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PRODUCT News
54
MODERN MINING
June 2017
More than ever before, businesses are
under pressure to reduce their opera-
tional costs and maximise their profits.
One key area where big industries can
make significant cost savings is by using
purpose-made, containerised substations,
says JB Switchgear. These repurposed
marine shipping containers arrive on site
pre-installed with fully tested switchgear,
ready for immediate cable connection.
Containerised substations are very use-
ful in remote areas. Civil construction costs
are high and converting a standard marine
specification container into a substation is
significantly less expensive than arrang-
ing for on-site construction of switchgear
housing.
Another major benefit of containerised
substations is that they are fully equipped
and assembled at the manufacturer’s
premises, and can comprise bespoke
combinations of distribution equipment,
control gear and PLC equipment. All this
equipment undergoes full function testing
before being dispatched, which translates
to huge time savings on site. They can even
be pre-commissioned.
Once on site, the containers are easily
Containerised substations offer cost savings
A major benefit of containerised substations is that they
are fully equipped and assembled at the manufacturer’s
premises.
mounted on plinths, columns or skids. If
mounted on columns, cable entry is pos-
sible through openings in the floor at the
base of the container. If this is not possible,
then exterior cable entry boxes, mounted to
the exterior of the container, provide cable
entry through the side. These boxes are
removed during transport of the container.
Some switchgear (such as ring main
units) also needs arcing ducts out of the
sides or bottom of the container. In this
instance, special modification to the con-
tainer is needed to prevent an arc from
affecting the interior environment.
Marine containers vary in size, with the
average size being about 10 m long, 5 m
wide and 4mhigh.Thismeans they can eas-
ily be transported on a standard low-loader
and lowered into position using a crane.
JB Switchgear manufactures high qual-
ity switchgear systems that meet the latest
national and international safety and per-
formance standards.
Johan Basson, JB Switchgear, tel (+27 11) 027-5804