ENGINEER TO ENGINEER
12 hours Frequency of handovers
to shift supervisory sta
Socotec provides support to two
UK power stations during pandemic
Testing, inspection and compliance services
provider Socotec has been working closely
with two UK power stations to ensure that
maximum electrical output is delivered to
the National Grid during the Coronavirus
outbreak.
The organisation’s energy team serves
as a key supply chain partner for North
Yorkshire-based energy company Drax
(pictured) and Lynemouth Power Station
on the Northumberland coast, and
has been supporting critical
power generation services
for both energy suppliers,
helping them to remain fully
operational.
Socotec provides
shipping services for
Lynemouth Power Station’s
biomass imports as they
arrive at the Port of Tyne
handling facility. Its Energy team
is responsible for the provision
of ship superintendents, who monitor the discharge of the
vessels, report on the cargo quality and provide draft surveys.
Analysis is carried out at the port and across all biomass
products, with samples collected and processed in Socotec’s
portside and in-house laboratories.
Similarly, Socotec is responsible for the provision of
shipping services, sampling and preparing samples of
sustainable biomass on behalf of Drax. Superintendents
are on hand to meet every ship at ports in Liverpool, Tyne,
Immingham and Hull, determining the quality and quantity of
each vessel, cargo or shipment and checking for any tramp
material that may be trapped within the cargo. Sizing is carried
out in dedicated quayside laboratories during discharge,
before being transported to Drax’s preparation laboratories for
the Drax team to carry out preparation and physical analysis.
Samples are then dispatched to Socotec’s Burton upon Trent
facility for further chemical analysis.
Furthermore, the Energy team also inspects port
infrastructure and receives storage facilities for Drax, as well
as managing fuel, oil and gas tank levels to support stock
control and order/analyse the deliveries of these products.
Additional support is provided by the organisation’s Oils team.
In order to comply fully with social distancing guidelines,
Socotec sta working on behalf of Drax and Lynemouth Power
Station have been working shifts in small groups to minimise
contact, with handovers provided to superintendents every
12 hours. Draft survey techniques have been modi ed to limit
the time workers spend on board ships, while o ce spaces
and common-use items, such as keyboards, are cleaned prior
to the sta changeover. At the power stations, samplers
con rm collections with control room sta from the safety
of their vehicles, while collection drivers have been isolated
from Socotec’s preparation facilities and laboratories since the
beginning of March.
James MacFarlane, managing director for Laboratory &
Analytical Services at Socotec UK, says: “The ongoing Covid-
19 pandemic has only served to strengthen our long-term
relationships with Drax and Lynemouth Power Station, and
our Energy team is committed to ensuring that both clients
continue to provide critical power generation services during
this period of uncertainty.
“We would like to thank both Drax and Lynemouth
Power Station for their continued support throughout this
unprecedented time, as well as extend our appreciation to
our hardworking sta , who continue to adhere to strict social
distancing measures, all while helping to keep our country’s
power generation services running smoothly.”
“We would like to
thank both Drax
and Lynemouth
Power Station
for their support
throughout this
unprecedented
time”
Autumn 2020 www.operationsengineer.org.uk 85
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