Aviation keeps Britain connected and defended, but not all of the work that makes that possible happens at a passenger terminal or on board an aircraft. At RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, specialist OCS engineers have strengthened the high-voltage infrastructure behind one of the UK’s most important operational air bases.
Hundreds of miles south at Imperial War Museum (IWM) Duxford, OCS integrated facilities management teams help keep a working historic airfield and internationally renowned aviation museum operating every day, preserving aircraft, buildings and stories spanning generations of British aviation.
One supports the capability helping defend Britain today. The other preserves the aviation heritage that helped shape it.
The environments could hardly be more different. Both depend on experienced people, specialist expertise and standards that hold when it matters most.
RAF Lossiemouth: powering the frontline
RAF Lossiemouth is one of the UK’s most important operational air bases, supporting frontline aircraft including Typhoons and the UK’s maritime patrol fleet. As operational demands grew, the base required a major high-voltage infrastructure upgrade to strengthen resilience, increase capacity and prepare the estate for the future.
OCS was appointed to deliver the £9.24 million design-and-build programme, part of the wider £350 million Lossiemouth Development Programme. The works upgraded multiple 11kV substations and installed a new 33kV primary intake substation, adding a new 10MVA grid supply and additional 11kV standby generation.
The aircraft may be the visible part of Britain’s defence capability, but they depend on resilient infrastructure on the ground. At RAF Lossiemouth, OCS’s role was to strengthen that infrastructure without disrupting the live operations it supports.
Critical infrastructure, zero unplanned outages
Delivering infrastructure of that scale would be complex anywhere. Doing it inside a live, highly secure military environment raised the stakes considerably. The programme required strict compliance with Ministry of Defence standards, security protocols and health and safety governance. Work on 11kV and 33kV systems required specialist high-voltage engineering, detailed switching strategies and carefully controlled outages.
The new primary intake substation also had to be integrated with the base’s existing distribution network through carefully sequenced commissioning. Every system was tested, commissioned and brought into the live environment through controlled transitions.
The result: zero unplanned outages across the programme.
The value of a self-delivered service
Crucially, OCS self-delivered the core high-voltage infrastructure. Specialist capability and accountability therefore remained within one team from design through installation and commissioning, reducing interfaces between multiple contractors in an environment where coordination and control were critical.
The team’s expertise also remained useful beyond handover. OCS trained the base team on the new SCADA system and continued to provide technical support and advice after completion.
“From start to finish, everyone involved from OCS has shown themselves to be professional, reliable and eager to promote a collaborative approach, which was essential with so many stakeholders involved.
“The HV technical knowledge within the team is impressive, and their ability to pass this on through training on the new SCADA system was invaluable to the local site team. They are always on hand to offer support and advice well past handover. The service provided really is above and beyond what is expected.”
Marc Whyte
M&E Manager for Scotland North, DIO
At RAF Lossiemouth, keeping aviation moving means ensuring the infrastructure behind the frontline is resilient enough to support what happens above it.
IWM Duxford: keeping aviation history alive
Several hundred miles south, OCS supports a very different part of Britain’s aviation story.
IWM Duxford combines a working airfield, internationally renowned museum, education centre and major events venue. It welcomes visitors from across the UK and around the world while preserving aircraft, buildings and stories that span generations of British aviation.
For Louise Croft, OCS Soft Services Site Manager at IWM Duxford, arriving at work means arriving among that history every day.
“It’s not like coming to a traditional place of work because you have so much history around you, and there are so many stories here.”
Louise Croft, Soft Services Site Manager, OCS
Over a decade of support
OCS has supported Imperial War Museums for more than a decade across a portfolio that includes IWM London, Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast, IWM North and IWM Duxford.
At IWM Duxford, the service extends far beyond keeping a museum clean. OCS delivers reception, portering, cleaning and specialist cleaning, waste management, pest control, washroom services and event support, while a parallel engineering operation provides planned and reactive maintenance seven days a week.
Together, those teams help keep a historic estate, live airfield, public attraction and events venue operating at the same time.
When 31,000 visitors arrive
The value of that experience becomes particularly visible when demand peaks. During the Summer Air Show in July 2026, more than 31,000 visitors came through IWM Duxford across a weekend of flying displays. OCS teams helped prepare and maintain the site throughout, while the everyday operation continued around them.
