factory’s system.

“Our goal was to complete the

project with no downtime. The careful

planning and dedication of the project

team helped us achieve this goal,”

project manager Josh Kerfoot says.

“As the support and cooperation of

the electrical and network authorities

were required to help with the staged

disconnection and installation of new

services, Kerfoot worked very closely

with them to design a connection

method that would comply with all of

their requirements and also meet the

critical milestone dates.

“Suppliers also had to be engaged

very early as many of the components

that were required had lead times

well over three months. Much of the

equipment was not your everyday

components and any late deliveries

would result in delays to the project.”

The Kerfoot team also worked with the

client to alter the sub-main requirements.

“There were several large sub-mains

that had to be installed in multiple

locations around the workshop.

We used flexible cabling, which is

commonly seen as being a more

expensive product. While this is

correct, with the right design input

we were able to reduce the size of the

sub-mains as the flexible cabling had

a larger current-carrying capacity,”

Josh says.

“It also allowed us to cut installation

time in half as flexible cabling is a lot

easier to install and terminate. The

cost benefit of this exercise was not

only for Kerfoot – it helped shorten the

installation time too which benefitted

the client and head contractor.”

Several of the electrical services

needed to be installed in the ground at

least two months before the building was

erected, Josh says.

“This posed a challenge as it was not a

simple trenching exercise,” he says.

“Internally and externally the building

contained hundreds of metres of rail

lines that required footings deep in the

ground. Further, the service trench and

wash down pit took up a lot of space,

which made it more challenging to find

appropriate places to run the cable.

“Kerfoot’s team worked with all of

the other trades involved in the project

to ensure all services were installed

in the exact location they needed to

be in, without affecting the building’s

structural elements.”

Once the building had been erected,

the installation of high-level services

would need to be carefully coordinated

as the use of lifting and access equipment

around the services trench, wash down

pit and rail track installation crews was

considered high risk.

“One of the most difficult aspects of the

project would be the installation of a

new substation and the decommissioning

of the old substation while keeping the

client operational.

“The existing substation was located

right in the middle of the new building’s

footprint and the construction schedule

did not allow time to have the factory built

Kerfoot had to install a new power supply

connection for Plasser Australia.