Standby Generation - TAFE
The Client: All Diesel Equipment - Port Macquarie TAFE
Powering education, standby power so Port Macquarie TAFE can keep teaching Massage Therapy, Hospitality, Tourism, Fashion Design, Graphic Design and Electrical and Electronics courses.
The Background
Located on the mid north coast of NSW, Port Macquarie TAFE specialises in delivering Massage Therapy, Hospitality, Tourism, Fashion Design, Graphic Design and Electrical and Electronics courses.
After years of continual problems with their trouble prone standby generator set – that ranged from cold start issues through to parts availability and the unit’s inability to interface with the Building Management System (BMS), a decision was made to replace the unit with a more sophisticated standby generator set.
The Requirement
After an initial enquiry was made to Energy Power Systems Australia’s Olympian Power Generation division, Olympian’s North Coast Distributor – All Diesel Equipment Sales & Service was engaged to supply a complete new 110 kVA turnkey standby power generation plant. According to All Diesel Equipment’s Grant Buck the original equipment installed was not performing as specified, so naturally the customer sort assurances that the proposed replacement equipment would solve all their problems and not create new ones.
The Solution
“After evaluating the site and TAFE’s specific requirements we built our solution around a 110 kVA Olympian GEP110 enclosed generator set that included the Power Wizard 1.0 control system, a water jacket heater, battery charger, low fuel monitoring and a custom designed and built stainless steel exhaust system.
“From TAFE’s point of view they were impressed with our ability to offer a complete turn-key solution that featured Olympian’s state-ofthe- art Power Wizard 1.0 control system to facilitate remote monitoring and communication through their existing Building Management System.
“They were also impressed that the Olympian generator set was built by Caterpillar and supported throughout Australia by the Energy Power Systems Australia and Caterpillar dealer networks.
The Results
“Once we’d been given the go-ahead we ordered the Olympian generator set and set about designing and fabricating the exhaust system.
“Three weeks later a 50 tonne crane was organised to lift out the redundant generator set and lift in the new Olympian generator set.
“Because the exhaust system straddled all three floors we also organised an all-terrain cherry picker with a 24 metre boom to simplify its installation.
“And despite access issues, the installation of the generator set and prefabricated exhaust system was completed within 2 days, with the commissioning and hand-over taking place a couple of days later – and much to the delight of the customer the system worked perfectly.
“From All Diesel Equipment’s point of view the project re-enforced our decision to become an Olympian distributor in 2008.
“Olympian’s range is excellent, it really fits the bill for most applications right the way through from remote domestic units to large commercial turnkey projects, while the quality of finish puts it in a class of its own.
“From my point of view you can generally measure the reliability of a generator set by the quality of the components used, and with Olympian generators you get the benefit of a Caterpillar built engine – which have stood the test of time, along with proven alternators.
“The Olympian generator set range is very competitively priced, which means so are we – having dealt with various brands over the years the support we get from Ken Fackler and the Olympian team is the best I’ve experienced.
“Take the Port Macquarie TAFE order as an example. Olympian were able to supply from stock which enabled us to solve the customer’s problem quickly, whereas with our previous suppliers we’d often have availability problems.
“And the support we get is second to none. With Olympian we can get answers to application and technical questions while we’re talking on the phone. Their product knowledge is excellent and when passed onto us allows us to get it right the first time. This is very important to me as it’s what our customers expect and is what our business is built on,” Grant said.