8 January 2020

When North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Hollins Park site, located in Warrington, experienced a problem with a changeover switch that would not return to mains from a generator, they called upon their incumbent  maintenance partner Quartzelec, a leading independent engineering service provider, to diagnose and resolve the issue.

Hollins Park has had an Operational Maintenance & Emergency Response (OMER) service agreement with Quartzelec since 2008 and prior to that a similar arrangement was in place for a number of years with Cegelec, a heritage Quartzelec company. The recently renewed three-year OMER contract covers multiple HV assets, however, on responding to the call-out, the Quartzelec team identified the issue was related to an LV changeover switch – slightly out of scope.

Not wanting to leave the customer with an ongoing problem and increasing delay by having to identify and call out alternative engineers, the Quartzelec team had the knowledge, experience and necessary safety certification to undertake the required work. Following a brief consultation with the on-site team and with the Burtonwood Group, the generator controls company regarding the control wiring, the necessary repair to close the base switches was implemented and the system was once again operational.

“We were delighted with the professionalism and the quality of customer service provided by Quartzelec’s engineers attending who, along with Paul Foster, Quartzelec’s HV business manager, diagnosed and fixed the problem although it was outside of scope,” stated Peter Holland, Estates and Facilities Management for North West Boroughs Healthcare.

“When this particular changeover switch unexpectedly and completely failed, preventing the restart of the generator, we were left in need of urgent external support. The Trust runs regular on load generator tests and undertakes regular generator and switchgear servicing but finding this fault proved problematic.  Initial thinking suggested it was a high voltage issue so Quartzelec were contacted and they attended without delay; working with Burtonwood Generator & Switchgear Services to resolve the issue. Quartzelec found the problem was with the ‘out-of-scope’ changeover switch and the team went the extra mile to fix the problem without hesitation, providing excellent customer service beyond what was expected.”

Quartzelec holds a number of OMER contracts with NHS Trusts, located across the UK, as well as operating similar full facilities management service contracts for HMRC offices, other Governmental departments along with a growing list of commercial organisations.  Quartzelec is also registered as a Government procurement partner.

“Whilst this was not a ‘typical’ HV callout, it was well within our capability,” stated Bryn Morris, Business Unit Director, Quartzelec Wrexham. “We already provide a substantial number of UK customers with combined HV and LV services and are always looking to increase this provision without compromising our consistently high and often recognised levels of customer service.”

Quartzelec is increasingly supporting organisations with both scheduled maintenance programmes as well as emergency call out cover as clients are increasingly realising they need to have adequate provision in place for operational critical systems, particularly if they are to meet increasingly stringent insurance requirements. Also proving popular with customers are the HV earthing and lightning protection audits to ensure customer sites comply with the relevant regulations.

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