Generating electricity from garbage may be an inglorious and cumbersome task, but waste-to-energy power provider American Ref-Fuel Co converts nearly 1 million tons of solid waste into fuel for its Westbury, NY facility's 72 MW turbine generator. In addition to providing an efficient energy source for 65,000 homes, the process provides a safe, practical, and efficient waste management solution.
Plant manager Steve Bossotti realized that a new video surveillance system would help to improve plant operations by facilitating the smooth flow of materials and enhancing efficiency. The original video system, installed in 1989, simply did not offer the performance, versatility, and features that Bossotti envisioned. He assigned maintenance manager Ken Hinsch and electrical / instrumentation and controls supervisor Anthony Notaro the task of scoping out the plant's specific camera needs.
Selecting a Vendor
Senior E/I & C technician Jorge Hernandez, who was responsible for installation of the plant's original CCTV system, began investigating possible vendors. After visiting Panasonic Security Systems' website, Hernandez realized Panasonic offered the requisite systems technology. With a Panasonic National Certified Dealer located virtually in his backyard -- Intelli-Tec Security Services of Westbury, NY -- Hernandez knew they could get increased functionality from a new system coupled with expert local support to implement all of its capabilities.
Hernandez and Notaro met with Marty L. McMillan, president of Intelli-Tec and seasoned video surveillance specialist with over 28 years of experience, who offered several possible system solutions to meet their requirements. During the initial site tour, McMillan immediately identified several installation issues his team would need to address as a result of the hostile environment in which the system would be deployed.
McMillan recognized that the restrictive conditions would increase the installation time required, yet Intelli-Tec needed to minimize downtime at the plant during the complex installation process. The installation schedule -- including the coordination of timing and duration of each area's shutdown -- was critical to the success of the project and was placed in the hands of Matt McMillan, vp of operations at Intelli-Tec, and Hernandez. McMillan's expertise in handling special video surveillance installations was to be put to the test. To expedite the installation process, Hernandez and Notaro provided McMillan with OSHA's safety guidelines and American Ref-Fuel's plant procedures. While the equipment was on order, McMillan had the Intelli-Tec installation team complete the certified safety training classes so they could meet American Ref-Fuel's immediate installation schedule.
Monitoring Key Areas
At the inception of the design phase, Hernandez and Notaro emphasized that control room operators needed the ability to monitor each key area of the plant.
"It is critical that our operators can see if there are any disruptions in the process, starting with our east and west crane operations, which begin the process," said Hernandez.
Two Gantry-style cranes with claw-type grapples load tons of garbage into one of three hoppers, which feed massive burners to heat the system's boilers and drive the steam-driven turbine. The garbage dropped into each hopper moves across burners at a controlled rate on six separate metal roller grates; ash and residue exit on the opposite side and are dropped into a conveyor belt system, which passes through vibration machines where the residue and ash are sorted by size. The cameras that monitor the three hoppers allow the crane operators to spot large metal objects such as car engines, refrigerators, or air conditioners, which must be quickly removed from the process to avoid jams.
The problematic old video system that monitored these areas consisted of three monochrome tube cameras in standard interior housings that were connected with a sequential switcher. A small 9 in. BW monitor was installed in each crane's cab for operators to view the three hoppers. The arrangement required the crane operators to take their eyes off the crane grapples to view the screens, while manually switching cameras to the appropriate hopper.
Marty McMillan solved this problem by designing a hands-free system with a display that showed all three cameras on one single large screen. With space at a premium in the cockpit-style crane operator's cab, McMillan specified a 20 in. LCD flat screen monitor with a quad view of the three hopper cameras. With the fourth video channel open, McMillan added an additional camera view from the tipping bay area, where refuse is dumped from garbage trucks and loaded into the refuse pit to be picked up by the two cranes. This provided the crane operators with a clear view of all the hoppers instantaneously, without manually selecting the desired camera, as well as the tipping bay floor, which is out of the crane operator's sight.
