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Pipe Center's modular engineering facility and contractor EIC South West are collaborating to deliver modular engineering solutions for a number of projects in the region. The teams have designed, constructed and commenced delivery of bespoke modules from Pipe Center's 2800 m2 factory in Worcester for projects that include school, college and office buildings.

Annette Murphy, modularisation engineering at Pipe Center Modular Engineering, says, 'We are delighted to have been chosen to work with EIC on these high-profile projects. We have collaborated with its team from the outset and have developed the design for the bespoke modules using sophisticated design and product-linked manufacturing software.'

'Off-site modular engineering helps to achieve tight construction timescales and provides cost certainty. In addition, this approach reduces the health-and-safety risks associated with installation of services on site.'

Chris Trew, design-and-build co-ordinator with EIC says, 'This is the first time we've commissioned modular engineering in the region. The approach was ideal for these projects, as trying to provide a traditional installation within the building constraints would have been time consuming and problematic. Working with Pipe Center's modular team, we have built a fully co-ordinated system which can only add to EIC's innovative concepts and project approach.'

New training facility for 2014 athletes

EIC has completed work on a £2m mechanical and electrical engineering contract for a new athletics training facility in Glasgow. The newly refurbished Scotstoun Stadium was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne on January 14th 2010.

EIC's Scottish division delivered the nine-month project to main contractor Barr Construction and Glasgow Council. The Scotstoun Stadium is the redevelopment of an old athletics track adjacent to the Scotstoun leisure centre and is set to become a valuable addition to the city's sporting facilities.

Among those expected to make use of the new facility are athletes training for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Preparations for the 2014 event involve the refurbishment of a number of existing venues to give local sports men and women access to world class facilities ahead of the games.

Commissioned by Glasgow City Council, the development features grandstand seating for up to 5,000 people, grass and all weather pitches, a 400m outdoor running track, 100m indoor running track, fitness suites and cafe area. EIC delivered the heating and ventilation, internal lighting, floodlighting, CCTV and fire alarm systems and plant works for the whole site.

Ian Lyall, managing director of EIC, said the team was delighted to have secured the contract for such a high profile scheme. He said: "There is genuine pride among the team working on this contract who felt they were contributing something important for local athletes, youngsters, and the city as a whole, as this stadium will be used as a training facility in the run up to the 2014 games."

He added: "EIC has a longstanding relationship with Barr Construction in Scotland which has remained strong because of our ability to build and maintain relationships and our capacity to provide a consistently high quality of service on each and every project. This contract gives EIC the chance to show we are ahead of the game when
it comes to our expertise and we have capability to deliver a world-beating service for our clients."

Based in Warwickshire, EIC has a network of regional centres around the UK which enables it to deliver services on both a national and local level. Renowned for its mechanical and electrical installation expertise and its specialist test and maintenance division, EIC is increasingly being retained by a growing number of clients for mechanical, electrical, building fabric maintenance (MEBF).

Compressing a five-week mechanical and electrical installation project into just seven days required a crew of 34 electricians and 14 engineers working onsite around the clock. EIC completed the full M&E requirement for the store working alongside a variety of other trades to deliver the store ahead of the first shoppers arriving.

Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, in conjunction with Johnson Construction, completed the external shell in 24 hours to enable the mechanical and electrical first fix. The first task for EIC was to provide a temporary generator for the groundworks and subsequent construction of the building on day one, December 2nd, and power to the contractors' site cabins.

The full EIC team then arrived on site on Sunday, December 6th and were finished by Sunday 13th ready for the first customers on December 14th. The electrical crew installed the containment, fire alarm, lighting installation, small power, mains distribution and externals such as car park lighting and the gantry sign, while the mechanical experts installed the air handling unit, LPHW pipe work/boiler plant, split AC systems to the sales floor and back of house areas, sanitary ware, above ground drainage and external services.

Nigel Le Marechal, EIC joint managing director, has worked with Tesco for more than 15 years and was delighted to have been able to deliver on this critically important scheme. He said: "When the call came in we didn't hesitate to accept the challenge and immediately mobilised the Fast Track Team to ensure we could deliver a quality project within this incredibly slim time frame. Only a week earlier we had finished a similar scheme at Newton Hill, Stonehaven, so we were able to put into practice the same expertise and standards employed on that project, albeit in seven days rather than five weeks."

"This was a once in a lifetime project for the team who worked alongside the other trades through the night to make sure the job was done. By close of play on the Tuesday evening, less than 72 hours after we arrived on site, the sales floor was illuminated, this was quite a feat of achievement. Everyone involved really pulled out all the stops, working incredibly hard, and we are extremely proud of the part we played in this project."

The construction of the Workington store has been hailed as record breaking for all concerned. Daniel Frith, Tesco Development Manager, was said: "This is the first time we have ever built a store in such a short time.

"At this time of year our customers are busy enough without a three-hour journey just to get to the supermarket. Many of our own staff have been badly affected by flooding so the temporary store will help them too."

"EIC and Yorkon have been part of an outstanding construction team. This project is a really exceptional achievement in such a short space of time."

To see a video of the rapid building installation, click here.