GM Shrum Transformer Delivery

JACK AND ROLL SOLUTION
Apex recently completed the delivery of a replacement transformer to the GM Shrum Generating Station Switchyard. Our client was tasked with a difficult delivery to replace a retired transformer in the middle of a 500 KV Switchyard. The size of the transformer, the location of the switchyard, and bridges that needed to be crossed, required us to use our dual lane trailer to deliver the 110 tonne transformer.

Limited space at the switchyard did not allow us to enter the substation with our dual lane trailer. In standard offload procedures, when the dual lane trailer cannot access the delivery site, we would transfer the load onto a smaller off-road trailer and complete the delivery. However in this case, the location of high voltage lines between the gate and the transformer placement would not allow us to perform this as a typical offload. We also realized that our delivery path with the off road trailer went through a narrow passageway; this would require us to temporarily shut down the power to the switch station since we were not within our safe limits of approach on the high voltage lines. Temporarily shutting off the power was not an option as it would have meant shutting off power to an entire town.

Since the transformer pad was not accessible, we offloaded the transformer to a temporary laydown. Our plan was to head back to the head office to review, colloborate and strategize the safest way to complete this project.

With some creative thinking, hard work, and pulling from our 50 years of experience, Apex was able to come up with a solution. We created a delivery plan that would place the transformer onto the pad without having to shut down the power, while maintaining BC Hydro’s safe limits of approach on the high voltage lines. The plan was to jack and roll the transformer via a safe route around the switchstation to a place where we can safely reload the transfomer onto the trailer and deliver the transformer to its pad.

To complete the delivery, we transferred the load to our off-road trailer to get into the switchyard, offloaded and rotated the transformer, slid it 500’ on the ground, rotated it again, slid it another 100’, re-loaded it to our trailer, then delivered it to the pad and offloaded it. The onsite works were completed in less than a week, with no incidents.