Containerised Sub-station & Equipment Rooms
Containerised equipment is a general term referring to what is often complex equipment assembled in a single transportable housing. The container can be designed for the specific demands of any destination and task, and transported literally to any individual point in the world. Design, assembly and full functional testing of container and contents are done prior to shipment. The result is a fully tested ‘plug and play’ set of equipment.
Why containerised equipment?
Containerised housing can be an excellent solution if the quality of conventional building made by local constructors cannot fulfil the safety and environmental requirements of the often sensitive equipment installed.
Containerised equipment is the solution to many difficulties that may arise during the conventional start-up phase of a project at difficult to reach sites. Start-up can be a long, drawn out affair and therefore very costly. This is mainly caused by the following reasons:
- Assembly of loose equipment far away from vendor premises implies technical and logistics problems. It is difficult to mobilize qualified staff and to obtain urgent parts and tools from abroad and the site in time. This can be especially irritating when a ‘small’ modification between two systems from different vendors must be engineered and implemented.
- The sites may be difficult to reach, for instance in the desert, jungle or offshore. Communication facilities may be hard to come by or simply not available.
- Climatic or natural conditions may be very unfriendly. Extreme temperature, wind and humidity or the presence of dust or insects can endanger modern equipment.
Containerised equipment means that components from different vendors can be tested, assembled and connected in one container in well-managed workshops in the Netherlands. Many equipment suppliers are based in well-organised environment with quality staff; there are few logistics problems.
Tuning of the various systems, and interface modifications can be realised smoothly. Best use can be made of available interior space. Testing and quality control are at an optimum. Communication facilities such as telephone, telefax and e-mail allow vendors, system integrator and client to be in close and constant contact.
The result is a ‘plug and play’ package of top quality integrated equipment that is rapidly transportable to the site, and that reduces start-up (and thus shut-down) to an absolute minimum.
Tailoring of the container
It is probably true to say that every package of containerised equipment is different. Each client and each project requires something special. This means tailored solutions! Containerised equipment can be designed and realised in full accordance with the application. Examples of special features include:
- Air conditioning – to meet all temperature and humidity specifications
- Blast-proofing and fire protection – to optimise safety for people and equipment in hazardous areas. A special container will guarantee the health of crew and safety of equipment in explosion or fire situations. Lightweight assembly – in situations such as offshore applications where weight is critical. Low weight container housings of aluminium or synthetics can save on substructure and transport.
- Tailoring to space available – a container can be constructed to fit the exact space available. For larger projects, container sections can be assembled, and mechanically and electrically coupled to achieve a comprehensive container housing much larger than could be constructed or transported in one piece.
Because a container is assembled under optimal production conditions with well-qualified staff at hand, the most detailed requirement of a client can be designed in it from the start. The above are examples of what can be done. There are many others