Introduction:
The GM Shrum Generating Station (GMS), located at the WAC Bennett Dam in Northwestern British Columbia, has been a cornerstone of BC Hydro’s electrical system since the 1960s.
They are currently upgrading the facilities with several projects totaling over $600 million.
When BC Hydro was ready to replace a transformer at the GM Shrum Generating Station Switchyard, they called Apex to perform the delivery.
The Challenge:
It was a complicated procedure. The size of the transformer, the location of the switchyard, and bridges that needed to be crossed, required us to use our dual-lane trailer to deliver the 110-ton transformer. However, once we arrived at the switchyard, there was limited space, and we could not enter the substation with the trailer. In standard offload procedures, when the dual-lane trailer cannot access the delivery site, we would transfer the load onto a smaller off-road trailer and complete the delivery.
But in this case, the location of high voltage lines between the gate and the site for the transformer would not allow us to perform this procedure. We also realized that our delivery path with the off-road trailer went through a narrow passageway, which required us to temporarily shut down the power to the switch station, since we were not within our safe limits of approach on the high voltage lines. Unfortunately, temporarily shutting off the power was not an option as it would have left an entire town without electricity. We needed a plan that involved moving the transformer via a safe route around the switch station to a place where we could safely reload the transformer onto the trailer and deliver the transformer to its pad.
The Solution:
BC Hydro trusted Apex with finding a solution to this unique delivery challenge. Once we determined that the transformer pad was not accessible with our trailer, we offloaded the transformer to a temporary laydown. At that point, we reviewed, collaborated, and strategized the safest way to complete the project. With some creative thinking, hard work, and drawing from our fifty years of experience, we were able to come up with a solution. We knew that we needed a plan that would place the transformer onto the pad without having to shut down the power, while also maintaining BC Hydro’s safe limits of approach on the high voltage lines.
So, we transferred the load to our off-road trailer to get into the switchyard, offloaded and rotated the transformer, slid it 500 feet on the ground, rotated it again, slid it another 100 feet, re-loaded it to our trailer, then delivered it to the pad and offloaded it. It took us less than a week to complete the onsite work.
The Outcome:
We provided BC Hydro with a safe and efficient delivery of their new transformer at the GM Shrum Generating Station. We completed the project on time, on budget, and with the highest standards of safety. Once again, our client was fully satisfied with our planning, scheduling, and delivery.
Apex and NorLand:
Apex Specialized Rigging and Moving is part of the newly formed NorLand Industrial Services (NIS) Group, which is delivering integrated solutions for a wide range of complex industrial projects. As a group of companies, we are well equipped with an exclusive combination of services that include demolition, engineering, specialized rigging and moving, installation, maintenance, and construction management. As our reputation for safety and service continues to grow, more and more industrial clients like BC Hydro are trusting the NIS Group to provide complete solutions to their biggest challenges.
NorLand Industrial Services Group is a part of NorLand Limited.
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