Just a few photos from recent site visits documenting everyday issues we are met with on various sites across the country.
This is not intended to be a section for bad mouthing anyone, its just a bit of fun highlighting some of the day-to-day issues we come across.
It is important to remember that whilst the below issues may highlight more than just “bad practice” it can happen at all levels in the industry, including when working with the big boy contractors.
Feel free to send yours in to info@projectbms.co.uk
Access issue for plant deck
This was a project that has been recently commissioned in the south of England. The control panel is in a different room, but the plant is housed up on the deck. The only means of access is via a step ladder and a short jump across onto the deck…
Now I know what a lot of you will be saying… “Walk away and don’t go near that”. And you would be right. But time is precious, and the job needs doing, right???
To be fair, the ladder in the picture is much shorter than the one that was actually used.
Thermostat location
Unfortunately, this picture doesn’t give you a clear understanding. I will try to explain…
The hot water cylinder is installed in the corner of the boiler room. The flow pipework leaves from the top of the cylinder and makes its way across the back wall. As you can see, after the first bend the immersion high limit thermostat has been installed.
It has been installed facing the back wall!
From a commissioning point of view, it isn’t the end of the world. We can remove the fixing screw and pull it out of the pocket to check the wires and set the thermostat (whilst stood on a hop up of some description).
The real problem is that the thermostat needs to be manually reset when it is triggered. This is a device which the user needs to operate.
How hard would it be to fit it somewhere sensible? Maybe face the other way?
Why not just move it? If we are being honest, it is not moving anywhere because nobody will pay for it. Now it has been wired, if the plumber were to rotate it the other way the cable wouldn’t reach. This means that to rectify this, there will be costs involved from both the mechanical and electrical contractor, and potentially even the BMS contractor to recalibrate / prove operation.
Fire alarm interface
Most Building Management System control panels have a connection to the building fire alarm system.
As you can see, it doesn’t get much rougher than this. Assuming that all connections are correct the lack of stuffing glands for cable entry is a big no-no.
I am no installation expert, but I have certainly never seen an interface installed like this. I would be surprised if this complies with the regs.
Factory Cylinder Pockets
This is becoming more and more of an issue these days. The cylinders which are provided come with pre-fabricated pockets. These pockets do not accept a threaded connection for a standard BMS immersion sensor or pocket.
It often results in the BMS immersion sensor being left floating in a loose pocket as shown above.
Clearly this is going to end badly. The sensor is easily dislodged and it does not read correctly due to exposure to the room temp.
We regularly see instances like this where the contractor will fill the pocket with wire wool or something similar to pack it as much as possible.
Ready for commissioning!
This will be a common site for most BMS engineers.
Arrive on site, get inducted, walk the site and land in the plant room to see this.
Main supplies still to go in, pipework over on the right still incomplete, fire alarm hanging at high level, the list goes on…. At least we can check the cables connected to the pumps, eh?
Unfortunately, this is not a rare occasion. For one reason or the other it is very rare that a BMS engineer can attend site and complete during that single visit. There is always something not ready, and in most cases, there are many things not ready.
This was a project that has been recently commissioned in the south of England. The control panel is in a different room, but the plant is housed up on the deck. The only means of access is via a step ladder and a short jump across onto the deck…
Now I know what a lot of you will be saying… “Walk away and don’t go near that”. And you would be right. But time is precious, and the job needs doing, right???
To be fair, the ladder in the picture is much shorter than the one that was actually used.
Additional Information
For more information about physical points within a BMS check out this post!
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