Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Weekend Standby Generator Replacement

A large laboratory and office complex needed to replace an existing standby generator with a new, larger 2000 kW unit with associated automatic transfer switches and day tank. The owner needed the project to be completed over a long weekend beginning on Friday morning and ending on Monday afternoon, so the electrical contractor tasked with replacing the generator chose R. Baker & Son to assist in this critical replacement project. 

The electrical contractor had prepared for the weekend installation over a few months. Due to the critical nature of the project, a site-specific safety plan was developed along with a method of procedure specifying which teams would be performing certain tasks, and when. The weather forecast looked good, with cool temperatures and a few scattered showers expected over the weekend. 

R. Baker & Son and the electrical crew arrived early on Friday morning. While electricians were shutting down and disconnecting electrical power from the generator, R. Baker millwrights and rigging team members were simultaneously disassembling the old standby generator and separating the diesel engine from the condenser/fan section. A second rigging team removed the four large louvers and dampers, allowing access to a rear parking lot area. By late afternoon on Friday, the project had progressed to where the 80-ton hydraulic crane could begin removing pieces of the generator. 

On Saturday, the Baker rigging team had removed the remains of the old generator by mid-morning and the area was cleaned and prepped with pre-fabricated steel pieces. Riggers carefully brought in the new generator using spreader bars, slings, chain blocks, and a fork lift and precisely set it in place where new electrical conduit and fuel lines sat ready for connection. The Baker Team assisted the electrical contractor with installing ATS switches, mounting the day tank, installing the exhaust system, and various other tasks. The outside louvers and dampers were reinstalled, and all remaining debris was removed. Because of all the intensive preparation, pre-fabrication, and close coordination between the electrical and rigging teams, the new generator was wired and ready for startup and testing bright and early on Tuesday morning. 

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services 

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE), in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities of over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery. 

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services 
190 Boundary Road 
Marlboro, NJ 07746 
732-222-3553