Adventures at the WCEC

I suppose the breakdowns over the weekend at the West Central Events Centre are not really adventures, but the ride in dealing with them seems like it. Here is what has happened over the last few days:

• pilot lights blown out due to the wind,
• water pipes burst,
• air pipes froze, and
• 2 roof units shut down for an unknown reason Saturday.

Each of these incidents was unrelated to the others.

• the pilot lights blew out a couple of days apart due to the wind coming down the vents.
• the water pipe is on the north east side of the Events Centre burst because of the extreme cold.
• the air pipe on the south west corner of the Events Centre froze due to the air exchanger being too close to the pipe.
• the roof units were on the roof and unrelated to the other systems.

Unfortunately the ramifications have been challenging:

• the pilot lights blowing meant problems for the Zambonis affecting ice quality.
• the burst water pipe blew a hole through the gyp rock and like a geyser hit the far wall across the Klipper dressing room:

Water punched a hole through the gyp rock and into the Klippers' room. Dec 9, 2013.

• it could be considered spectacular if it wasn't for the damage and inconvenience,
• the Klippers are now using two dressing rooms near their original room; we don't know at this time how long the repairs will take to restore the Klippers' room.
• the air pipe freezing caused the sensors to think the water pressure was low due to the use of the fire suppressant thus triggering the fire alarm. The picture below is of frozen condensation out of the air pipe.

• the shut down of the roof units meant the lobby couldn't be heated up,
• the Stanley Cup on Saturday with the doors being mostly open made it hard for staff to realize there was a problem with the roof units.
• the discovery of the malfunction occurred first thing Sunday morning when they walked in and the lobby was cool.

Administration has been methodical in dealing with the issues identifying why they happened and developing the action steps necessary to ensure the incidents are unlikely to happen again. Some of the action steps are quick wins while others will take time and money to implement.

The contractors, including our insurer SGI, have been quick to respond to the needs of the Event Centre and the Klippers. For the record: our insurance covers this and the Klippers are covered as well. The Town's deductible for this incident is $5,000.

If you have any questions please speak with Jeni at the WCEC.

Here are some photos of the work areas that have been effected by the weather.

The area near where the water pipe burst.

 

Another picture of the room where the water pipe burst

Most of the Klipper dressing room with the stalls and flooring stripped out. Crews were on site around 10:00 this morning.

The ceiling of the Events Centre: design problems leading to maintenance problems leading to expensive repairs in the future. Hopefully further down the road then closer; at least we are now aware of the problems. The problem: too many pipes over too large an area without proper access for maintenance. The fix: redesigning the location of the pipes for ease of access for maintenance purposes.

An inside look at one of the maintenance rooms. This part is above the equipment with the frozen air pipe.

There you go: a brief tour of the operations end of the rink. Sorry, no Zamboni room this time.