Engineering for resilience

Improving reliability means anticipating the conditions that threaten it. NELSON's engineering work focuses on hardening power systems against the events most likely to cause failure. Our proven approaches include:

• Storm hardening to protect facilities against the forces of severe weather and the high winds that bring down conventional systems.

• Underground placement of critical lines to remove them from exposure to storms, debris and surface hazards.

• Flood elevation to raise vulnerable equipment above anticipated water levels, safeguarding facilities in low-lying and coastal locations.

Beyond physical hardening, our licensed engineers apply advanced power system modeling tools and conduct power system studies and performance analysis (including harmonic and system reliability studies) to identify and address vulnerabilities before they become failures.

Reliability where it matters most

Some environments leave no margin for failure. In addition to public utilities, much of our work has been at standalone industrial facilities that need to generate their own power, sometimes under highly isolated conditions—such as offshore platforms. These projects are satisfying to work on because they offer the opportunity to see the entire process of generating and delivering electric power in a very compact space.

In these settings, we design for redundancy and reliability from the outset, because the consequences of failure can be significant for both the industrial process and the staff it supports. Our electrical engineering capabilities span low- to high-voltage systems design, power generation and cogeneration systems, and multidisciplinary coordination across industries including oil and gas, marine, mining, refining and utilities.

Expertise built over decades

NELSON's depth in this field is not theoretical. Our staff members have participated on the code-writing committees of national professional organizations including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and American Petroleum Institute (API), helping to shape the standards that govern safe electrical design across the industry. That involvement reflects a commitment that has defined NELSON for more than 80 years: applying rigorous engineering to the systems others take for granted.

Whether you are upgrading an existing facility or planning a new one, NELSON can help evaluate your electrical system and develop solutions to improve reliability, resiliency and safety. We would be happy to work with you to keep the power on.

If your operation depends on uninterrupted power (and few do not!), now is the time to evaluate its reliability. Whether you need to upgrade an existing facility or address reliability concerns in an initial design, NELSON's engineers can help. 

Contact Tom Wells at tom.wells@wsnelson.com or Marcel Danos at marcel.danos@wsnelson.com to discuss your facility's needs. Because you don't miss your water until the well runs dry—and by then, it's already too late.