TECHNICAL FEAT: REPLACEMENT OF MUMC+ (EMERGENCY) POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM
Critical hospital power supply was never in danger
It’s hard to imagine any location where an uninterrupted supply of power is more critical than in an academic hospital. So when the Maastricht University Medical Centre+ decided to update and replace its existing emergency power supply system, it demanded serious work on the part of Pon Power. "It was quite a puzzle!"
JOS EERENS
Project Leader EMR, MUMC+
"Replacing CHPs with more sustainable solutions is a current topic."
PARTNERSHIP
The Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+) is a collaboration between the Maastricht Academic Hospital and the medical faculty of Maastricht University. There were five Caterpillar combined heat and power plants (CHPs) in MUMC+ until some time ago. Those plants, which use natural gas to generate electricity, heat and steam, supplied the hospital and university buildings with heating, power and steam for humidification, energy transitions and sterilisation processes. In addition, the CHPs mainly served as an emergency power supply system: the systems would have had to supply the necessary emergency power in the event of an unexpected power failure. After all, any form of failure of the equipment, operating rooms or life-saving systems in the hospital is simply not an option.
But after decades of loyal service, the CHPs were all due for replacement. And besides that, the Climate Act also demands sustainability. "Replacing CHPs with more sustainable solutions is a hot topic," explains Jos Eerens Project Manager EMR of the hospital. “The Netherlands wants to get rid of gas and we, at MUMC+, are happy to contribute to this with our energy solutions. But we also had other motives: three of our old CHP plants were technically and economically depreciated, so they were due for replacement."
DUE FOR REPLACEMENT
FACTS &
FIGURES
TO OUR GREAT SATISFACTION
The different sub-projects were contracted out in Europe. Jos Eerens elaborates: “Pon Power has been the service organisation for our Cat CHPs for years, and to our great satisfaction. But as a hospital, we are required to tender, and we have to be transparent in the assessment of that tender.
While an operation in a 'normal' organisation is never an easy task, it demands even more preparation and care in an academic hospital. To ensure a flawless process, the hospital asked engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV to supervise the process and keep it in line with their design idea.
Pon Power however emerged as the winner of the tender, so we could collaborate with them in the replacement process.”
The project team, which, in addition to Royal HaskoningDHV and Pon Power, consisted of Pon subsidiary Topec and Procesgroep Techniek from MUMC+, jointly got to work on the project. Rob Muurling, Project Manager/Engineer Pon Power, explains: “In the consultation process, we decided to overhaul two of the plants and to replace three others with one larger, more modern Cat CHP, supported by Cat diesel generator units. That way, we would end up with a greater energy output, be completely up to date, and have a considerably reduced carbon footprint. Obviously, all operating systems also had to be replaced." The challenge was always to be able to generate 100 percent of the required capacity, at any time and without interruption, with no more than 80 percent of the available systems.
AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT INTERRUPTION
"That was a big puzzle," says Jos Eerens. “Especially because each of the plants at our site also has a specific seasonality. You can’t turn the cooling off in the summer or the heating in the winter. That meant huge challenges in our planning with respect to the adjoining sub-projects.”
A BIG PUZZLE
ROB MUURLING
Project Manager/Engineer Pon Power
"The whole process took three years, but in the end it all went flawlessly"
The chosen strategy was not to make the suppliers involved only partly responsible, but to tackle the entire project as a team. "So we really worked together, with the support of Royal HaskoningDHV, to devise, plan and execute every step in the process," says Rob Muurling. “An intensive and exciting process that took no less than three years. But in the end it all went flawlessly, a great result!” The whole project was completed with a festive event where all the partners came together in early 2019.
AS A TEAM
Jos Eerens looks back with satisfaction on behalf of the client on the successful project: “The process went so well that we made a promotional film in which we show what we have achieved operationally. This project proves to all stakeholders that we, as the Process Engineering Group of MUMC+, are ready for the future!”
