Commercial Building

North London

TI’s intrusive electrical lifecycle survey that replaced a proposed Ā£1.1M full switchgear rebuild with a targeted Ā£150K remedial programme.

The Saving

£1.1M vs £150K

The original scope, priced as a full capital replacement, against what our client actually invested.

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Originally Proposed
Ā£1.1M
Full tenant and landlord switchgear scoped as a major capital project.

Deliver-icon
Delivered by TI
Ā£150K
Ā£15k intrusive survey & analysis + Ā£135k targeted remedial works — every critical fault resolved.

VS

Over Ā£950K saved — roughly 86% lower cost, with no full-building shutdown required.

Commercial Building

North London

Project Snapshot

review
59
Assets surveyed
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23
Faults found, 5 critical
cost
Ā£150K
Total programme cost
delivery
3
Delivery phases

The Situation

Original infrastructure

This Building is a 130,000 sq ft Grade A office building running on its original 1970s–80s electrical infrastructure. Our client had already received a proposal for a full switchgear and transformer replacement, priced and scoped as a major capital project.

Our Approach

Condition, not age

Before committing, Our client asked us to look first. We opened every panel, tested every busbar connection, and catalogued 59 assets floor by floor — an intrusive survey a visual appraisal simply can’t replicate.

What We Found

Five safety-critical faults

Identified through a full intrusive inspection, alongside a wider set of lower-priority improvements completed in the same programme.

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Unprotected busbar connection

A board wired straight onto the live 400A busbar with no fuse or isolator between them.

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A "dead" board, still live

A disused board remained energised and connected to the live busbar.

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An exposed busbar

A live busbar cover was held by just one of its four fixing screws.

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A switch under stress

A poorly terminated cable forced a main switch out of alignment.

Our Process

Electrical Lifecycle Testing

Every TI survey follows the same four-stage method — evidence before decisions, decisions before capital.

1. Asset data review
What records actually exist.
2. Intrusive testing
Open, measure, evidence.
3. Condition report
Every item prioritised: Critical, High, Medium or Low.
4. Remedial works
Delivered against agreed priorities.
Delivery
Phase 1
Upgraded the main panels
48 obsolete breakers replaced with modern equivalents on the existing, structurally sound panels.
Phase 2
Resolved the busbar faults
Every remaining critical fault fixed in one coordinated shutdown.
Phase 3
Completed the remaining works
Water-damaged boards replaced and overdue inspections cleared in unoccupied areas.

The Result

5/5
Critical faults resolved
59
Assets now on a full register
0
Full building outages needed

Stop replacing electrical infrastructure on a guess

Talk to Terra Instinct about electrical lifecycle testing first.

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