The Result

The development’s low carbon, high efficiency heating asset was reinstated to benefit residents and key stakeholders.

Heating and hot water services were stabilised across all blocks, with:

• Air cleared from the network
• Flow rebalanced and reverse circulation corrected
• Water quality significantly improved, helping protect the plant equipment and support efficient operation

We also provided the managing agent with clear recommendations to prevent recurrence, including the need for a full recommissioning of the system to secure long-term reliability.

The end result was a restored, fully operational communal heating system, better protected against future breakdowns and inefficiencies, and renewed peace of mind for both residents and the managing agent.

The Result

Speed of Service:
The first engineer arrived within 30 minutes of the initial call, significantly faster than the industry standard.

Problem Resolution:
Critical services were restored within 9 hours of escalation, avoiding resident displacement and ensuring the safety and comfort of all residents.

Client Trust and Reputation:
This swift and decisive response enhanced the Managing Agent’s reputation and demonstrated the value of reliable partnerships in the leasehold sector.

The Challenge

The situation presented several immediate and long-term challenges:

Extensive water damage caused a complete failure of all Energy Centre equipment. 

Emergency restoration of heating and hot water was critical for residents.

The existing system was beyond economic repair, necessitating a full redesign. 

Stakeholder collaboration was required with managing agents, insurers, and loss adjusters.

Equipment delivery delays and the integration of sustainable technologies added complexity.

The Challenge

DMG arrived onsite for routine electrical maintenance at 8AM. The electrical engineer immediately reported the flooded energy centre due to burst bellows on the pump set, which affected all blocks.

A multiskilled team of Engineers arrived onsite within the hour to start the pump out of the energy centre could begin.

Whilst the pump out was being carried out, the senior contracts manager contacted all suppliers for stock and delivered the parts to site so the faulty bellows could be replaced.
By 6pm the engineers had installed the new bellows but remained onsite until the early hours to carry out the essential filling and venting.

Energy centre deluged following record-breaking flash flooding

Dorset House, London

As we slowly awaken to the reality of climate change, we are seeing extreme weather conditions become more frequent. What would have been viewed as a “once in a hundred-years” event now perhaps does not appear so extraordinary.

Although it is difficult to link individual weather incidents directly to climate change, analysists have warned that global warming is increasing the intensity of rainfall in UK. The flash flooding seen in London last week was a prime example.

Overview

Dorset House is a Grade II listed building constructed in the thirties. Architecturally, it reflects all the vernacular of the time. Consisting of 185 flats, with underground parking and street level shops, this imposing building is a well know landmark in the Marylebone area of London.

The building benefits from centralised services, including a subterranean energy centre hidden below the art deco masterpiece. Most residents probably are not aware of the energy centre’s existence, and perhaps the supply of heat and hot water has always been a bit of a mystery.

The art of running a building such as this is to maintain services so efficiently that those using them have little reason to ask questions, simply taking the principle for granted. Dorset House has a team of on-site personnel who keep the building running 24/7/365. This service is led by the Estate Manager, Jimmy.

Challenges Faced

On Monday 12th July 2021, on what would normally be the height of the British summer, London received a month’s worth of rain in a single day. Initially this was not considered a particular threat to the building, until front desk received a report of low water temperatures. This was escalated to the Estate Manager, who went down to check the energy centre.

On accessing the energy centre, the Estate Manager discovered the entire plant room was flooded and much of the critical plant submerged. As with all complex installations, the plant had safety features that had shut the system down safely to protect life and property.

Recognising the situation, the Estate Manager invoked the Disaster Recovery Plan and requested support from DMG Delta. The request was received out of normal business hours, and our emergency response team were already attending similar requests from clients facing critical service failures due to the flooding.

The On-Call Manager at the time was already aware of mounting issues in the area, so a call from another building was almost expected. Resources were reviewed and diverted to the property to see what could be done.

Our Impact

On attendance, our engineer reviewed the now fully submerged installation to ensure the area was safe. There was little that could be done safely at this time due to the catastrophic nature of the flooding, other than to wait for the water to be pumped out by the fire brigade. Therefore, the decision was made to reattend the following morning.

The On-Call Manager began to escalate awareness of the situation internally and by morning a taskforce of senior management was discussing the options available. This included calling all stakeholders to alert them of the cataclysmic nature of the damage and the short-term impact that might apply with service disruption.

These key steps brought senior decision makers to the fore of the process, allowing sanctioning of the works to flow quickly and effectively. Engineers determined what was required to reinstate the minimum service to the building as quickly as possible, buying a bit of breathing space for a less reactive reinstatement process.

This was relayed back to the procurement team and parts were sourced from suppliers and manufacturers. Components were couriered across the country and continent to allow for the works to progress. A team of senior engineers prepared the site and once received, the components were commissioned, and a basic heating and hot water service reinstated.

