What Can TEC Automation Actually Do With Switchboards?

Facility managers and project teams often want to know what TEC can actually handle before they put us on a shortlist. Here’s a straight answer to the questions TEC Automation gets asked most often, from Co-Director Ryan Smith.

What does TEC actually do in the switchboard space?

“We design, manufacture, custom build, and build to spec,” Ryan says. TEC covers general distribution boards, main switchboards, control system switchboards, and mechanical services switchboards (MSSB), all done in-house from design through to finished product.

Who does TEC build switchboards for?

Power & Water Corporation, Territory Generation, Defence contractors, and a range of commercial and industrial clients across the NT. For Territory Generation, TEC built custom designed panels for critical compressors supplying air to pneumatic equipment on the generators that power Tennant Creek. For Defence, TEC supplied a dozen pump control panels for Tindal RAAF Base in Katherine, providing critical monitoring and automatic controls across the site. Both jobs involved custom design and full Factory Acceptance Testing before anything left the factory.

What’s the most complex switchboard job TEC has done?

The LIA heritage buildings project at RAAF Darwin. A contractor called TEC in after their existing crew wasn’t delivering, giving TEC five days to build four switchboards, program the PLCs, get everything to site, commission it, and hand over a working automatic system in front of Defence consultants. Staff worked 12 to 16 hour days, with everything designed and built from scratch. “The original contractors were multinational companies. We’re a local business with a local crew,” Ryan says.

That first stage rolled into a second stage of 30 more buildings, ending with 40 buildings total commissioned, including automatic climate controls for mould prevention and energy saving.

Where does the work actually happen?

TEC builds switchboards in a weather-controlled room at its factory on Marjorie Street in Pinelands, Darwin, protecting both materials and team. The workload runs across three teams: engineering handles design, quoting and procurement; administration manages part ordering and logistics; the technical team handles assembly, with engineering returning at the end for high-level testing and installation of automation and control equipment.

How does TEC keep a client informed through a long build?

TEC sits down with the client at award to go through the design and flag any red flags early. Once parts are ordered, the client receives a list of what’s been ordered and due dates, with long lead times flagged in advance. Progress photos and reports follow as the build continues, and the client attends the factory for Factory Acceptance Testing before the switchboard leaves TEC’s hands.

Why does this matter for a switchboard project?

Switchboards are critical infrastructure. When they fail, things stop, and the cost of a poorly built switchboard is far greater than the cost of doing it properly the first time. TEC has built switchboards for Power & Water that go to remote sites and need to run for 10 to 20 years without drama. That’s the standard the team works to.

See our switchboard maintenance article for what ongoing care looks like once a switchboard is in service, and read about a recent example of TEC’s remote switchboard work in the Daly River flood recovery project.

If you’ve got a switchboard project coming up, get in touch to talk through what’s involved.

Phone: (08) 8968 9484 | Email: info@tecautomation.com.au | Web: tecautomation.com.au