NEC Display Solutions Client Installation Control Room

BRISTOL WATER

FACILITATING OPERATOR EFFICIENCY

Bristol Water upgrades its monitoring equipment to include a new streamlined display system comprising a videowall, large format display and workstation displays to enhance operator efficiency.

Bristol Water is responsible for the water supply to nearly 1.2 million people in the Bristol area. Its statistics include a region of 2.400 sq.km (926 sq. miles), over half a million individual water supplies, 6,600 km (4,100 miles) of water mains, 16 treatment works, 164 pumping stations, 14 raw water reservoirs and 139 covered storage reservoirs.

The Challenge

Bristol Water’s Headquarters are to the southwest of the city centre and in common with similar organisations, its monitoring needs and their associated technology has developed piecemeal, in Bristol Water’s case over a period of nearly 20 years. This meant that there were over 20 display monitors being used, resulting in an inefficient workspace for the monitoring staff.

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The NEC Solution

The overview display consists of six 55-inch NEC X551UN LCD high-definition displays with ultra-narrow bezels configured in a 3x2 videowall, plus a separate 65-inch NEC V651 LCD. A professional-grade panel capable of 24/7 operation, the MultiSync® X551UN display features direct LED backlight technology providing even illumination over the entire videowall. This is supported by a free-standing structure from Thinking Space, which eliminates the need for the room wall to provide structural support.

Designed with ergonomics in mind, the new workstations, subcontracted from SBFI, are tailored for two operators, each outfitted with three 23-inch, LED back-lit NEC EX231WP LCD displays on fully-adjustable mounts. The MultiSync® EX231WP delivers superior picture quality and wide viewing angles with a minimalist, ultra-slim design.

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A factory-wired central rack contains support equipment, including a Dexon videowall 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 source for the overview display.

A Crestron TPS-6 touchscreen controller and remote KVM controls are installed on the main operators’ console. This touchscreen controller enables the selection of a number of preset videowall configurations. The image processor allows any source image to appear at any size anywhere on the display.

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 videowall. 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.

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The Result

The videowall 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 new display installation helps to provide improved monitoring of the Bristol Water network, and gives the monitoring staff much improved and more efficient working conditions. It is a good example of how Electrosonic and NEC can work closely with a customer to ensure a control room display system meets actual user requirements in an economical and practical way.