With matters now under control, a strategy was defined for the wider repair of equipment and overall reinstatement of the critical service.

As often applies, there were several unsung heroes in this situation. Our engineers and management team went far beyond what would normally be expected, performing as a cohesive team to minimise disruption to the residents and businesses who are dependent on this crucial service.

Testimonial

“This was an Armageddon scenario. The entire building had lost its hot water affecting 300+ residents. The prospect of rapid reinstatement was going to be challenge.

DMG Delta performed nothing other than a miracle limiting the impact on the lives of residents and businesses that are reliant on this critical service.

Within days the building was back up and operating, the service reinstated, and our residents once again had the reliable service they have come to expect.”

Project works & planned maintenance for an office block in Ilford

Bank House, Ilford

Overview

Bank House is a three storey office building located in Ilford, Essex and is currently owned and managed by Edwards Duthie Solicitors, however had been previously managed by Glenny (an existing client of ours) and our involvement at the time was for the boiler room only.

Situation

Edwards Duthie Solicitors recently decided to take over the management of the building themselves and we were contacted by the Facilities Manager to arrange a site meeting and discuss the contract going forward

Our Impact

Edwards Duthie Solicitors carried out extensive refurbishment works to the ground and first floors of the office building. DMG Delta were asked to install the air-conditioning and carry out repairs to the fan coil units.
Following the completion of the refurbishment DMG Delta were then offered the maintenance contract for the whole building, comprising of mechanical services, air-conditioning services, water treatment hygiene and specialist services.

We now have a very good working relationship with the Facilities Manager on site and hope that this will be one that lasts for the foreseeable future.

Testimonial

“The refurbishment works given to DMG Delta were not only complex but needed careful planning with other trades on site.

This was achieved in extremely difficult working conditions, to a high standard within the time frame given.

My personal thanks to Peter Luxford and Lee Plant for pulling out all the stops and the professionalism they showed.”

Kevin Goodchild, Facilities Manager, Edwards Duthie Solicitors

Emergency Call-Out

Parkgate Aspen, Greater London

Situation

DMG Delta received a callout from Kathryn at Parkgate Aspen on Thursday 15th October 2015 at 12.45pm. The call was to report a leak which was audible from the riser cupboard. Kirsty and Elspeth, Service Coordinators raised a job and tasked engineer Dave Fulford.

The engineer arrived on site at 2.13pm. He made an assessment on arrival and phoned through to the office. Due to the extent of works and decisions to be made our supervisor Mick was then tasked to attend and assist with the survey

Our Impact

Our supervisor arrived on site at 3.30pm and investigated the situation, given the obvious water ingress into the lift shaft the decision was made to isolate the mains water supply to the building to prevent damage to the property.

First thing Friday morning (8.00am) we had 2 engineers (Dave Fulford and Carlton Bygrave) on site to carry out trace and access work.

We requested the managing agents to provide builders to excavate trenches to enable access to the mains water pipe, unfortunately this was not achievable. Therefore at 12.15pm DMG were asked to provide this resource if possible. Contractors were arranged by DMG to attend site and investigate the trench digging requirements. At 3.00pm the contractors stated that a specific machine was required which wouldn’t be available until Saturday. Our engineers however stayed on site and carried out trace and access works in other areas. They also took delivery of potable water storage tanks that had been arranged by DMG office to ensure the residents continued to have a water supply during works.

Saturday morning (8.00am) the 2 x DMG engineers were back on site along with the building contractors to continue with the works.  A trench was dug and the mains water pipe accessed.

DMG had a supervisor arrive on site for 9.00am to assess the current situation and progress.

At 10.00pm Saturday night the works were completed and a temporary mains water supply was in operation. The cold water storage tanks were off hired first thing Monday morning to minimise costs.

The pipe that failed resulted in the loss of the critical water service to all flats in the building. DMG Delta’s expeditions and action provided a temporary supply on the same day minimising the inconvenience to the residents on Friday evening and providing a cost effective temporary solution.

Testimonial

“Throughout this major issue at Lodge Close, DMG reacted promptly and attended to the problems relevant to the mains failure in a thoroughly professional manner.

They met with clients and insurers at site, explained the issues and remedies and ensured that disruption to residents was kept to a minimum.”

Phillip Cove – Parkgate Aspen

HIU Maintenance

Silkworks and Silvermill, Lewisham

Overview

Silkworks is a prestigious residential complex development consisting of 426 apartments over 7 individual residential blocks with a mix of private and social housing tenants, fed from two centralised energy centres.

Situation

DMG Delta were approached by MLM the Managing Agents of the building, and asked to provide Heat Interface Unit (HIU) maintenance proposals for each block.

Our Impact

DMG Delta provided proposals to attend each property and undertake scheduled maintenance to the HIU’s in a single continuous programme of works spread over 4 weeks.

