Critical Communications & Control Center, Electrical System Reliability Upgrade

Market Sector(s):

Ports

Customer:

Port of Seattle

Project Location:

Seattle, Washington

The Port of Seattle wished to replace the existing critical power system serving SeaTac Airport’s Combined Communications & Control Center (C4) area, which supports a 911 call center, the Airport emergency operations center and communications for their fire and security operations. The specific areas involved included the existing uninterruptable power supply (UPS) room, areas where the power distribution units are located, and routes for electrical raceway connecting these areas.

The Challenge:

Reliability of the power supply to the C4 area is paramount. The area includes critical facilities that must be supplied with a highly reliable power source. The existing critical power system in the C4 area was less than 5 years old but had failed to meet expected reliability targets.

Interruptions to these critical electrical loads would be unacceptable during construction.

The Solution:

Harris Group used the following strategies, developed with the Port, to ensure the design met reliability requirements without exceeding the established capital budget:

• New critical power system equipment used only highly reliable, well-characterized technologies.
• Wherever practical, redundancy was provided. The existing dual utility power feeds were maintained. Power from the two existing emergency generators was separated into two separate feeds.
• Existing equipment which had proven unreliable was removed, particularly the digital, solid-state static transfer switches.
• A very detailed construction sequence was developed to closely coordinate with each of the 8 construction phases detailed on the contract drawings.

The Benefits:

Close coordination and interaction with the stakeholders, over and above the normal review process, allowed the design to address their needs and concerns for this critical use facility. This heightened level of coordination also allowed the design team to communicate and receive buy-in on system priorities which were partially driven by the limits of the capital budget. This project has not been constructed.

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Overview	Market Sector(s): Ports Customer: Port of Seattle Project Location: Seattle, Washington The Port of Seattle wished to replace the existing critical power system serving SeaTac Airport’s Combined Communications & Control Center (C4) area, which supports a 911 call center, the Airport emergency operations center and communications for their fire and security operations. The specific areas involved included the existing uninterruptable power supply (UPS) room, areas where the power distribution units are located, and routes for electrical raceway connecting these areas. The Challenge: Reliability of the power supply to the C4 area is paramount. The area includes critical facilities that must be supplied with a highly reliable power source. The existing critical power system in the C4 area was less than 5 years old but had failed to meet expected reliability targets. Interruptions to these critical electrical loads would be unacceptable during construction. The Solution: Harris Group used the following strategies, developed with the Port, to ensure the design met reliability requirements without exceeding the established capital budget: • New critical power system equipment used only highly reliable, well-characterized technologies. • Wherever practical, redundancy was provided. The existing dual utility power feeds were maintained. Power from the two existing emergency generators was separated into two separate feeds. • Existing equipment which had proven unreliable was removed, particularly the digital, solid-state static transfer switches. • A very detailed construction sequence was developed to closely coordinate with each of the 8 construction phases detailed on the contract drawings. The Benefits: Close coordination and interaction with the stakeholders, over and above the normal review process, allowed the design to address their needs and concerns for this critical use facility. This heightened level of coordination also allowed the design team to communicate and receive buy-in on system priorities which were partially driven by the limits of the capital budget. This project has not been constructed.