A National Clinical Research Organization

Powering Science and Preserving Samples: A National Clinical Research Organization

Supplying continuous power was crucial to refrigerate highly sensitive biological samples at a leading national clinical research organization. Any interruption of power could cause the refrigerating equipment to malfunction resulting in the loss of critical information that doctors, researchers, and patients rely on for healthcare services. To prevent catastrophic loss, the facility housing the refrigerated samples maintains a sophisticated emergency power system comprised of two 1500 KW Caterpillar 3516 diesel generators with Russelectric paralleling switchgear.

The Challenge

Since its installation in 1995, the system operated smoothly. But after a piece of disintegrated exhaust valve fell into a cylinder, one of the engines was severely damaged during operation. The engine suffered a detachment of the piston-connecting rod assembly which caused a penetration of the engine block resulting in irreparable damage.

The Solution

Prime Power Project Team engineers presented the company two options for repair:

  1. Replace the damaged engine with a refurbished one
  2. Replace the entire generator set

The second option presented potential challenges: Replacing the entire generator set could have resulted in incompatible gensets attempting to run in parallel operation—an expensive and time-consuming predicament.

After carefully considering both options, the company chose to replace the damaged engine with a rebuilt one. Prime Power successfully conducted an intensive nationwide search for a refurbished engine exactly matching the organization's system and was able to find, source, and ship the required replacement.

The Benefit

The zero-hour rebuilt engine was installed on time in strict accordance with the project schedule. Due to the access distance and equipment weight, a 500-ton crane was required to replace the engine. The Prime Power Project Team successfully installed the replacement engine in compliance with the manufacturer's established procedures and best industry practices. Once running, the engineers successfully tested the generator and put the system back into service.