Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 3, 2020 (SKNIS): Personnel from the Electrical and Maintenance Divisions in several Government departments and agencies are now equipped to operate four Airman diesel brushless generators housed at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouse.
There were some nine participants representing NEMA, the Public Works Department, The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force, Her Majesty’s Prisons and the St. Kitts-Nevis Fire and Rescue Services. They were able to benefit from the short training course on Tuesday 28, 2020, which was organised by NEMA and held at its headquarters.
The generators were among several other items procured by the Japan International Cooperation System on behalf of the Government of St. Christopher and Nevis under Japan’s Grant Aid for Economic and Social Development Programme. The Deputy National Disaster Coordinator at NEMA, Claricia Langley-Stevens, explained that the generators would allow the Agency to be able to provide power to some of its shelters during the hurricane season. She went on to add that through the training there would now be other persons who could assist with the operation and maintenance of the generators in various communities. Additionally, if any of the agencies were to request the use of the generators, they would already have members of staff trained to use them.
“The company would have paid for us to have technical assistance in terms of understanding every working piece of the generator and we have four, but we are going to use one for the demonstration…,” Mrs. Langley-Stevens told the participants. “Just bear in mind that the Agency will call on you if it becomes necessary and we have to commission more than one generator.”
Civil Engineer, Wynyard Esprit, facilitated the session as the representative of Pro Engineering Design Consultants (PENDEC).
“Basically, what I did was represent the company from Japan that won the contract to supply the equipment. We have an arrangement with them to do the installation and training aspect to the end user. So basically, I was focused on the generator – the operation and maintenance plan,” said Mr. Esprit. “It’s a diesel engine. It takes about 70 litres of fuel. It’s dual phase, which means it can give outputs of 110 volts and 240 volts. The frequency is from 50 up to a maximum of 60 hertz. The output wattage is 14.4 kilowatts per hour.”
The training covered the protocols to follow to switch the generator on and off, as well as maintenance measures such as checking the oil and the filters. The instruction manual will also be shared with each participant.