Dealing With a Harsh Environment
To achieve high video quality in the dimly lit environment, McMillan selected Panasonic's WV-CL924A CCD cameras for their extreme low-light capabilities, coupled with Panasonic's 5-50 mm auto-iris varifocal lenses. To avoid the high costs associated with shutting down the plant, McMillan specified that the cameras be placed in Panasonic's dry-nitrogen pressurized camera enclosures to protect them from dust and other caustic elements.
The installation of the Panasonic WV-CL924A CCD cameras and sealed enclosures required special PVC-coated galvanized steel conduits and fittings to protect the video cable from debris and caustics.
"Once we got the new cameras running, the operators and management could not believe the high-resolution color video they were watching," said McMillan.
American Ref-Fuel also had several old pan/tilt/zoom cameras installed around the perimeter of the plant that had been rendered virtually useless after years of neglect due to their inaccessibility for servicing. McMillan suggested removing the old units and replacing them with new Panasonic dome camera systems mounted on the rooftop in parapet mounts so they could be easily serviced and cleaned when necessary. Vandal- and weatherproof housings were also specified for the exterior dome camera systems to provide the highest levels of protection for the equipment.
Exterior Surveillance
McMillan selected Panasonic's WV-CW864 Dome Camera Systems for exterior surveillance. The units' 22x zoom lens, high-speed pan/tilt operation, 510-line high resolution, and exclusive Super Dynamic II technology with day/night operation offered the ideal combination of features for operation 24/7.
All of the Panasonic WV-CW864 Dome Camera Systems are designated for plant operations as well as security. Rooftop PTZ cameras view various plant areas, allowing the different trash haulers to be seen entering and exiting as they drive to the tipping bay to deliver refuse to the site. Wall-mounted WV-CW864 Dome Camera Systems are used to view the tipping bay area where the trucks dump their loads. To insure that the plant keeps running cleanly and efficiently, another PTZ camera provides management with a view of the cooling tower.
The Panasonic cameras are controlled with a combination of three networked Panasonic WJ-SX150A Matrix Switchers, a Panasonic WV-CU650 Controller, and three Panasonic WJ-MS424 Color Quad Multiplexers. A Panasonic WV-HD316 Digital Video Recorder handles the high-resolution recording of the 16 most critical areas. All of the systems' components are linked using Panasonic's PS-Data protocol to capitalize on the integration capabilities afforded by each of the units in the system.
The system is designed for ease of use and is controlled via the Panasonic WV-CU650 joystick controller. Matrix switchers are configured with one master and two slave units to accommodate the multiplexed monitoring assignments for the crane cabs and the centralized control room operator's station. All 16 cameras are simultaneously displayed on a Panasonic TH-42PWD7UY 42 in. Plasma Display in the facility's control room. There are three processing lines, each consisting of four critical areas of concern: the hopper, burner, ash sorter, and ash tail. Each area of the three lines is displayed, by station, in sequence of their operation using the three WJ-MS424 Color Quad Multiplexers and on three 21 in. Panasonic WV-CM2080 Color Monitors in the control room.
The Panasonic WJ-HD316 is interfaced with the facility's network, allowing the plant manager to monitor virtually the entire operation from his office. Site managers from other American Ref-Fuel facilities with access to the company's network can also monitor activity at the Westbury facility. Working closely with Hernandez and Notaro, Matt McMillan and the Intelli-Tec team completed installation of the state-of-the-art video management system in just four weeks.
"The Panasonic video surveillance system designed and installed by Intelli-Tec will provide a large return-on-investment for American Ref-Fuel in terms of the comprehensive control, documentation, and accountability the system provides us," said Hernandez. "The high-resolution color images are far beyond what we expected -- although it is exactly what we needed."
"The Intelli-Tec installation team did an outstanding job," said Steve Bossotti. "This was not an easy installation, given the restrictive working conditions we have at the plant. Intelli-Tec and Panasonic delivered the high-performance system they recommended at the onset of this project -- and more. The Westbury facility is now the showcase for American Ref-Fuel and we look forward to Intelli-Tec and Panasonic completing similar installations at other plants across our company."
