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How climate can affect your building design and equipment
Dave Friar, international operations director at engineering solutions provider Boulting Ltd

How climate can affect your building design and equipment

When planning and constructing a project in any one of the globe’s variable climates, understanding the limitations that the environment can bring is important. Here, Dave Friar examines some of the considerations that need to be made when building across the globe

Having a clear understanding of the type of climate and environment your new build is being constructed in is important to not only the overall efficiency and compliancy of the construction process, but it can also significantly impact the installed equipment and ongoing maintenance of the facility too.



Temperature and climate

The location and associated climate of your chosen site is one of the fundamental elements that should be assessed right from the start, as the difference between some environments can necessitate particular design or equipment specifications.

For some locations, building on site may be too complicated or dangerous for equipment and staff, especially dealing with the extreme temperatures of certain climates.

Many organisations looking to construct in these locations are turning to modular builds as a viable building method.

Modularisation involves the construction of equipment and parts of a build at a specially designed pre-fabrication facility, such as Boulting’s site in St. Helens, UK. It is then transported by sea, rail or road and constructed on the final site, minimising time spent in challenging environments, while allowing for far greater design flexibility.

The climate can affect the construction equipment and internal components of the build too. Temperature can alter the size of electrical cabling, for instance, and should be considered when specify and sizing cables.

Location, location, location

It’s not just weather conditions that impact on the build process − altitude and ambient temperature can affect what is possible in your location too. Certain equipment has optimum working conditions that can be affected by the local conditions.

For instance, electrical switchgear that are used to control, protect and distribute electrical power are traditionally only tested to certain levels of altitude or temperature. In locations like Nairobi, Kenya, which is nearly 1,800 meters above sea level and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia reaching near 2,400 metres, particular attention must be made to switchgear specifications and ratings in order to operate safely at this level of altitude, the voltage supplied must be increased.

However, the power supply to these types of location can also be affected by the climatic conditions. For instance, in Ghana the standard 11,000-volt electricity supply can fluctuate significantly.

At times it can peak up to 15,000-volts and down as low as 9,000-volts. Modern process machinery that have variable speed drives (VSD) don’t like these fluctuations, which are not common in countries across Europe.

As a result, taking into account the power source for the country and site you are working on is vital to ensuring equipment receives a consistent and safe level of power.

On occasion, it may be required to incorporate a separate power source from standard supply, such as gas generated power, to avoid significant fluctuations and disturbances.

Working with a provider, like Boulting , which not only operates over a diverse range of industry sectors, but also operates across the globe, can be hugely beneficial when planning and constructing a new build.

Having an organisation with international experience and knowledge of the relevant country regulations will put you on track to success.

Boulting has worked across Africa, including in land-locked Ethiopia to deliver ten tonnes of mechanical plant equipment over land as well as installing pipework in Nigeria. It also provides project support across the UK and Europe, which requires an in-depth understanding of regional standards, including BS7671, Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) and Institution of Occupation Safety and Health (IOSH) standards.

So, whether you’re planning a build in the heat of the African desert, at altitude in the Alps, or on the coast in Indonesia, working with an organisation that has an understanding and appreciation of the local environment and climate will help you to recognise and alleviate any issues that may arise as a result.

Dave Friar is international operations director at engineering solutions provider, Boulting Ltd.

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