Link Up - Churchill Specialist Contracting

Churchill Specialist Contracting  have achieved accreditation to Achilles Link Up for both lightning protection testing & installations as well as specialist access platforms.

This latest accreditation will support the business in obtaining contracts in the Rail sector without the need to be sponsored by a third party not only in the field of lightning protection but will for the first time offer the rail sector a unique turnkey solution for installing specialist access with a skill base to then simultaneously carry out a wide range of tasks including but not limited to surveys, dismantling and the repair/maintenance of concrete, brick & steel structures including towers, shafts & bridges.

In addition our specialist access solutions together with our techniques employed in the field of controlled dismantling is now directly available to the rail sector, a combination recently recognised when we were employed to dismantle 2no large lighting towers located in the Hornsey railway sidings North London.

The contract was safely completed without a mobile crane and without the need for a line closure, within budget and without incident

Churchill Online Store Service

Churchill Specialist Contracting new online store offers a full range of lightning protection, earthing and surge protection products from the UK and Europe’s leading manufactures including Furse, Wallis and Sudafix.

Due to our locality and our relationship with the UK’s largest manufacturers of lightning protection products established over an 18 year relationship via our contracting division Churchill have been successful in obtaining very competitive rates on a wide range of products, as a result we are able to offer these products up to 20% the manufacturers RRP.

Supported by our experienced contracting team if required help is on hand to assist on line purchasers with the selection and installation of lighting protection products all in accordance with the latest standard BS EN 62305.

Based centrally in Nottingham next delivery of all purchased products via the web site is available anywhere in the UK and with shipments and air freight regularly being dispatched to Nigeria, Saudia Arabia, Spain and France. The online shopping opportunity previously not available to the sector is proving to be a great success.

The site is still relatively young but as the SEO and marketing begins to take effect the 1200+ products will rapidly begin to rank high in the search engines and coupled with a concentrated marketing campaign to be launched in September 2012 the future for the ecommerce site looks very promising.

Please visit our store by clicking on the following link http://www.steeplejack.co.uk/Store/Default.aspx and discover a new more cost effective and easier solution to purchase your lightning protection, earthing and surge protection products.

Lightning Protection

Throughout history lightning has always been seen as extraordinary and has intrigued people. Even today people are astonished of the power of lightning and the images it produces.

Lightning featured in the news once again recently, when a bolt of lightning struck the Empire State Building in New York City. Many people in awe of this force of nature captured the moment on their cameras during a series of thunderstorms affecting the city. Countless numbers of these people will be perhaps unaware of the danger of these brilliant bolts of light, despite them being an exciting object of photography.

According to the National Weather Service the Empire State Building is annually struck by lightning on average twenty three times. This startling fact reinforces the need for buildings such as this to have installed lightning protection systems, without which they could potentially be destroyed. These systems protect the fabric and content of buildings and structures if they are affected by a lightning strike.

These protection systems can be easily installed by specialist contracting companies such as Churchill, who will assess the building in question and provide adequate safety constructions.

Having an earth termination system provides protection not only for your building but also for the occupants of the building, making it an essential instalment in workplaces. External grid arrangement lightning protection systems are also commonly employed which is designed and applied in order to confer protection depending on the risk associated with the building. 

It is important to remember that although lightning can be amazing to watch it can also be exceptionally destructive making lightning protection a necessity.

TATA Steel - Chimney Replacement Project

Churchill have secured the contract to replace 2no 40m boiler chimneys at the TATA Steel site in Rotherham.

The turnkey project will include the removal and re processing of the 2no existing steel boiler chimneys and the supply and erection of 2no steel replacement stacks with all site work being undertaken by ChurchillSC directly employed labour.

The work is scheduled to be completed during the sites outage period beginning at the end of the July 2012.

Chimney Dismantling

Churchill have successfully completed the piecemeal small dismantling of a 50m tall x 2.2m diameter disused steel chimney on a COMAH 1 site in Stowmarket.

To add to the complexity of the project that would see a requirement for hot work at height the chimney was situated adjacent to a live railway line managed by Network Rail that determined cranes could not be used as part of the project.

The chimney was dismantled within budget and completed within an eight week program

BS 7671 - Surge Protection Section (534)

Surge Protection - Latest BS 7671 Wiring Regulations

A new key section (534) within the latest edition of BS 7671 Wiring Regulations published on the 1 July 2011 came into  effect on 1 January 2012.

Section (534) now sees a requirement for all new electrical installations designed after 1 January 2012 to include the correct selection and installation of a SPD's (Surge Protection Device).

This requirement is to provide protection against over voltages from atmospheric origin (lightning) or electrical switching events both of which are capable of severely effecting electrical installations and connected equipment.

The risks to life, buildings and electronics due to over voltages are detailed within BS EN 62305 'Protection Against Lightning' with the standard clearly detailing a risk assessment to establish the type and level of SPD's required.

Churchill offer a full range of SPD's manufactured by the world's leading suppliers, this is supported by free comprehensive advice together with free seminars to larger clients explaining the fundamentals of SPD's.

The most popular SPD on the market and the one most commonly installed is the Furse ESP 415 M1 which is an enhanced protector for three phase supplies of 346 - 484 volts, for single phase supplies of 200 - 280 volts the ESP 240 M1 should be employed.

For more information of SPD's call our helpdesk on 0844 504 9998

The Origins of Lightning Protection

Lightning protection science was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 with his invention of the first pointed lightning rod conductor that became known as a “lightning attractor” and much later  as the “Franklin Rod.” Franklin spent many years in the lightning protection design process to include his famous kite experiment, which took place as he was waiting for permission to test his theories on the new Christ Church structure in Philadelphia, PA. Although Franklin did not patent any of his inventions, he published advice on lightning protection in Poor Richard's Almanac in 1753.

At that time, common belief was that lightning was a creation of God and therefore should not be interfered with in anyway. Franklin was finally able to convince the church deacons that they should take precautions against lightning damage by installing the lightning protection he designed, citing that rain was also a creation of God but roofs were still used on buildings to protect people and contents of buildings.

During the 19th century, lightning protection became an architectural addition to many public and private structures. The overall pointed rod design was complimented with ornamental solid glass balls, which were not only decorative but were believed to be an integral element in the effectiveness of the lightning protection of the structure. The theory behind this addition was that since glass is a non-conductor of electricity that they would repel the charge and for a time, because of the erratic behaviour of lightning it was believed this was scientifically proven.

Both the pointed design and the addition of the solid glass balls were soon proven by Nicola Tesla to be a flawed lightning protection design. Tesla's patented design was a great improvement over Franklin's original lightning protection of the pointed rod. In 1919, years after receiving his patent, Tesla publish an article, “Famous Scientific Illusions” in The Electrical Experimenter explaining the logic he used to dispel the science of Franklin's pointed lightning rod and scientific knowledge he used to design his lightning protection device. In his article, Tesla proved that the pointed tip of the iron rod actually ionised the air around it, which rendered it air conductive and raised the probability of a lightning strike.

Over the decades, since Franklin and Tesla, there has been much progress in lightning protection systems. Great innovations in design and methodology have advanced the protection of mission critical systems for military and government operations and commercial applications. From transportation system control centres to mobile phone transmission towers, the instances of catastrophic damage to these and other services we had all come to take for granted has been greatly reduced.