Way back when, I used to work in the Gas industry, supervising all new industrial and commercial installations across Wales.

Which got me to thinking, I don’t remember ever doing a design for a government building or military installation~ could it just be coincidence, or are their specialist departments for such matters~ say you had a secret bunker, who would design and install the utilities (not just Gas, but Electric, Water, etc (perhaps even Air Supply if necessary)?

What about something more obvious like Buckingham Palace, or the Whitehouse?

I’d imagine it would be the same design team that do the bunker that do the paperwork.

As for installation I know there are stories of folk (usually BT) visiting Corsham for maintenance work before it became known, always under heavy Official Secrets Act cover. The initial installation may well fall under MOD scope (certainly for ultra secret stuff like bunkers) but for the more plain sight stuff like MI6 and GCHQ it will fall to contractors vetted to a suitable level for each fit phase.

I also work with someone who has done wiring at Faslane, that was just contract work so nothing special there (though to be fair it’s a fairly normal base).

Work in electricity. There are situations where they hey are bulk customers. We deliver it to the gates and they deal with it from there on in with their own people.

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you…

We have industrial lasers for that:

Makes you think.

Obvious stuff will just be on grid with a UPS. Secret stuff is unlikely to have a gas supply I’d have thought and will have a cable to the gate/edge of the field by grid the/DNO and generators on site, designs will be done by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation or one of their contractors, but secretly. You/your company would need to be on the supply framework for DIO to do the connections so if you weren’t you wouldn’t have.

What about things like fuel supply pipelines to Air Force Bases n stuff?

Asking for a friend

This friend, he doesn’t have a beard does he?

I’ve got a map somewhere of all the major fuel lines & depots, where shall I email it?

No unless it’s one of those ones she stashes away for incognito moments…

I’ve got a map somewhere of all the major fuel lines & depots, where shall I email it?

mashinupdembabylonnting@badass.net please

Google GPSS its no secret so that mongtards like my firm don’t shove water pipes etc through it. Same with gas transmission and major underground power/comms

I’ve worked in telecoms and electricity etc on various air force bases, nuclear research centres, defence facilities etc many are managed by private sector defence companies like Qinetiq or Babcock
Normally a slightly more rigorous vetting procedure to qualify for work but it’s not exactly any secret closed shop type arrangement or anything

That sounds like the bitter voice of experience.

We nearly direct drilled the elan valley aqueduct once. Goodbye Shropshire!

I work in the electricity industry – have done for many years. Our current activity has resulted in us going through more rigorous security checks than would be normal for conventional site access. (As Iain states above).

Our current activity has resulted in us going through more rigorous security checks than would be normal for conventional site access.

Do you have a beard?
No
OK, then you’re in.

do you have a beard

… we were offered some guidance that the clearance process would be much quicker if the team had ‘regular British names’.

I work in water and often certain sites have ‘special arrangements’ that only certain individuals in an organisation know.

Interestingly while working on the new sewer tunnel going under the Thames, when looking at shaft sites they had to be cleared with certain government security departments. On two when looking for clearance the response was ‘you can’t put a shaft there’ which makes you think, well what’s underground there then?! One was near MI6 mind :-))

On two when looking for clearance the response was ‘you can’t put a shaft there’ which makes you think, well what’s underground there then?! One was near MI6 mind :-))

Q’s secret lab

Rob beat me to it 😉

I remember when we were bidding for some MoD sewage treatment contracts that we had to take the batteries out of our ‘phones before going on site! 😯

Anywhere sensitive will probably take your phone off you.

^^ yup. Leaving your phone in a locker at security office. Pathetic how lost I feel without it.

Then there’s the time when my car was parked outside their security office from the moment I got there until I left. I pulled up to the barrier and they insisted on searching the boot. Id only driven the thing 20yds on their site. Clearly just nosy or box-ticking.

Anyway the back of the car was full of 24hr race gubbins … tent, bike shoes, etc all stinking!

we were offered some guidance that the clearance process would be much quicker if the team had ‘regular British names’.

So, quite a few named ‘Dave England’ then 😉

Not utilities specific but I have a mate who worked as a studio/sound engineer for BBC radio from late 60’s to mid 90’s and it was part of his job back in the day (height of the cold war etc) to visit the secret broadcasting stations in London and the surrounding area, these stations were designed as totally self contained in case of attack (food stores,toilets,filtered air supply,water tanks/sleeping quarters etc) to be used for radio broadcast of information to the public – some of these stations were hidden in the most unlikely locations and he had to periodically go round them and test the equipment and broadcast the test frequencies which would be picked up by the other stations around the country, quite a nerve racking job i imagine as if/when these stations were ever to be called into action then that meant a tactical nuclear strike was imminent and the BBC/Government of the day would broadcast on all frequencies warning and advising the public as the bombs continued to drop.

Obviously he never disclosed to myself any specific details nor locations of such stations (locks front door, closes curtains, lights off) – i keep telling him to write his memoirs as he’s led quite a life working at the BBC and recording sessions alongside some of the biggest musicians of the 60’s/70’s/80’s but he’s not interested in spilling the beans publicly.

On two when looking for clearance the response was ‘you can’t put a shaft there’ which makes you think, well what’s underground there then?! One was near MI6 mind :-))

Might be a bluff? I say this only as I’m reading a book on the British WW2 double cross operation to fool and decive the Germans.

Various levels of security vetting & official secrets act & away you go…. 😐

Telecoms here, spent the past few years working in such sites, again various levels of vetting and clearances along with industry specific and site specific training/certs to cover events that could happen at such sites.

Last place I worked, somebody’s phone rang whilst on a site visit to a building where phones weren’t allowed. Phone was confiscated and taken straight to the cyber security team to be dismantled and analysed. Owner was escorted off site and not allowed back in.

One of the sites I train a clients team at – I’m allowed my phone inside BUT it’ll only work in one specific area because they allow the specific number to be allocated a hopping frequency, hence the reason for allowing it.
Nothing else will anywhere near there.
Not a radio, walkie talkie, etc – nothing.
Total black spot.
Flip side of that is getting a call from “someone’s boss” with enough electronic noise in the background to know they were somewhere they probably shouldn’t have been asking how an anchor kit worked in “idiot terms please so its quick” 😆