Olympian Endeavours

While athletes are required to wait for the starting pistol before launching into a race, there are no such constraints on making a dash for the business opportunities offered by the London Olympics. The year 2012 may seem a long way off but, for suppliers like electrical contractors, it is not too early to start planning and preparing for tenders.

This is the view of Metway Electrical Industries, specialists in the production of pre-manufactured wiring systems. Metway’s sales director James Hughes explains: “Although we may not yet know what the new Olympic Stadium and many of the other facilities will even look like, decisions on basic construction issues are already being finalised. We can be certain that design and build will feature, with the consulting engineer and contractors brought in at an early stage.

“This means that suppliers of electrical products and services need to be prepared to respond with a range of information on a variety of projects, even though the actual tendering opportunities in our field may still be a few years away.”

Bidding for glory

Lighting will probably account for about 5% of the total construction and development costs, and its wiring about 15% of that 5%. When put in the context of the range of facilities being built and adapted, the scope offered by the 2012 Olympics for the electrical industry is immense.

Six kilometres from Tower Bridge, the 500-acre site of the future Olympic Park in Lower Lea Valley will provide for an extensive range of new sporting facilities (see Timeline below). These will include an 80 000-seat Olympic stadium for the athletics events and the opening/closing ceremonies; an aquatics centre, seating 20 000, with two 50 m swimming pools and a 25 m diving pool; a velopark for cycling events; a hockey centre; and four multisport arenas.

There will also be changes to existing facilities, such as the transformation of the Millennium Dome at Greenwich into a 20 000 seat venue for gymnastics and basketball and the use of the huge ExCeL exhibition centre, which covers 100 acres close to London City Airport, for a range of sports from boxing to tae kwon do.

“It is as important to be aware of the legacy requirements of the 2012 Olympics and the flexibility required of all installations, including the Olympic Village, which will be converted into 3600 new homes after the end of the Games,” says Hughes. “There are also demands in the run-up to the Olympics, such as 50 000 m2 of office space for administration, as well as new hotel rooms. Even before the success of London’s bid, 11 new hotels with 2170 rooms were forecast for construction between 2005 and 2010 in the borough of Tower Hamlets alone.

“London hosted over 3 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, an increase of nearly 14% on 2004,” says Hughes. “It shows the kind of pressures that will be put on the infrastructure of the capital when the Olympics adds its own visiting incentive. Utilities like electrical installations will therefore require the flexibility to handle the peaks before reverting to a more normal, regular utilisation after the Games.”

Light work

Lighting is obviously a crucial factor in the success of the Olympics, in terms of floodlighting for indoor and outdoor events and also across the range of public and residential facilities. “The high energy efficiency, reliability and longevity available from LED, tungsten and fluorescent lighting will be invaluable for a range of projects and applications at the Games,” thinks Hughes. “The systems involved will require tight and sophisticated controls and we can also expect some innovative ideas to maximise effectiveness, including methods of redirecting spill light onto an arena surface.”

It is tempting to speculate on innovations and inventions that may be available in 2012. With its focus on the application of human energy in sport, the Games could provide the opportunity to extend the theme to the application of electrical energy via new methods and products. Experiments in wire-free power transmission have taken place in Japan and elsewhere, although Metway believes that anything that might be used would be more of a demonstration for public interest rather than of practical use.

However, there is no doubt that today’s technology will have a huge part to play in the 2012 Olympics and plug and play wiring systems are certain to feature in the design and build projects planned for this event. “There are numerous options and configurations to consider, including armoured wiring systems, which may be favoured in many cases for public areas at the Olympics because of the protection level they provide,” says Hughes.

“Metway is convinced that competitive cost, speed and ease of installation as well as minimal maintenance requirements make pre-manufactured wiring a very attractive proposition for the Olympics. We are also confident that the flexibility of these systems, with their modular design allowing modifications to be easily carried out, will meet the legacy demands of the construction projects,” predicts Hughes.

For more information circle the appropriate number on the Enquiry card or see www.emconline.co.uk/enquiries:

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