Dalkia to test for the National Grid

28 May 2008

The electrical testing and inspection (ETI) team at Dalkia is now providing a comprehensive service to National Grid in a five year contract covering 400 commerical buildings and 350 critical substations.

Dalkia will provide fixed wire testing and Portable Appliance Testing, utilising a rigorous planned preventative maintenance framework alongside a reactive repairs service and comprehensive equipment testing to diagnose and repair potential flaws before they develop.

In addition to the expertise in planned preventative maintenance that Dalkia brings to this contract, National Grid will also benefit from the transferral of risk onto the facilities management company, as Dalkia will assume responsibility for health and safety and other compliance requiements relating to the contract. This stands as one of the primary benefits of outsourced ETI, allowing specialised service providers to ensure compliance with no risk to the customer.

Ensuring the success of this contract is Dalkia industry leading customer service centre. This state of the art remote monitoring and control facility also provides a 24 hour helpdesk for Dalkia customers, providing a constant point of contact and addressing queries with in depth technical knowledge specific to the customer’s needs.

The inspection and testing will be carried out by Dalkia’s ETI division, consisting of an experienced team of 16 fully qualified NICEIC Qualifying Managers and 68 Inspection and Test Engineers. This is one of the largest inspection and testing workforces in the UK, and so able to fully meet the demands of this nation-wide contract.

National Gird buildings are spread across the country and to ensure testing schedules could be fully served they originally sought three regional suppliers to cover their nationwide portfolio. Dalkia’s ability to demonstrate truly national coverage was a key factor in winning the tender, allowing a continuity of service across the country. In addition, Dalkia’s cost effective solution and consistently high performance across a range of selected reference sites contributed towards the contract win.

National Grid is dedicated to being the world’s premier network utility, and owns and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission system in England and Wales balancing supply with demand on a minute by minute basis. In addition, it operates the system high-voltage system across Great Britain and the principle gas networks, making high quality inspection and testing services essential.