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May 2020: Critical flood damage re-cabling works

May 2020: Critical flood damage re-cabling works

On March the 2nd this year, the Met office stated the following "February 2020 has been the wettest February on record for UK, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the second wettest (behind February 1990) for Scotland. It has also been the fifth wettest of any calendar month in a series from 1862 behind only October 1903 (227mm), December 2015 (217mm), November 2009 (215mm), and December 1929 (213mm).

As a result, one of our valued clients' suffered serious flood damage resulting in the evacuation of 2 key premises in South Wales and the need for the ground floor of each of these buildings to be re-built and of course re-cabled for data and power. In total WNS were engaged to re-cable 1000 Brand Rex category 6 UTP sockets to replace the damaged cabling.

WNS project management advised the client of CPR & BS6701 recommendations and as a result Cca graded cabling was installed to replace the legacy LS0H cabling. Additionally, one of the buildings is particularly large and the MER feeds 10 remote SERs via fibre & CW1308 links. Each of these remote links follow floor screed trunking and underground ducts at some part of their run which of course had become submerged. The previous cabling contractor had run internal grade cabling unsuitable for being wet for any sustained length of time therefore these needed to be replaced as well.

This project was presented to WNS with a three week turnaround due to the fact that 100's of staff had been evacuated and were working from home causing financial and productivity issues. WNS achieved this deadline thanks to the dedication of our staff and also the pragmatism of our client. The irony is that our deadline was achieved just in time for the coronavirus lockdown however, once this is lifted they will have a clean refurbished and updated workplace to return to!