May 2009
A large and complex electrical switchboard fit-out has been completed by K E Brown Electrical Switchboards for the new Defence command headquarters at Bungendore, near the ACT.
New Defence command headquartersThe Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) facility - an "Australian Pentagon" - brings together various Defence agencies under one roof. The complex was delivered on time and on budget in mid-2008.
The $300 million (in 2003-04 prices) facility will ultimately accommodate around 750 military and civilian staff, acting as a nerve centre for the command and control of our defence forces on operations in Australia and around the world.
Working for the electrical and communications contractor Stowe Australia, K E Brown Electrical Switchboards custom-manufactured, tested and installed the numerous switchboards that will serve all the building's electrical needs, including lighting, air conditioning and data systems.
Sean Peacock, Engineering Services
Manager,
K E Brown, said: "It was a $4
million project for us, the largest single job
we've ever done, in dollar terms. It was
also a physically large job that included
25 major switchboards up to 7000 amps
and close to a hundred smaller boards."
For Stowe Australia, Peter Fitzpatrick said, "We had up to 80-90 people on site. The pressure was on us and our sub-contractors. It was by no means a standard project either, with challenges all the way.
"The very tight time frame for completion
put
K E Brown under extreme pressure,
but their promised work turned up pretty
consistently, at the times and dates they
told us it would.
"From their engineers and designers to workshop people, they all did a magnificent job.
K E Brown site installers then worked tirelessly to make sure the finished product was functional and working properly. It was a job well done that fitted the purpose and met all the criteria."
K E Brown designed the switchboards with dual systems and back ups to ensure that electrical power was always available to the facility. Each system was supplied from multiple sources, with a generator back up that required their own switchboards.
"The system took us months to design. The biggest challenge was the physical size of the boards. They also had to be capable of carrying 7000 amps. We had to work out a unique configuration of the copper busbar to handle this load as well as disperse the heat generated," Mr Peacock said. "We had to have our prototypes tested at the design stage by the independent laboratory Testing and Certification Australia (TCA) to obtain a Type Test Certificate.
"Boards were tested to the point of failure and beyond. In addition to withstanding sudden overload, the boards were subject to testing for temperature rise that could cause long-term damage and result in unreliable and unsafe performance. The certified practices were then used to build the remaining switchboards.
"The deadlines set were extremely tight for such a large project, both for design and manufacturing. Our work was all completed on time, thanks to lots of midnight oil burned and everyone at K E Brown getting involved," he said.
