THE NATIONAL Commercial Bank (NCB), Jamaica Limited has installed stand-by generators and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units valued at over US$4 million in its 52 branches and facilities islandwide.
The UPS systems cost US$1.7 million; the generators cost US$1 million, installation cost US$1 million and electrical upgrade cost J$49,500. This is part of NCB's commitment to invest substantially in the country and also to improve the efficiency and the comfort of its customers and staff.
The project which began in August 2002, is also in preparation for the bank's plans to introduce the e-business alternative to customers but more importantly, the installation of the UPS system and generators will eliminate the loss of valuable man-hours when there is a failure in the public electricity supply.
Consultant project manager and engineer to NCB, Steven Rasmussen, said that following his assessment of all NCB facilities, he noted how uncomfortable conditions became for customers and staff within these locations during power outages.
"We had to ensure that at all times NCB could function to its full potential. To achieve this, stand-by generators have been and continue to be installed to ensure all electrical services can and will be maintained. Critical equipment, such as computers, servers, printers, security systems and telephone exchanges, is supported at all times by the installation of UPS systems at all facilities," Mr. Rasmussen said.
The first set of UPS units arrived in the island on October 1, 2002 and by October 7, installation began. Mr. Rasmussen and his team of very efficient local contractors worked a gruelling schedule - sometimes at three branches in one night.
By December 1, 2003, all the UPS units were installed. As part of the same project, a complete electrical upgrade of all NCB's facilities were carried out but due to the intensity of the UPS installation project, stand-by generators were only installed at critical sites. This project will culminate in April.
"In the event of an interruption to public electricity supply, with the complete installation of UPS systems and stand-by generators, all of NCB's facilities will now be able to function at 100 per cent capacity," Mr. Rasmussen said.
