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Responsibility for maintaining the office locations of one of the UK’s biggest insurance businesses has been handed to leading building engineering, fit-out and maintenance specialist, JCA, following a competitive tender.

Starting this month, the contract covers more than 150,000 ft² at the company’s headquarters in the City of London, as well as satellite locations elsewhere in the capital and the South East.

A resident-based team of JCA maintenance personnel will provide round-the-clock support with responsibility for mechanical and electrical upkeep, fabric maintenance, reactive repairs and any other minor works.

Overseeing the new contract is Ian Coleman, Operations Director for JCA’s Managed Services Division, which has seen significant expansion of its onsite maintenance portfolio during 2017. He commented:

“JCA is proud to have such a major player in the global insurance market as a new client. With a reputation for engineering, fit-out and maintenance excellence, we anticipate further growth in resident-based service contracts during 2018. A number of large scale engineering projects, involving the installation and maintenance of critical infrastructure has also facilitated a recruitment drive for maintenance engineers.”

JCA has appointed Jamie McDonald to the new position of Corporate Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Manager, as our engineering services-led business continues to expand.

Reporting to Dean Cocklin, JCA’s Director of Engineering, McDonald has responsibility for implementing all HSE policies, practices and procedures, as well as delivering the statutory requirement of providing health and safety advice to the company.

Further responsibilities include regular HSE audits and monitoring all JCA’s construction and maintenance sites, in accordance with Regulation Five of the Management of Health & Safety in the Workplace legislation.

McDonald’s experience includes a 26-year career in the Royal Marines and United States Armed Forces, as well as three years in a senior HSE practitioner role within construction, mechanical and electrical environments.  He possesses a wealth of qualifications in HSE, project management and leadership.

Commenting on his appointment, Dean Cocklin, JCA’s Director of Engineering, said:

“Jamie’s appointment underpins JCA’s safety-first culture and continuing focus on ensuring the highest standards possible in all areas of health and safety. His knowledgeable and proactive approach is essential as our business expands and ensures that we achieve the highest levels of compliance at all times.”

Speaking about his new role, McDonald commented:

“JCA has a demonstrable track record in delivering major projects and services for a diverse portfolio of clients and I’m delighted to be joining the organisation at a time of significant growth.  JCA’s core values of honesty, quality, safety, trust and transparency are embedded in its culture and it’s refreshing to see the depth to which this approach cascades through every aspect of the business.  I look forward to bringing my experience to bear in further developing JCA’s safety-first approach.”

Construction of the KAO Data London One data centre in the Harlow Enterprise Zone, is entering its final phase. Switch rooms are virtually complete and powered up and UPS generators and battery racks are online. To minimise any risk of human error with the electrical systems, the three distributed redundant systems from 11kV to rack are colour coded – Feed A is Amber, Feed B is Blue and Feed C is Cyan. Data halls are nearing readiness for hardware and outside, the landscaping project is underway.

KAO Data London One is due to become operational by the end of 2017. It is the first of four planned data centres that will comprise the KAO Data Centre Campus, on the 36-acre KAO Park development.

Fittingly, the new campus in the Harlow Enterprise Zone is on the exact site synonymous with pioneering discoveries in telecommunications. In the 1940s it was the birthplace of the wartime navigation system OBOE, invented by Alec Reeves and in 1966, engineers Charles Kao and George Hockham made one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in the post war era. By discovering how to transmit light over long distances using optical glass fibres, their discovery changed global communications forever and paved the way for a host of modern innovations, including broadband internet.

Each building in the £250 million KAO Data Centre Campus will be split into four halls, totalling around 150,000 square feet of net technical space. Each technology suite will be capable of supporting a 2,175kW IT load, representing a total technical load of 8.7MW per data centre. JCA has worked closely with power utility contractor Matrix Networks, which has installed the UKPN adoptable 33kV/11kV 43.5MVA sub-station, that’s providing the capacity to support the whole campus.

Ian Jackson, Chairman of JCA, commented:

“Over the past 13 years, JCA has built a reputation for excellence in its core marketplace, which has enabled the business to win a range of new, large-scale engineering projects, involving design, planning, build, procurement, installation and maintenance of critical infrastructure. We were delighted to be appointed by KAO Data for the delivery of KAO Data London One which is on schedule for completion before the end of this year.”

Paul Finch, Chief Technical Officer, KAO Data, said:

“The discovery of fibre optic technology on this site fifty years ago, has been fundamental to the world’s economic development. The KAO Data Campus encapsulates this legacy and reaffirms the UK’s position as a global business hub. We are proud to be working with JCA Engineering on London One, which aims to deliver market leading efficiency. Our technical infrastructure will provide the highest standard of data resilience and operational sustainability, making it ideally placed to support local and international businesses.”