Network cabling for the home of Concorde

In early 2017 we started the high-profile project of installing the cabling infrastructure for Aerospace Bristol, a £19M project to convert a hangar at Filton Airfield to highlight and showcase the impact Filton has had on the global aerospace industry, and to be the home of Concorde.

Located on the old Filton Airfield the main museum building is a 100-year-old, Grade II listed hangar.  Exhibits include historic aeroplanes, replica aircraft, engines and aircraft memorabilia. A second hanger is a new home for Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, large corporate sponsors, South Gloucester Council plus numerous other donations from groups and individuals, Aerospace Bristol opened in October 2017.

Commissioned as a subcontractor, we installed all the cabling infrastructure including Cat 6 & Cat 6A cabling, fibre cabling, copper wiring and the server cabinets in the comms rooms. Winning such a high profile job was made possible as a result of our reputation, successful track record and proven commitment to service over the years.

The challenge

The project ran over 5 months and at times we had 13 people on site. Whilst schematics had been agreed in the early stages there were numerous changes and revisions along the way, including fundamental changes such as adding and moving comms rooms. This evolution of the requirements required flexibility and careful coordination with contractors. Our ability to do this comes as a result of having a skilled team and a great deal of experience.

Being part of a larger fit-out team also comes with rigorous health and safety compliance, particularly when working at height, which we were for much of the time. Our experience of health and safety meant that we are able to take the requirements in our stride and ensure minimum disruption to the works.

An unusual challenge with this project came in the form of historic vehicles and aircraft, which were being installed in the hangars whilst we were working. At one point we were working above Concorde… taking great care not to drop any tools or materials on to the fuselage or wings. There were no mishaps.

The results

Most importantly the contract completed to standard, on time and on budget. As a result, Aerospace Bristol is now able to run numerous essential services, including:
> computers
> door entry
> fire alarm panels
> exhibitions
> wi-fi wireless access points
> training rooms

As of today, we are still helping, working directly with Aerospace Bristol to install additional cabling to allow for future developments. Having an ongoing relationship is important to us, we pride ourselves on our service and on going the extra mile, from the very start of every job and then on an ongoing basis. This service ethos is part of our DNA, it’s the BSCL way.

 

We developed a great partnership with BSCL from the construction phase of our project here at Aerospace Bristol. Since we opened in October 2017, BSCL have carried out further installations and help implement future projects. They have provided us with total confidence in their field and their ability to execute installations and reactive repairs of any scale. Their flexibility to handle any scenario we throw at them at a moment’s notice is of paramount and we look forward to the next stage of Aerospace Bristol with BSCL at our side.

Paul Handoll, Facilities Manager

For more information about Aerospace Bristol please visit their website.