No delays at €600million Dublin Airport passenger terminal
Terminal 2, the flagship project of the €2 billion redevelopment of Dublin Airport, is just months away from completion – and it features tens of thousands of metres of product from cable management specialist Marshall-Tufflex.
The new €600million terminal – the centrepiece of the ‘Transforming Dublin Airport’ project – is one of Ireland’s most prestigious and high profile construction projects to date and will enable one of Europe’s busiest airports to handle an extra 15 million passengers per year.
Marshall-Tufflex products were selected for three main reasons – ease and speed of installation, good looks and, importantly on this project, very short lead times for product delivery.
Client Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) required the construction project to run to a tight deadline, with specifiers and specialist contractors working to an equally specific approved list of building products suppliers and systems. Dublin-based Mercury Engineering, Ireland’s largest multi-disciplinary engineering contractor, was tasked with carrying out the complete electrical, mechanical, IT and sprinkler installation for the new terminal.
Mercury’s electrical project manager Ken Clarke explained that speed was of the essence for the contract and therefore decisions were made to try and vary the original specification: "It was a really tight construction programme which I knew would benefit from the time-saving features of certain Marshall-Tufflex products. I therefore put a case forward to the design team on some of the advantages to be gained and it was agreed to change the original specification within certain areas of the project.
Thousands of metres of Marshall-Tufflex’s unique, all-curved profile trunking Odyssey were installed in some 150 offices within T2, including those for airlines, security services, custom border patrol areas and control rooms to deliver power and data. The good-looking, Cat 6 compliant profile was also installed in passenger booking kiosks, immigration booths, car rental offices and other front-of-house desk areas.
"Odyssey looks good, performs well and is reasonably priced. It is more modern and quicker to install than some other competitor systems, which is why I was keen to use it within the Terminal 2 project," said Mr Clarke
Non-standard, extra deep back boxes from Marshall-Tufflex were used within the Odyssey profile to comply with the space requirement from the structured cabling specifier for the termination of CAT 6 outlets.
The second specification change centred around the DAA’s requirement for steel conduit in parts of the new terminal building. Again, Mr Clarke considered that a Marshall-Tufflex product – this time three-layer LSOH conduit MT Supertube – would be a quicker and more suitable alternative to that specified. Having gained approval from the DAA for the change, tens of thousands of linear metres of MT Supertube were installed within ceilings throughout the project.
"We also used a substantial amount of white MT Supertube at high level in the main Terminal and check-in ‘front of house’ areas for services on view to the public," said Mr Clarke. "This choice was made based purely on satisfying the consultant with regards to mechanical protection and segregation, along with accommodating the very important aesthetic aspect for the architect.
"MT Supertube offered two specific advantages over steel conduit. Not only is it much quicker to install, delivering significant labour saving benefits, it is also much lighter. This meant that when installed at height it was a one man, rather than a two man, lift."
MT Supertube has polyethylene internal and external layers that sandwich and seal the welded aluminium tube within to allow quick and safe segregation of cables. The system, approved for use in London Underground, assists in conforming to the EMC directive in regard to EMI shielding and is resistant to temperature extremes. 20mm and 25mm fittings are available in steel, polycarbonate and PVC-U.
All Marshall-Tufflex products were supplied by its sole Irish distributor, Core Electrical Ltd.
"One of the main reasons I wanted to use the Marshall-Tufflex products was down to the fact that, due to the aggressive construction programme, the turn around between placing an order and getting materials to site was vital. The service from Marshall-Tufflex and Core Electrical was excellent, ensuring delays were kept to a minimum as the materials were always in stock," added Mr Clarke.
A consortium comprising Ové Arup, Pascall & Watson and Mace were appointed project managers and designers for the 75,000m2 T2. Davis Langdon PKS is the cost consultant and Turner & Townsend the external programme manager. T2 is due to open in November 2010.
Dublin Airport is one of the ten busiest airports in Europe, with an average of 60,000 passengers per day, rising to 80,000 during the peak season, and more than 600 aircrafts movements every day.
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