Switchboard upgrade goes smoothly

In an article first published in the December 2015 issue of The Australian Hospital Engineer, Kim Bruton, a former editor of the magazine, who is chief engineer at Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW), Victoria, discusses the installation of a new main switchboard for a 202-bed sub-regional hospital in north-east Victoria in Australia, and some of the key obstacles that had to be overcome. Throughout the project normal power supplies had to be maintained at all times to the hospital’s theatre suites, emergency department, and critical care unit. The A$1.05 m project was delivered on time and on budget in compliance with the projected desired outcomes.

By 2010 the inadequacies of the electrical infrastructure serving the hospital had become a major concern. Ten power outages varying in length from several minutes to hours had plagued the facility over the two years 2010 and 2011. The outages were generally supply authority issues, but were compounded during the summer season with temperatures in excess of 42˚C occurring for between two and five days, a situation which saw high overnight temperatures maintained. 

Included in funding provided in June 2012 for a new generator, the final design required a new main switch and auto transfer switch (ATS), as cable access to the existing main switchboard was not possible. The works were to be completed over the 2012 Christmas period. However, before completion, issues with the existing main switchboard continued, and the need for a whole new main switchboard became as important as increased generator capacity.