Power Station maintenance contract introduces valve actuator training rig

British Energy has been supplied with a custom-built valve actuator training rig as a part of a recently signed framework agreement for the service and repair of electric, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators at all nine of its UK power stations.

The framework contract, which will run for five years, was exclusively awarded to actuation maintenance specialist Exeeco, a Rotork group company with more than twenty-five years of service experience on British Energy sites.

The valve actuator training rig has been designed and manufactured by Exeeco engineers and installed at British Energy's Hartlepool Training Centre. Hartlepool Power Station operates with numerous electric actuators from various manufacturers, all of which demand periodic maintenance, fault-finding, testing and commissioning. An on-going training assessment identified that a site specific actuator training rig would be of great assistance to the station's maintenance technicians. To meet this requirement the rig is permanently equipped with two actuators from Rotork's product range and a proprietary valvemaker's actuator.

David Richardson, Technical Training Instructor at Hartlepool, explains:

"We needed a tailor-made rig to suit our specific training requirements. The result is the first rig of its kind at British Energy, enabling us to practise key skills such as setting limits and fault finding on all the electric actuator types installed on site. This innovative facility provides further scope to embed our human performance error prevention culture."

Exeeco Sales Director Ian Elliott adds:

"We are proud to have supplied this test rig and are confident that it will equip British Energy staff with the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain and commission the actuators on this important site. Continuing our framework activity, our Road Show will demonstrate Rotork's latest electric actuator products at all British Energy sites. These include the "non-intrusive" intelligent technologies associated with IQ Pro isolating and modulating actuators and Skilmatic SI fail-safe actuators, as well as the Rotork Jordan range of modulating actuators for high temperature applications."

As a result of the success of the actuator training rig at Hartlepool, British Energy is now considering ordering similar rigs for its Torness, Heysham and Dungeness sites.