Visualisation software controls car park lights

Control of the external lighting and car park extraction fans at the Fort Shopping Centre, in Birmingham, UK, has been upgraded with the installation of cutting edge technology by Eaton Electrical.

Control of the external lighting and car park extraction fans at the Fort Shopping Centre, in Birmingham, UK, has been upgraded with the installation of cutting edge technology by systems integrator Eaton Electrical.

The original system, based on early Mitsubishi Electric controller visualisation software, had been in operation since the centre was opened in 1996.

As one of the premier retail venues in the area, Fort's management does everything necessary to maintain its pre-eminent position and its vital contribution to the local economy.

Mitsubishi was again called on for the new system, which is based on its MX4 systems visualisation software package, launched at this year's Hanover Fair, and a network of its micro FX series PLCs.

MX4 is available in several versions to provide optimal control in a wide range of installations, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) applications.

The industrial pedigree of this equipment is particularly fitting as the centre is built on what was once the manufacturing heartland of the city.

Its robustness is much appreciated by the site engineers as their control system is equivalent to that of a major production plant, with thousands of I/O points that have to perform 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

MX4, which is modular so that it can be tailored to meet the needs of any application, provides detailed analyses and logging functions for all switching data.

One of MX4's most outstanding features is 'zero downtime', which is achieved through standard redundancy functionality implemented in the program to reliably protect systems against failures, providing the constant reliability sought by the Fort team for customer safety and total security.

Duplex I/O server technology and redundant connections ensure that no data are lost in the event of a computer failure.

With its advanced security features MX4 gives a cost-effective and reliable hardware and software solution.

The lighting control is divided into sections for individual car parks, roads, signage and toilets.

Likewise, each car park has its own extraction control.

Fire and emergency evacuation systems are controlled separately for maximum security.

Each of the areas is controlled by one or more FX PLCs, each configured to its task by the use of clip-on modules, which provide functions such as timers, temperature monitoring, overrides, presence detection, and ambient light level monitoring.

The Ethernet communications module makes it simple to link the PLCs to the overall MX4 system, for quick and easy data exchange and ready site visualisation from the control room.

The FastLinx communications concept integrated in to MX4 makes configuring PLC communications easier than ever before and greatly simplifies communication between the hardware and the software.

In effect, MX4 is up and ready to use as soon as it is connected, and projects can be configured in minutes, a feature that allowed the changeover to the new system to appear seamless to tenants and visitors.

"There used to be a wall of switches in the control rooms", said Gary Roberts of Eaton.

"But that has now been replaced by an elegant and easy to use visualisation screen".

"The operators love its simplicity, compared with finding there way through the old maze of manual switches".

"One of the objectives of the project was that the trademark blue cold cathode lighting that highlights the centre from the M6 motorway would never go out - something we achieved with ease".

Back to top