COOLING TOWER INSPECTIONS FOR DRAX POWER STATION
Sector Power Generation
Region Europe
It was essential for the cooling towers to remain operational throughout the inspections, meaning Cyberhawk was required to work onsite while the power station was fully operational and in conjunction with other operational activities on site.
Alternate methods for carrying out this scope of work, such as rope access, elevated cradles or scaffolding, would have taken weeks to complete the inspections, and even longer when their erection and dismantling was included. Cyberhawk’s solution not only mitigated the risks associated with this method, such as working at height, but reduced the inspection times. Normal timescales for this scope of work would be ten days per tower, however Cyberhawk carried out the inspections in just two days. A number of defects highlighted meant the company became aware that structural repairs were required and so had adequate data to outsource this work to a third-party provider.
Cyberhawk was called upon to inspect 12 cooling towers at Drax Power Station, in northern England, the second largest coal-fired power station in Europe. The requirement was to provide a detailed inspection of the external concrete shell and mantels across all cooling towers.
It was essential for the cooling towers to remain operational throughout the inspections, meaning Cyberhawk was required to work onsite while the power station was fully operational and in conjunction with other operational activities on site.