Sustainability & Energy Savings Continue for the DWP at Worsley Court

As part of the Governments targets to reduce energy consumption and increase sustainability Telereal Trillium have recently accepted handover of yet another Ecocell Lift from ourselves, on behalf of the Department of Work & Pensions.

The new lift has replaced an existing Hydraulic Lift from the 1980’s, which had become extremely troublesome over the last few years. During that time, the customers & staff had lost all confidence in the old lifts ability to get them up and down the building. When Telereal Trillium approached Morris Vermaport, their initial request was for a straight forward like for like replacement, however it was agreed that various options should be put forward. On that basis a detailed survey of the existing installation was undertaken by the MV Technical Team and a number of options where agreed and a detailed proposal submitted to the Telereal Trillium Project Manager.

As the existing lift well was of sufficient dimensions to house a new lift without the need for “Derogations” or other “Interlock Safety Devices” it was proposed that the options of a New Hydraulic, Traction MRL or Ecocell should be given. These where presented along with a short technical report and after discussion and approval from the Telereal Trillium Finance Board, the Ecocell was the lift of choice. Clearly the benefits of the energy saving and also the comfort factor of the “Battery Back Up” had been sufficient to warrant the choice.

The new replacement lift was ordered with a number of Telereal Trillium standard components such as the Selcom – Hydra Doors and a Ziehl Abegg Gearless Winding Unit. For robustness and ease of cleaning and maintenance the lift was also ordered with full stainless steel finishes. Although the Lift was replacing an existing unit, as with all new lifts the complete package was supplied to meet the requirements for DDA (Disabled Discrimination Act).

Our engineers started the project on the 17th of October and put the lift back in to service on the 18th November, just 5 weeks later. The programme of works completed by ourselves included the complete removal of the existing lift, installation of new electrical supplies, scaffolding, builders-work cutting out for new push stations and the landing entrances as well as making good after the installation and of course the complete installation of the lift, and associated equipment. All of the work was completed by our own engineers and our specialist sub-contractors for the scaffolding, electric’s and builders-work.

At the handover meeting the DWP Site Representative Andy Seddon stated that the whole team had been first class throughout the project. Keeping them informed of progress, agreeing times to do noisy or awkward works and ensuring that the site was safe at all times.

The replacement of the old Hydraulic Lift with Ecocell will bring a considerable energy saving to the DWP and along with the fact that it can also shutdown the Lights and Drive etc after a period of inactivity, it should payback the extra investment in around 4 years. Most importantly it will continue to save money for the Department as the cost energy continues to increase.