A science block rewired in one summer holiday

A sixth-form college in Bolton was refurbishing its science block over the summer and needed eight laboratories and two prep rooms rewired before the staff came back.

• Seven weeks between the end of term and the staff training days, with no slack
• Shared with the college's refurbishment contractor and the fume cupboard installer
• Every operative DBS checked, because the college ran a summer school next door

We wrote the programme with the refurbishment contractor and the fume cupboard installer before the holiday started, ran two teams so first fix finished ahead of the benches, and tested each lab's isolation panel and fume cupboard interlocks as soon as it was complete.

• Bench power and data in eight laboratories and two prep rooms
• Emergency isolation panels with stop buttons in every laboratory
• LED lighting with daylight control, and emergency lighting
• Supplies to the new fume cupboards, interlocked with their extract

Seven weeks inside the summer holiday, with each laboratory tested and handed over in turn so the science staff could set up during the last week.

Every laboratory was handed back three days early, with no teaching days lost.

Test certificates for each laboratory, the isolation panel functional test records, as-fitted drawings and the O&M manual, in the college's portal.