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Power Supply Secures the Deal!

Moeller keeps Nomura dealing desks on-line

For an international bank, the dealing room is often one of the key generators of revenue. Thanks to computer technology today's financial transactions are conducted at the speed of light at the touch of a button. During one day the volume of trading on the average dealing room floor is simply staggering.

So just imagine if the computers went down due to a power failure – a substantial part of a bank's income stream would be cut off instantly, and as every second ticked by, losses would mount. Nomura International along with other major international banks takes this and other potential scenarios very seriously and has done everything possible to secure its power supply. To achieve this, Nomura has teamed up with Moeller, one of Europe's major switchgear suppliers, to ensure continuity of service at its prestigious London-based European headquarters.

Wyn Beckett, Moeller's National Switchgear Sales Manager, said: "This is a crucial project for our client involving the retro-fitting of a complete power supply system, in parallel with the current system, and without any disruption to business. Nomura demanded an integrated building power control system of the highest reliability possible and turned to Moeller as they considered that our products were the only ones on the market capable of meeting these requirements. The complete system comprises: LV power distribution switchgear, HVAC motor control equipment and busbar trunking."

Nomura's Building Services Manager, Mark Hounslow, added: "Busbar trunking is the ideal power distribution system. Flexibility is a key issue – we must be able to make any future changes with minimal disruption. The simple plug and unplug features of Moeller's busbar system suit these requirements."

According to Beckett, Moeller's considerable experience in industrial automation was a significant factor in winning the business: "Our philosophy in automated building control comes from the far more demanding background of production engineering where a PLC determines switching sequences and period. Power control in a building is an analogy of this. The aim of the Nomura project is maximum reliability combined with state of the art power distribution and control."

The first phase of the operation involved the installation of a 3200A rated MODAN power distribution and control centre. Originally designed for the tough industrial environments of the petrochemical and oil and gas industries, MODAN satisfies the World's most stringent safety standards. Its flexible modular design integrates easily with Moeller's busbar and building management systems.

"We chose MODAN because of its proven reliability in the market place. It also gives us an extremely accurate monitoring and control system together with higher levels of sophisticated protection", said Hounslow.

"Modan 6000 is normally used in very demanding environments where reliability and safety are essential. At first sight the use of this equipment in a commercial building environment seems to be a case of over specification. However, for Nomura's risk free requirements Modan is the only answer", said Beckett.

"In the event of a mains power failure the generators can't satisfy all of Nomura's power requirements. In this case, Modan's automatic ability to shed non-essential services while maintaining essential services was vital in our client's selection of a power distribution system", he added.

In the second phase power measurement specialists, C-matic, working with Moeller are adding a monitoring and load shedding system. David Sawyer, Sales Director, C-matic, said, "Moeller's power control system is compatible with our power monitoring and switchgear, so together we can offer an intelligent power management system for Nomura".

The final phase of the project, involves installing an under-floor busbar trunking system. This has to be done without disruption to the working areas. Moeller's busbar system is ideal for this featuring: quick single bolt connection, a range of standard lengths and sizes and frequent tap-off points. The adaptability of busbar trunking was crucial in its choice as the layout of computer terminals must be easily adaptable to meet changing demands.

Intelligent power management in buildings is the way forward, particularly for the information dependent financial services sector. For Normura second best will not do with Hounslow emphasising: "Reliability and accurate monitoring and control is one of the essentials of our power management system. Flexibility and installation of the system without disruption are also equally important. With the rapidly changing demands of our industry we must adapt our power needs to stay ahead of the competition."

This page last updated: 1 October 2001