Paw power at Station Parade
SJD isn’t just a specialist in electrical design and installation for human healthcare facilities. The team has just completed fitting high specification, clinical-grade installations to improve wellbeing for pets at Virginia Water Vets in Surrey, for one of the UK’s leading veterinary groups, IVC Evidensia.
Working with Parias Construction & Interiors, the project involved the refurbishment of a ground floor, former restaurant in a busy high street.
The scheme, harnessing the existing power supply, was designed for precision and reliability with the electrical package using energy-efficient lighting and controls and a comprehensive LED system using backlit panels for low-glare environments, and corrosion-proof battens for utility areas.
The entire system is managed by modular lighting controls, incorporating PIR sensors for presence detection to ensure maximum energy efficiency.
An advanced power metered distribution system was included, with the scheme providing dedicated circuits for lighting and power while incorporating 250A integral surge protection to safeguard sensitive clinical equipment.
Jack McMahon led the project for SJD and explained the intricacies of the project: “I’ve worked on numerous healthcare projects in the past, but this was my first working on a veterinary practice, and its high street location posed several challenges.
“Projects like this rely on lots of planning and coordination because of the logistics such as parking restrictions and difficult access for deliveries. We also had to take into consideration our neighbours which, in this case, were a supermarket and restaurant, so ensuring we had minimal impact on their operations was really important.”
Power ahead
SJD worked very carefully with the other trades on the project, due to confined space and the need to allow each discipline access to their working area exactly as programmed.
Any delays from one trade could impact heavily on the others, and it was important that SJD kept ahead of each team, ensuring they had working power at all times.
Same standards, smaller scale
The project was undertaken to the same standards as SJD’s other hospital and healthcare facilities but on a much smaller scale.
Jack explained: “Specialist clinical installations for critical care areas included an X-Ray and dental suite featuring a fail-safe warning light system, emergency stop buttons, and special ‘commando’ sockets. We prepared the electrical feed for the animal X-Ray equipment in the same way we would for any health facility, but it was just on a smaller scale.
“The design also took into consideration the comfort of building users so in the recovery room, we provided dimmable lighting and custom kennel power solutions with dado trunking, and integrated climate and ventilation systems.”
Andrew Holman, construction project manager at ICV Evidensia said: “The SJD team were very professional and technically minded throughout the project. They went above and beyond the call of duty, particularly during the pre-start period.
“The standard of work was excellent and there were no issues or snags. All additional work was well executed and their performance was great.”
Veterinary practices are very highly regulated with standards set by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, a Radiation Protection Adviser for strict radiation regulations and, of course, the health and safety and fire risk assessments associated with any construction work.
SJD installed air curtains in the main entrance and extract fans with PIR occupancy sensors in the WCs for energy efficiency, with all installations aimed at creating a calm and comfortable environment for staff, pets and their owners, and providing state-of-the-art facilities for IVC Evidensia to offer exceptional veterinary care.
Virginia Water Vets is featured in ITV’s series The Joy of Pets presented by Gaby Roslin and Dr. Bolu Eso.
