When building work began on Britain’s newest £710 million electricity generator, it took four years for the 800 personnel to complete the construction project at Carrington Power Station in Manchester, which is located on the 23-hectare site of a former coal-fired power station.
Today, a 40-strong team operates the plant – an 880MW combined cycle gas turbine said to be among the most efficient thermal plants in the UK and the first large-scale plant of its kind to be built in Britain since 2013. Officially opened in March 2017 by Minister for Energy, Jesse Norman MP, it will create sufficient clean energy to power one million homes during the next 25 years.
During construction, temporary washroom and changing facilities, with steel lockers, were provided for the 800 personnel. However, for the 40-permanent staff now employed at Carrington, more luxurious facilities befitting of the prestige of the operation were required.
Leigh Greenwood, mechanical technician for Carrington Power – a subsidiary of Ireland’s state-owned Electricity Supply Board – was tasked with finding suitable changing facilities for the operations team, replacing the lockers that had been on-site for the past four years.
Crown’s dedicated project manager for the Carrington job, Sam Palmer, visited Leigh several times to customise the designs. The new facilities had to satisfy a variety of job functions – including operations staff, office assistants, team leaders and managers.
Around 60 full-length, light oak timber lockers were fitted, each with “clean and dirty” compartments to keep day clothes and workwear separate. Crown also fitted grey laminate shower doors in the wet area and bench seating to provide personnel with a welcoming and comfortable environment.
Leigh explained, “Only two women work here,” so just four lockers were fitted in the female changing area, with 16 in the men’s, 22 lockers in the operations rooms and 16 for team leaders and managers.