“Everybody has a lovely time, and it all happens behind the scenes. They don’t see us, but everything goes like clockwork.”
Louise Croft, Soft Services Site Manager, OCS
That apparent simplicity comes from considerable preparation.
Investing in our people
Air shows require barriers and event infrastructure to be positioned, public areas prepared and security measures put in place. Earlier in the 2026 flying season, OCS supported the planning and deployment of specialist event infrastructure across the site, coordinating activity around changing event footprints, weather conditions and flying schedules.
OCS has invested in training and licensing colleagues to operate the specialist equipment required for work like this, increasing the capability held within the site team and allowing it to respond to more of what the customer needs.
Building experience into the team
Experience at IWM Duxford is not only about how long people have been on site. It is also about making sure that knowledge is shared and giving colleagues the opportunity to take on more.
Jonas Damiense is a good example. He joined the IWM contract at IWM London as a porter before moving to IWM Duxford, where he has progressed to Assistant Site Manager. Along the way, he has developed his knowledge of a complex site and gained additional skills, including qualifying as a telehandler operator.
For Louise, that progression has strengthened the operation and given Jonas the opportunity to build his career.
“Jonas joined us from IWM London as a porter and has worked his way up to become Assistant Site Manager. He’s a huge support to me and someone I trust completely. He knows the site inside out, takes ownership of what needs doing and is always willing to step in wherever he’s needed. He knows everything I know. We work together, and if one of us is away, it doesn’t stop.”
Louise Croft
Soft Services Site Manager, OCS
It is particularly important on a site like IWM Duxford, where knowledge of the estate matters. Supporting a working airfield, listed buildings, irreplaceable museum collections and major public events requires people who understand how the different parts of the site interact.
Developing that understanding across the team means experience does not sit with one person. It creates greater resilience for the customer while giving colleagues a route to progress.
At the same time, business as usual does not stop.
“Working with the teams across the whole site to deliver the airshows is always a key project for us. Our engineers still have their business-as-usual work to do while being on hand to sort out the set-up for the individual vendors on site. We all work together to deliver the different events, because we are reliant on each other to make sure they are successful.”
Victoria Thursfield
Account Director, OCS
That is what peak demand looks like from behind the scenes: thousands more people, additional infrastructure and changing requirements, while the site itself still has to work.
Engineering around irreplaceable history
Even on an ordinary day, Duxford is not an ordinary estate. Many of its buildings are listed, and the collections around them can be irreplaceable. Engineering work therefore has to be planned around the very history the site exists to protect.
“Working on a live airfield and with the public makes it very different to a corporate office environment. The site is listed, so any changes to the buildings have to be done carefully and in consultation with the museum.
“We are also working around museum collections with many items that are irreplaceable, so we work closely with the museum to organise access. That can involve them moving a tank or an aircraft for us to reach a specific engineering asset, so it takes careful planning with the museum’s Collections team.”
Victoria Thursfield
Account Director, OCS
It is also a practical example of integrated facilities management. The colleague preparing a public area for thousands of visitors and the engineer maintaining the infrastructure behind it ultimately contribute to the same outcome: a safe, operational site.
For Cova Montes, OCS Contract Director for the IWM contract, that integration is one of the strengths of the partnership.
“OCS does hard and soft services, so we work in partnership- soft and hard services, the engineers. It shows when it comes to going beyond and above. We work as a real team. We support each other.”
Cova Montes, Contract Director, OCS
From the bases that defend Britain to the aircraft that helped shape it
RAF Lossiemouth and IWM Duxford sit at very different points in Britain’s aviation story.
At RAF Lossiemouth, OCS has delivered critical high-voltage infrastructure supporting a frontline RAF base, strengthening the resilience and capacity needed for the aircraft operating there today.
At IWM Duxford, the OCS integrated facilities management teams work around listed buildings, irreplaceable collections, and a live airfield, helping preserve aviation history while keeping a major visitor attraction ready for everyday operations and events that bring tens of thousands of people through its gates.
One supports Britain’s modern defence capability. The other preserves the aircraft, places and stories that helped shape it. What connects them is work that largely happens out of sight: specialist engineering, careful planning, integrated facilities management services and people who understand the purpose of the environments they work in.
Keeping Britain moving is not only about getting people from one place to another. It is about protecting the capability Britain depends on today and preserving the aviation heritage that helped get us here.
Because every journey matters.
