Ponds Forge Sheffield is a truly International Sports Venue hosting events which are televised around the world. SIV, who own Ponds Forge, approached CPP to replace two emergency lighting units providing lighting to the various auditoriums. Stringent criteria was to be met for the replacement, predominantly that of long runtime to facilitate evacuation of the public in the event of a power failure or emergency.

The works were carried out in two phases due to the venue's events schedule. CPP carried one replacement in October, 2006 and then completed the second in June, 2007.

CPP engineers initially had to remove the old UPS units and battery banks which were located in plant rooms within the upper storey. This was made more difficult because the only route into this area was a narrow doorway up two flights of stairs. The new UPS and Batteries had to be brought in via this route. A Merlin Gerin 11kVA EXRT with a rack system and 2 Battery extension cabinets were chosen because of their ease of use and compact size.

John Connolly of SIV said, “This wasn't an easy installation, but CPP worked very professionally - both with us and on the Venue - to complete this necessary work for us. They worked with safety throughout, and took care of everything, right down to the battery disposal and packaging clearance. We wouldn't hesitate to call them again.”

Halfords - 60kVA Merlin Galaxy UPS replacement for old unit and battery

Halfords is one of the UK 's longest established companies. Its headquarters in Redditch had relied on MGE UPS for several years. The power plant for the site is located in a basement area, and after a burst pipe caused severe flood damage it was decide to upgrade the UPS system.

CPP were invited by Merlin to facilitate these works for Halfords. Following a site survey by Trev Walker and CPP engineers, Alports - a company specialising in large system UPS delivery - were also brought in to survey the site.

The only access to the basement apart from a staircase, to remove the old 60kVA and install the new one, was down an outside shaft 20 feet (7 metres) down, with a metal sectioned cover which had not been lifted in over 15 years. This problem was solved by hydraulically lifting the panels, and constructing a “lift shaft” of scaffolding inside the shaft.

The old UPS was removed first to test the method, and then the new UPS and battery cabinet was then lowered and moved into position. CPP engineers installed a new Wall Mounted Bypass, and a 30 minute battery cabinet. The installation took place out of hours. The commissioning of the whole installation was turned around over one weekend, with workers returning to their computer systems the following Monday with zero downtime.

Specialised certified disposal took place for all of the old units and Batteries, and the week after the installation, CPP brought in building firm CJB to rebuild a small wall around the UPS, which will protect against further water ingress in case of another flood.

Frank McKenna of Halfords said “we couldn't believe how the panels were removed, let alone the actual delivery. CPP came up with one solution after another, which culminated in a very professional installation. I am tempted to turn the taps on just to see them work again!”

Trevor Walker of CPP was also pleased with the outcome, “again, this was a major engineering solution, to install a system into a difficult site. We seem to rise to the challenge each time, which will always be the case given the team we have around us, from the office staff who handle logistics, to the engineers who handle just about everything thrown at them with consummate ease”.

Notes to Editors:

Although MGE have now acquired American Power Conversion (APC), MGE products below 10kVA are now sold by another organisation. However, you can be assured of a continuous supply of APC and MGE products from Computer Power Protection Ltd.