Established in 1858, Macy’s is an iconic retailing brand with over 740 stores operating coast-to-coast and online. Their location at Fayette Mall is one of their top performing stores.
The main switchboard at the Fayette Mall location was originally installed in the early 1970’s. It was at the end of its life expectancy. During an emergency electrical event, it was discovered that some of the switchboard’s switches were not operable, posing a dangerous condition. Parsons worked with Macy’s to develop a plan to replace the switchboard and keep the store open during their normal operating hours.
This project involved precise planning with the switchboard manufacturer so as to minimize re-work of the existing feeders from the switchboard, several of which were routed underground. Complicating the task was an existing feeder busway that was directly connected to the switchboard through the top.
The majority of the work was done at night after the store closed. A temporary generator was provided to keep the store powered during its normal business hours. During the replacement, a couple of electrical code violations were corrected. All of the work was completed in 7 days.
An engineering study including short circuit, time current coordination, and arc flash was included in the project.
