Requested Back: Health & Safety Support for a Second Major Transformer Installation

Project overview

This was the second transformer installation Featherstone Safety has supported. After the first engagement, we were personally requested to return for a second major transformer installation, involving its own sequence of heavy transport, temporary support, movement and positioning operations.

Installations of this kind bring together several organisations, very large and heavy equipment, specialist transport systems and work areas that change as each phase progresses. The arrangements that are right at the start of a day may no longer apply by the end of it.

Being asked back matters. A repeat appointment for work of this type reflects continued demand for independent health and safety advisory support of the kind we provide.

The challenge

Moving and installing exceptionally large electrical equipment creates safety management challenges that are different from routine site work. The points below describe the nature of the work. They are not a list of problems identified on this project.

• Heavy transport interfaces. Transport equipment, site plant and people working in the same areas, often with restricted space around the load.
• Hydraulic jacking and temporary support. The load is raised, supported and lowered in stages, so the arrangements must remain stable at every step.
• Changing work areas and equipment configurations. Exclusion zones, access routes and equipment layouts change as each phase begins and ends.
• Simultaneous contractor activity. Different teams with different responsibilities working at the same time, sometimes in adjoining areas.
• Movement and positioning of very large equipment. Each movement relies on careful coordination between the teams involved.

Our role

Featherstone Safety provided independent health and safety advisory and observation support during the activities we attended. That included:

• On-site safety observation of the work in progress
• Monitoring of work activities against the established working arrangements
• Professional reporting, including a daily safety report
• Identification and escalation of concerns where necessary
• Daily photographic progress records
• Communication with relevant project stakeholders

Responsibility for planning, executing, directing and controlling the operations remained with the appointed contractors. Featherstone Safety was not the Principal Contractor or the lifting contractor, did not design or approve the lifting operations or the installation methodology, and did not certify the safety of the works.

Installation progression

The installation followed five main stages. Featherstone Safety’s attendance and reporting covered the activities it attended.

1. 1

   Stage 1

   Initial positioning and temporary support

   The transformer was brought into the installation area and supported on temporary packing, using hydraulic jacking arrangements to raise and support the load in controlled stages.

2. 2

   Stage 2

   Girder bridge dismantling and preparation for movement

   With the load supported, the girder bridge transport system was dismantled and the work area was prepared for the next phase of movement.

   

3. 3

   Stage 3

   SPMT movement and positioning

   The transformer was moved on self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) and positioned ready for the skidding phase.

4. 4

   Stage 4

   Skidding and final alignment

   The transformer was skidded across into position over its plinth and aligned. At this stage it was still on the skidding arrangement and not yet in its final installed position.

5. 5

   Stage 5

   Hydraulic lowering and demobilisation

   The transformer was lowered hydraulically onto its anti-vibration support pads, completing its installation in the final position. The installation equipment was then demobilised.

The outcome

The transformer reached its final installed position. Throughout the attended activities, the daily reports provided a structured record of what was observed, supported by photographs of progress at each stage.

No significant health and safety observations were identified in Featherstone Safety’s daily reports during the attended installation activities.

This statement relates only to Featherstone Safety’s own observations during the activities it attended. It is not a statement about the project as a whole.

A repeat appointment

The clearest measure of how this kind of support is received is whether you are asked back. Following the first transformer installation, Featherstone Safety was requested to return for this second one.

That repeat appointment reflects an ongoing professional relationship and continued demand for practical, independent health and safety advisory support on complex infrastructure work. Read about the first transformer installation.