At the end of 2016 the managing agent instructed DMG Delta to undertake servicing of HIU’s throughout the complex, a total of 7 buildings with a mix of 3 differing types of HIU’s. A total of approximately 400 units were serviced over the 4 week period.

Appointment times were arranged with the residents making 20 appointments per day involving 4 engineers to carry out the service attendances. Working with the client and staff on site, provided a high degree of flexibility within the programme where residents had to change plans at the last minute for attendances.

A work sheet tailored for the site was produced by DMG Delta to allow the engineers to record specific information, and to ensure all serviceable items within the HIU’s were verified as having been serviced.

The DMG Delta supervisor collected daily appointment sheets from the site concierge and distributed between engineers.
At the end of each day the completed work sheets were collated by the supervisor, checked and filed. At the end of each week the sheets were delivered to the office for scanning onto our system for record keeping purposes.

A daily email confirmation was sent to MLM listing apartments accessed and services completed along with an overview of any major issues, with photographic back-up.

Daily and weekly reports of service works carried out were provided to the client and any issues or problems that had been identified.
Works were completed within the 4 weeks allocated. A total of 374 apartments being successfully accessed and serviced, with any inaccessible flats to be rescheduled when access is available.

What was viewed as a logistical nightmare by the Managing Agents was transformed through careful management and planning into a smooth progression of works that were completed within the defined timescale.

HIU maintenance is a critical requirement of maintaining the efficiency levels on a Heat Network. DMG Delta will aid and support those involved to get the most out of their heat. HIU maintenance varies between manufacturers.

Testimonial

“As the new managing agents for the development we were keen to review the arrangements for the ongoing maintenance of this key asset, the HIU.

We contacted DMG to ask for their proposals and were pleased to be able to introduce the programme of works that on the face of it appeared a challenge, however we were reassured by the team at DMG Delta that we could complete this task expeditiously using their proven experience to maintaining large scale multi-building heat networks.

The engineers attending were clearly competent and came equipped with technology to support the reporting process. Full reports were received during the course of the maintenance programme, keeping us up to date on the daily activities.  A post-completion report was provided, and from this we were able to schedule any apartments that required revisiting, or further works.

As Managing Agents we are pleased with DMG Delta’s performance, and have no hesitation in recommending them to others who have similar challenges.”

Rupy Jandu, New Business Manager, Michael Laurie Magar Ltd

New Heating Plant

Park Mansions, Central London

Overview

Park Mansions is a prestigious purpose built apartment building, fabulously located opposite Hyde Park, Harvey Nichols and moments from Harrods and Sloane Street.

Situation

DMG Delta first became involved at Park Mansions in mid 2010 when we became the incumbent maintenance contractor for the boiler system and associated plant. It was clear from the outset that the aged plant room installation was on its last legs and that a major replacement was required. Asbestos was present and lengthy disruptions to hot water and heating services unacceptable to the tenants. No on site parking and being surrounded by parking red routes added to the difficulty of the task in hand.

Our Impact

In 2013 DMG Delta successfully won the competitive tender for the boiler room replacement. Challenged with very poor access, difficult materials logistics and a tight deadline, DMG Delta delivered the project on schedule and on budget. At no point during the project was the hot water off for more than a few hours.

DMG Delta successfully liaised with and coordinated the asbestos removal contractors whilst keeping health and safety a priority. The end result is a highly specified, top end installation that complies with building regulations and will last for years to come.

Testimonial

“The works conducted by DMG Delta was to an exceptionally high standard and they were able to accommodate our clients’ needs throughout.

No cost overruns, no service disruptions and no ongoing issues following completion. An exceptional job by DMG Delta.”

Elliott Unsdorfer, Parkgate Aspen

Replacement HV Transformer, HV & LV Switchgear

The International Institute of Strategic Studies

Situation

The obsolete equipment was not supported by the original manufacturers. There were no parts available for the existing plant. The old HV transformer was showing severe signs of failure following multiple oil tests.
There was a high chance that excess rain fall could have ingressed into the LV switch room with catastrophic consequences.

Impact: Loss of worldwide business.

Solution: Supply and install HV transformer, HV & LV switchgear works.

Benefit: The risk of break-downs has been minimised.

Testimonial

“Following the installation of the new HV & LV switchgear over the weekend, I would just like to thank Malcolm for his guidance and assistance during the planning stages of this project.

It was imperative that there were no delays in getting the building powered back up by Sunday evening. Although there were a few issues to start with, the team of workmen worked exceptionally hard to ensure things got back on track as soon as possible.

I would like to say a special thanks to Lee and Peter who worked about the clock to ensure everything ran smoothly. You have two real assets to the company there. Thanks again for all your help.”

David Burns, Building Services Manager, IISS