Powering up a man camp

Flying workers in and out of remote drilling locations can be an expensive and logistical nightmare. Man camps – modular mobile housing with full amenities – are now springing up all over North America in response to the need for temporary accommodation. A drilling company in remote West Texas asked us to power up a 500-person camp on ten 20 acre parcels of land and make it feel like a home away from home. They know that a comfortable workforce is a productive workforce, so the camp came equipped with recreational spaces, medical services and 24-hour security – all of which need round-the-clock power.

Because people worked on shift rotations it was critical that all amenities had power day and night. Our three 300 kW generators with backup units provided power to all the accommodation units and ancillary buildings, which meant that workers on 12 to 16 hour shifts in the field didn’t have to return to dark living facilities or areas where a partial power failure had shut down communal areas and kitchens. The inbuilt flexibility meant that when it was time to relocate, or power-down the operations, the power units could be transported with the camp or easily dismantled.

Our temporary set up helped the client lower operating costs and deliver consistent power comparable to that of a utility. We helped the client avoid potential loss of productivity associated with inefficient operations or downtime in its maintenance department, and helped provide personnel with living conditions that made being away from home – and their creature comforts – that much more bearable. We also built backup units in the system so there were no outages at any time.