Generator Exchange at Pumping Station, Hampshire
We recently completed a generator exchange at a pumping station in Hampshire, removing the retiring generator and replacing it with a new one.
Published 23/07/2025
Hampshire Generators have over 30 years’ experience of servicing and selling generators within the UK and pride themselves on being able to supply every project.
Providing spares, servicing and interim generators for hire, Hampshire Generators helps prevent costly downtime. Their trained and approved engineers have extensive experience and great availability to provide support and servicing throughout the UK.
For this project, Hampshire Generators were working on behalf of NHS England.
Hampshire Generators have been an A R Banks client for around 10 years. We’ve worked with them on a wide range of projects including road transport, HIABs deliveries, machinery relocation (generators, fuel tanks, UPS panels) within plant rooms, contract lifting solutions utilising mobile cranes, spider cranes, lorry loaders, groundworks and civil engineering.
They approached us for a quote to design and install a new concrete plinth for a 16t generator at Basingstoke Hospital in November 2024. The project was to include the removal of the existing generator - which needed to remain operational until the new generator was installed - prior to starting work on the plinth. We completed and submitted our proposal within one working week.
The timescale for the work was four months. We were instructed to undertake the works in late December 2024 and in January 2025 we undertook site investigation works looking for buried surveys. In mid January we completed the Lift Plan, Method Statement and Risk Assessment for the removal of the old generator.
Our first task was to come up with a structural design and installation method for the concrete plinth, which had to meet the needs of our client, as well as adhere to NHS requirements. We carried out a full site survey including an extensive excavations search for known and unknown buried services, and how these might interact with the concrete plinth and future site upgrade requirements.
Following this, structural drawings were created along with structural calculations and methodology detailing how these works would not cause issues for any potential future works. The drawings and methodology was presented to the client for review and comment prior to moving forward to the construction phase.
We started the physical work in April by tandem lifting the existing backup generator using two HIABs (lorry loaders), placing this unit onto one of our drawbar trailers. This enabled the continued operational use of this generator, which provides back-up power to the hospital’s key infrastructure.
Next, we uncovered and removed some hidden, contaminated railway sleepers, which were transferred to a specialist waste disposal facility. Over the years, these railway sleepers had been contaminated with diesel, engine oils and coolant, meaning it was vital that they were handled and disposed of correctly and safely.
We then excavated the new footprint for the concrete plinth and installed a Nylon Woven Fabric (also known as Terram), on top of the existing ground. Next came the placement of 250mm of Type 1 Limestone, compacted utilising a 800mm ride on roller, in layers not exceeding 125mm to optimise compaction.
Next we installed 50mm of concrete blinding, compacted utilising a medium-sized wicker plate. We erected a timber shutter, applying a 45mm quadrant beading around the inside of the shutter and in the corners to provide a nice 45 degree edge once the concrete has been placed.
A layer of 1200 gauge DPM was then laid over the top of the concrete blinding, followed by the installation of three layers of A393 mesh allowing for a 50mm concrete cover top.
Placement of the concrete was done directly from the concrete drum mixer lorry and into the base. The pace was slow and steady to ensure accuracy, and we utilised 50mm high-frequency concrete pokers for compaction. We then applied a towel finish to the concrete during its curing period.
The final stage was to reinstate the tarmac, which consisted of 70mm of 20mm base course followed by 30mm of 10mm wearing course to match the existing surround.
The groundworks phase of the project took six days and was completed ahead of schedule.
A R Banks Director, Stuart Banks, oversaw this project from start to finish. He said: “We were excited to be involved in this project, which involved not only the construction of the concrete plinth, but also the design and engineering of it, which saw us producing the required calculations and drawings for the plinth prior to commencing.”
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