Electrosonic Streamlines New Display System for UK’s Bristol Water
London (June 18, 2013) – When the UK’s Bristol Water decided to completely upgrade its operational control room, it tasked Electrosonic with engineering a streamlined new display system, which includes a video wall and processing equipment, a big-screen display, workstation monitors and consoles.
Bristol Water is responsible for the water supply in the Bristol area for nearly 1.2 million people, covering a 926 square-mile region. The facility’s monitoring and associated technology were developed piecemeal over the last two decades, resulting in more than 20 display monitors and a cluttered, ineffective workspace for the monitoring staff.
To rectify the situation, Electrosonic worked with the Bristol Water project staff to install a new overview display comprised of a video wall and big-screen display; provide new workstation furniture, including operator displays; and engineer and install a central control rack, including image processing equipment. The new display system helps provide improved monitoring of the Bristol Water network and gives monitoring staff much more efficient working conditions.
The overview display consists of six 55-inch NEC LCDs with narrow mullions configured in a 3x2 video wall, plus a separate 65-inch NEC LCD. The video wall is supported by a free-standing structure from Thinking Space, which eliminates the need for the room’s wall to provide structural support.
Designed with operator ergonomics and welfare in mind, the new workstations, subcontracted by Electrosonic from SBFI, are tailored for two people, each of whom is outfitted with three 23-inch, edge-lit NEC LCDs on fully-adjustable mounts.
A factory-wired central rack contains support equipment, including a Dexon video wall image processor, an Adder KVM switch, a Freeview satellite receiver, a Crestron room controller and an Extron audio amplifier. It also has space for eight PCs, which were installed by Bristol Water staff, and serve as the main image sources for the overview display.
Electrosonic also supplied a Crestron TPS-6 touchscreen controller and remote KVM controls, which are installed on the main operators’ console. This touchscreen controller enables the selection of a number of preset video wall configurations. In addition to this normal mode of display, an operator can, if necessary, take full control of the video wall by accessing the image processor through the KVM switch. Numerous image sources available in the control room are typical of this kind of installation.
An alarm monitoring system is the single most important display. Permanently connected to the 65-inch display, its content is also available in greater detail on the video wall. It is supported by dual computers that receive data through a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system, and monitors all of Bristol Water’s pumps, water levels, flow rates and more.
A GIS (Geographical Information System) maps the precise location of all the Bristol Water assets and provides map data for the location of incidents and personnel.
An SMS (Short Message Service) Board handles much of the staff communications. All messages are logged as they are sent, and the board displays all the latest messages; the board can also scroll to show earlier messages.
The entire Bristol Water system is covered by security monitoring. Principal status information and related images are available on a security display in the control room; if an incident is detected, the camera nearest to the incident is automatically selected for display.
For safety and practical reasons, a lone worker display pinpoints the location of each worker engaged with routine inspections or investigating minor incidents. This source does not impose any additional tasks on the lone worker since it is implemented by automatically tracking the worker’s cell phone or handheld radio position.
Finally, a TV news channel display often offers the quickest way of receiving meteorological, incident and relevant news information, which might affect the operation. The default channel at Bristol Water is BBC News 24, but any Freeview channel can be selected.
The video wall has a default configuration, which places the various image sources at preferred positions. The display can be instantly reconfigured via the touchpanel when particular tasks need to be carried out or if an incident occurs. The image processor allows any source image to appear at any size anywhere on the display.
The Bristol Water installation is a prime example of how Electrosonic works closely with customers to deliver systems that meet user requirements in an economical and practical way.
About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.
Gemma Fabian
Marketing Manager
gemma.fabian@electrosonic.com
44 (0)1322 282353
About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.
Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit http://www.electrosonic.com
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