Emergency response: a case study

On Christmas Eve 2011, a power plant in Utah called us. Their fan equipment had suffered a catastrophic failure and they realised Howden was the only organisation with the expertise to help. Twelve Howden specialists were dispatched, immediately, to the site. They arrived late on Christmas Eve, ready to begin work on Christmas Day.

The holiday timing was not the worst thing about the task. Because it was in the middle of winter and the location of the unit in which we had to perform the remedial work was exposed to the elements, the work was performed in below-freezing temperatures. The team worked in shifts, with work going on 24 hours a day. Despite the timing and the hazards of the temperature our engineers worked diligently and safely, repairing the unit within ten days. Our ability to react fast, adapt to difficult conditions and carry out the work expertly brought the plant back into production in the least possible time.

While expertly scheduled and executed preventive maintenance will keep power plants running without unscheduled interruption for decades at a time, we are aware that unexpected failures can happen at any time, and we are on standby round the clock, ready to travel to the affected site. Whether the equipment is Howden, one of our legacy brands or a completely unconnected manufacturer, we have the resources and the expertise to carry out repairs.