PRESSING ON FOR ISLINGTON WASTE RECYLCING CENTRE DECARBONISATION
The Islington Waste Recycling Centre is looking to decarbonise. At present, the centre accounts for 9% of Islington Council’s corporate estate gas use and the aim is to reduce that to zero. To achieve this, air source heat pumps and condenser units will be installed which posed an immediate challenge – how to install new copper pipework without disrupting the recycling centre. Contractor Vital Energi’s solution focused on the use of Viega Profipress.
For Ben Pasifull, Assistant Project Manager at Vital Energi, the answer was clear from the start. “The project was originally down to be braised and soldered but we knew in order to meet the deadline and minimise disruption, press was the way to go.”
Profipress was specified for the heating and hot water copper pipework throughout the centre. The pipework would run from the roof through to the plant rooms and the wider facility.
“The previous contractor I worked for used Viega a lot, so I knew it was a quality system. I reached out to Viega to see what they’d recommend for this project, and I was really impressed by what we could achieve using their system.”
Working against the clock.
Given the recycling centre had to remain open, Vital Energi had to ensure their work didn’t affect the operating hours of the site. “At any time, there were around 100 workers on site: council vehicles, waste trucks, all sorts. This meant we couldn’t turn off all services. On top of this, we had to get the heating system installed and set up before winter which gave us a real deadline to hit.”
By switching to press, Vital Energi eliminated the need for hot works permits, allowing them to get on site faster. This also meant they didn’t need extra work on site such as isolating fire alarms or flushing water systems that might have contained soldering flux. Eliminating these stages sped up the overall process.
The team worked in sections to minimise downtime on systems. Each section could only be shut off during certain time periods, so the clock was ticking at every stage.
“Profipress really made our lives easier. It ensured we were able to install the pipework quickly without compromising on efficiency. Once complete, we could easily run leakage tests across the whole section to save time. This meant any errors could be spotted and fixed straightaway, giving peace of mind for us.”
Used with confidence.
The reassurance of this reliability was key, considering any unplanned downtime at the centre would have immediate consequences. Profipress is designed to provide security, thanks to SC-Contur, giving the team the confidence to assure the client that the system is safe and future proof.
SC Contur is a core component of Profipress and is designed to aid installation and testing by including a dedicated leak path to ensure any unpressed connections are instantly highlighted.
Systems are only as good as the team installing them and while Ben had experience with Viega, he was keen for the wider team to get to grips with the brand.
“I’ve worked with Viega before, so, when we started on this job, I immediately got in touch and arranged for my team to get some training in using the press systems.”
“The training was hugely beneficial, it ensured my team knew the ins and outs of the system, and had their questions answered there and then.”
“And even with training being completed, we’ll be keeping in touch with Viega, and I know that if we have any other questions, they’re on hand to answer them, which is hugely reassuring.”
%3Athumb-square)