READY FOR THE FUTURE
TECHNICAL FEAT: REPLACEMENT OF MUMC+ (EMERGENCY) POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM
Critical hospital power supply was never in danger
FACTS & FIGURES
MUMC+:
Partnership between Maastricht University Hospital and Maastricht University
ROYAL HASKONINGDHV':
Worldwide engineering firm, specialised in consultancy and project management
TOPEC:
Sister company of Pon Power, specialised in engineering turnkey energy projects
EPOWER PLANT WITH CHP AND NSA:
Plant that generates the energy required, such as electricity and heat, for the entire MUMC+. CHP - Combined Heat and Power, NSA - Emergency Power Generator
It’s hard to imagine any location where an uninterrupted supply of power is more critical than in an academic hospital. So when the Maastricht University Medical Centre+ decided to update and replace its existing emergency power supply system, it demanded serious work on the part of Pon Power. "It was quite a puzzle!"
"Replacing CHPs with more sustainable solutions is a current topic."
Project Leader EMR, MUMC+
JOS EERENS
PARTNERSHIP
The Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+) is a collaboration between the Maastricht Academic Hospital and the medical faculty of Maastricht University. There were five Caterpillar combined heat and power plants (CHPs) in MUMC+ until some time ago. Those plants, which use natural gas to generate electricity, heat and steam, supplied the hospital and university buildings with heating, power and steam for humidification, energy transitions and sterilisation processes. In addition, the CHPs mainly served as an emergency power supply system: the systems would have had to supply the necessary emergency power in the event of an unexpected power failure. After all, any form of failure of the equipment, operating rooms or life-saving systems in the hospital is simply not an option.
DUE FOR REPLACEMENT
But after decades of loyal service, the CHPs were all due for replacement. And besides that, the Climate Act also demands sustainability. "Replacing CHPs with more sustainable solutions is a hot topic," explains Jos Eerens Project Manager EMR of the hospital. “The Netherlands wants to get rid of gas and we, at MUMC+, are happy to contribute to this with our energy solutions. But we also had other motives: three of our old CHP plants were technically and economically depreciated, so they were due for replacement."
TO OUR GREAT SATISFACTION
While an operation in a 'normal' organisation is never an easy task, it demands even more preparation and care in an academic hospital. To ensure a flawless process, the hospital asked engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV to supervise the process and keep it in line with their design idea. The different sub-projects were contracted out in Europe. Jos Eerens elaborates: “Pon Power has been the service organisation for our Cat CHPs for years, and to our great satisfaction. But as a hospital, we are required to tender, and we have to be transparent in the assessment of that tender. Pon Power however emerged as the winner of the tender, so we could collaborate with them in the replacement process.”
AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT INTERRUPTION
The project team, which, in addition to Royal HaskoningDHV and Pon Power, consisted of Pon subsidiary Topec and Procesgroep Techniek from MUMC+, jointly got to work on the project. Rob Muurling, Project Manager/Engineer Pon Power, explains: “In the consultation process, we decided to overhaul two of the plants and to replace three others with one larger, more modern Cat CHP, supported by Cat diesel generator units. That way, we would end up with a greater energy output, be completely up to date, and have a considerably reduced carbon footprint. Obviously, all operating systems also had to be replaced." The challenge was always to be able to generate 100 percent of the required capacity, at any time and without interruption, with no more than 80 percent of the available systems.
A BIG PUZZLE
"That was a big puzzle," says Jos Eerens. “Especially because each of the plants at our site also has a specific seasonality. You can’t turn the cooling off in the summer or the heating in the winter. That meant huge challenges in our planning with respect to the adjoining sub-projects.”
AS A TEAM
The chosen strategy was not to make the suppliers involved only partly responsible, but to tackle the entire project as a team. "So we really worked together, with the support of Royal HaskoningDHV, to devise, plan and execute every step in the process," says Rob Muurling. “An intensive and exciting process that took no less than three years. But in the end it all went flawlessly, a great result!” The whole project was completed with a festive event where all the partners came together in early 2019.
"The whole process took three years, but in the end it all went flawlessly"
ROB MUURLING
Project Manager/Engineer Pon Power
READY FOR THE FUTURE
Jos Eerens looks back with satisfaction on behalf of the client on the successful project: “The process went so well that we made a promotional film in which we show what we have achieved operationally. This project proves to all stakeholders that we, as the Process Engineering Group of MUMC+, are ready for the future!”