The unsung hero of the 2012 London Olympic Games may very well be Aggreko, powering all the light, action, and broadcasting with temporary power generators.
But this is not Aggreko’s first time around the track – it’s their 11th Olympic games.
When Aggreko was awarded the contract for powering London 2012, it turned to Virtual Interconnect and Creo Schematics to create the blueprint. The plan involves mobile generators, 600 miles of cable, and 3500 distribution panels that will provide power across 39 venues in seven different locations – London, Cardiff, Coventry, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Weymouth.
The beauty of all of this is that engineers at Aggreko and Virtual Interconnect designed the electrical layout, tested it, and modified it simply and efficiently, without laying a single electrical cord until they were sure it would work. Using Creo Schematics, Virtual Interconnect documented both electrical and fluid systems and then simulated, tested, and modified these virtual prototypes with their in-house product, eSimulate.
The design took about a week. That has to be some kind of an Olympic record.
Rupert Soames, Chief Executive of Aggreko, welcomes the opportunity saying: “[It is] enormously exciting to have the opportunity to perform in front of our home crowd. We look forward to supporting the Organising Committee in their task of providing faultless execution of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic games, and uninterrupted broadcasting to hundreds of millions of viewers world-wide.”
So when you tune into Bob Costas and crew, watch the stellar Opening and Closing ceremonies, or just chill and watch track, gymnastics, swimming, and a whole slew of other sports, remember Aggreko is in the background.
