Member Article

EDS Group celebrates major milestones

Leading high voltage (HV) engineering contractor, EDS Group, is celebrating a number of major milestones ahead of its appearance at this year’s RenewableUK Annual Conference & Exhibition.

The Group, which incorporates EDS HV Management and EDS HV Services, has been operating as an electrical engineering company for more than 20 years, providing LV and HV services for distribution network owners.

Over the past six years, EDS Group has built its reputation as a market leading HV engineering provider for the offshore renewables market and this month completed its 5000th cable termination without a single fault, reporting zero incidents in more than 550,000 operational hours.

In addition to the company’s impressive safety track record, more than 700 megawatts of power have been managed using its 24/7 control centre and software package, ControlPoint, which has proven to be integral for the successful commissioning of new wind farms.

Ken Ritson, director at EDS Group, said: “I’m extremely proud of the whole team. We have worked hard over recent years to become the best in the industry and our commitment to investing in training and development of staff has really paid off.

“EDS Group is in a strong position to alleviate some of these challenges for clients using its full turnkey approach for HV terminations, testing and commissioning. We can also assist with the transition into operations phase after construction, and our insurance-backed warranties up to 20 years provide clients with a cost-effective, risk-free solution.”

Having foreseen the looming skills shortage in the industry, EDS Group is now focused on training and developing the HV engineers of the future, as well as upskilling its existing workforce of APs, SAPs, IT and health & safety professionals. It has also invested heavily in research and development to bring new products to market, as part of its mission to ensure customers benefit from efficient, reliable and innovative solutions.

Ken added: “We recognise the importance of training and development at EDS Group, and so far this year we have allocated approximately £500,000 of planned investment across our training, R&D and wider development programmes.

“With market demand increasing through 2016 and 2017 there is going to be a serious skills shortage in the industry, which will certainly have an impact on the HV networks and their construction/operational programmes.

“Our new products coming to market have been proven to save time and improve safety, tackling the challenges that cable fault finding crews experience that also have a knock-on effect financially for the operator.

“In our experience, operators are not always aware of the technology and methods available for detecting faults quicker, potentially saving them millions in the process. This will be crucial as the demand for wind farms increases over the coming years.”

From design through to connection, testing, commissioning and operations, EDS Group is the only HV engineering contractor that can provide a complete turnkey solution and works closely with its clients as their partner of choice 24/7, 365 days a year.

EDS Group will be on stand 190 at RenewableUK’s Annual Conference & Exhibition, which takes place from 6-8 October at the Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool.

To find out more about EDS Group, visit www.edshv.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ryan Gibson .