When one of the UK’s fastest growing hotel chains needed electrical safety testing, facilities maintenance partner Marshall called in Epsilon Test Services to handle a complex and demanding schedule

A new Travelodge opens, on average, every eight working days. The budget chain now boasts more than 300 hotels across the UK. A challengingly large network indeed, but it is imperative for the chain’s reputation that every single room performs at the highest level. And as any contractor worth his salt knows, this includes maintaining compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

Yet the 24/7 nature of the hotel business creates a tough testing schedule. Marshall was the first port of call when Travelodge needed electrical support. As one of the chain’s main building contractors, the firm has had a long relationship with Travelodge as it has expanded over the years. Marshall subcontracted Epsilon Test Services to help with the demanding programme.

“We were obviously delighted to win this contract in partnership with Marshall,” says John Harbutt, Epsilon operations manager. “But we quickly realised that it was going to take a distinct approach to fulfil it.”

The electrical testing of Travelodge hotels encompassed more than 78 400 appliances and around 63 600 circuits. Phase one of the contract was executed in just three months and encompassed 175 hotels. The remaining 75 were dealt with during the second phase.

At the start of the contract Travelodge had some priority sites that called for an immediate response. These were dealt with while the main programme rolled out.

The requirements of the manager for each hotel site were followed, and in some cases this meant one or two engineers spending extended periods of time at the site, only able to gain access to test bedrooms as they became available during unpredictable turnaround times. In bigger hotels teams of up to eight engineers were sent to flood the site and conduct all the testing rapidly within a tight window of opportunity.

“While the deal was done at a national level, the arrangements for testing had to be made with the duty manager of each hotel individually,” says Harbutt. “They call the tune when it comes to access and they are especially vigilant in avoiding any loss of room availability.”

Unlike an office building, where engineers can work their way steadily across each floor, many of the hotel rooms were occupied overnight for many consecutive nights, so it was necessary to test in a random pattern.

“Our engineers worked with each of the hotel managers to ensure rooms were clear before testing began,” said Harbutt. “We also had to be mindful of guests in neighbouring rooms, so all 140 engineers were briefed to adopt a quiet approach.”

Every engineer is equipped with wireless-enabled PDAs, running tailor-made software, to transmit results from their handheld testers back to the central server

Methods varied significantly, as there are a number of different types of hotel within the group. Motorway or roadside hotels tended to rely on a standard format, whereas city centre sites were larger and had portions of rewiring, or more than one incoming supply. A number of hotels had also been extended, making for an even more diverse technical fabric.

Epsilon engineers faced some interesting challenges on site. Portable appliance testing (PAT) and fixed installation are usually run as separate disciplines, but hotels have some unusual wiring that calls for combined-testing skills. Kettles, lights and other appliances within rooms may be plugged in or, alternatively, hard-wired in as a spur. This turns a PAT item into part of the fixed wiring and hence needs to be dealt with differently.

A major factor that influenced Marshall’s choice was Epsilon’s investment in IT systems.

“Every engineer is equipped with wireless-enabled PDAs [personal digital assistants], running tailor-made software, to transmit results from their handheld testers back to the central server,” says Marshall. “Once these tests are checked and verified, the results are automatically posted onto an intranet that’s available by password access to both the FM project team and the client.”

Epsilon has received a good deal of industry attention for its application of pioneering technology and has won the DTI Award for Innovation and Beacon status.

Mike Lea, Travelodge head of facilities, was more than satisfied with the results and praised the programme’s smooth running.

“Epsilon and Marshall worked excellently with the hotel operation teams and together they overcame any hurdles and delivered to our scope of works on time and within budget.”

The future looks healthy for Travelodge. The hotel chain aims to add an average of 40 hotels each year, taking its total to around 1000 by 2020. If the group delivers on its prediction, it will own a 10% share of the entire hotel market.

And that’s enough to put any facilities management team to the test.