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15
October/November 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Generation & Wholesale Markets
ESB Generation achieves CPD re-accreditation
ESB GENERATION OPERATIONS was recently awarded Engineers Ireland’s continuing professional development (CPD) accredited employer status for a period of three years - the maximum possible term.
This award is made to employers who attain the standard in terms of systems, processes and practices promoting growth and learning and development of their engineering staff throughout their careers. The CPD programme aims to help organisations ensure that employees are technically up-to-date, professionally well-rounded, capable of handling responsibility, taking initiative and competing internationally. These aims are well aligned to ESB Generation staff development and ITDP policies and processes.
Engineers Ireland also encourages engineering professionals to actively engage in CPD to maintain their professional capabilities and, after gaining sufficient experience, to attain the internationally recognised professional title Chartered Engineer.
Engineers Ireland undertook an audit of ESB Generation, on Wednesday May 30th, to determine whether to renew its CPD Accredited Employer status. It has eight mandatory and four advisory criteria on which to make its determination.
The written submission and preparation for the audit was carried out by Ciaran Allen and Adrian Carroll on behalf of the Learning & Development Committee.
On the day of the audit, Engineers Ireland’s auditors met members of the Learning & Development Committee and the Senior Management Team. An overview of the generation business was presented by Generation Manager, Nicholas Tarrant and discussions covering each of the audit criteria followed. Ross Pegley delivered a presentation on The Implementation of Asset Management in Generation Operations, which was well received. In addition, two separate groups of engineers operating at various levels in the organisation were interviewed.
The Engineers Ireland audit team was impressed with its findings. Particular mention was made of the linkage between business objectives and individual CPD requirements, the commitment to continuous improvement, knowledge management and sharing initiatives including the GO Portal and e-learning website, sharing of learning with external stakeholders, the clever use of ICT and the delivery of a superior asset management process. They were also complimentary of the positive development experiences of engineers as articulated by the interview groups. This resulted in ESB Generation meeting the required standard in all mandatory and advisory criteria.
The L&D committee would like to thank everyone who contributed to the successful outcome of this audit.
Further details relating to the Engineers Ireland CPD Accredited Employers scheme are available at www.engineersireland.ie/cpd/cpd-employer/ In addition, people interested in attaining the professional title Chartered Engineer should go to: www.engineersireland.ie/membership/types-of-membership/professional-titles/#d.en.147. For further information on the CPD process and Engineers Development contact Ciaran Allen at 26786 or Adrian Carroll at 26472.
The eight mandatory and four advisory criteria on which Engineers Ireland made their determination in relation to renewal of CPD Accredited Employer status
- Internal CPD Committee
- CPD Policy and Procedures
- Performance Management and Development System
- Formal CPD days – five days average per annum
- Mentoring and Coaching for Professional Development
- Linkage with Professional Bodies (National and International)
- Knowledge Sharing activities
- Evaluation of Impact of CPD
- Postgraduate Educational activity
- Competency Frameworks/Talent Management
- Advanced Knowledge Practices
- Fostering Creativity/Innovation.
Major Overhaul at Dublin Bay Power
SEPTEMBER 2012 saw the successful completion of a major overhaul at Dublin Bay Power, thanks to the concerted efforts of UOMS and ESBI working with the gas turbine manufacturer Alstom and a large number of contractors and service providers. The outage involved major overhauls of the gas turbine and generator and a medium overhaul of the steam turbine, plus a significant mechanical and electrical balance of plant scope. This was the third major overhaul at the plant since it was commissioned in 2002 and planning started soon after the previous outage in 2009 to maximise the effectiveness of the planned plant downtime.
Staff numbers on the Ringsend site swelled from the normal daily figure of 25 to a peak of 380, requiring the construction of a temporary, two-storey, accommodation village, additional car parking, extensive site preparation, dedicated permitry office and nominated parts storage and laydown areas.
Safety management was to the fore from the start with two full-time safety officers and a 24/7 rescue crew.
A significant effort was put into safety coordination – making sure that all parties on site was aware of current site activities – this was achieved through structured and focussed daily and weekly safety meetings. Computerised contractor safety training was successfully introduced, and a daily award scheme was put in place to recognise observed positive safety contribution. A ‘point of work’ risk assessment concept was implemented on a trial basis.
The centreline scope was executed under the new long term service agreement (LTSA) which was signed earlier in 2012. The LTSA also included the installation of MXL hardware components which extends the intervals between major overhauls from 3 to 4 years. This hardware represents Alstom’s state of the art Alstom technology and was installed without during this outage.
In addition to the planned scope, a number of significant ‘as found’ items in gas turbine and generator areas were successfully managed. A significant commissioning milestone was achieved by re-establishing reliable fuel oil changeover capability.
This outage sets Dublin Bay Power up to continue to make significant contribution to the Generation portfolio over the coming years, with average availabilities in the mid to high 90’s.
The 2012 outage represents the culmination of a huge level of pre planning, a very intensive execution phase and a very challenging recommissioning period. There were very long days of work for all involved, but there was a good team spirit and great cooperation and the result is a credit to all.
