Eating an Elephant

Upgrading security systems in an existing facility that wasn’t designed for computer technology can seem like trying to eat an elephant. To reduce such a complex project to bite-size pieces, you need to know the location of every circuit.

In Albany, Ore., the Linn County Sheriff’s Office recently completed a $3.9 million security access and controls replacement project at a jail where systems failures had been a daily occurrence.

“We were spending a lot of time ‘putting out fires,’ and that was taking time away from other maintenance tasks,” said Hans Stangier of Linn County Sheriff’s Facilities Maintenance Department. “It was obvious that we needed new systems.”

Constructed in 1988 and expanded in 1991 and 1996, the 238-bed facility’s electrical and mechanical systems had reached the end of the equipment’s expected operational lifetime. Failures of the HVAC, electrical, fire alarm, sprinkler and security system components were routine.

Jail officials selected Electrical Construction Inc., a large local electrical contractor with extensive experience in industrial controls and systems installation, to install a new control system from Montgomery Technologies Inc. (MTI) of Greenville, Ala.

The original security control system used standard electromechanical switches and relays in a hardwired configuration. Although the system used ‘common’ components, it was difficult to understand, isolate and repair any system component failures. There was a steep learning curve for the service technicians, significant delays returning the system to service, and substantial costs for maintenance and repair.

The new MTI system is a fully integrated, micro-processor-based PLC controller that uses a data highway to communicate between system components, with fully-socketed active components interfacing to doors, intercoms and other facility equipment. The time required to return the system to service has been reduced to minutes instead of hours or days.

A challenge was presented by the extremely poor condition of the original installation. Since it was necessary to install temporary control panels during the new equipment installation, it was necessary to make as-builts of the entire building.

We were immediately confronted by the lack of as-built electrical drawings of the facility. There were the original construction drawings, but they did not reflect the actual installation. It was essential to know exactly what was in the building and how it was constructed, since it was going to remain occupied and operational during the project.

I began by having the crew survey every circuit and control system in the facility. This was accomplished in large part by using advanced circuit tracing equipment, coupled with the crew’s experience, to determine what equipment was connected to which circuit and comparing this list to the existing panel schedules. In many instances, there was no correlation to the schedules. In cases where there were indeterminate results to the testing, the crews resorted to a physical hand-search of the conduits and conductors.

In doing so, they uncovered many deficiencies that occurred during the original construction. There were many cross-connections between electrical panels, mixed neutrals, and high levels of harmonics that were damaging computers and other data processing equipment.

One unexpected finding was that the facility was getting ‘battered’ by very high-energy transient voltage spikes generated by the welding shop at a locomotive repair facility in the area that shared the same high voltage utility power system. In one month, there were 677,512 over-voltage spikes recorded at the facilities service entrance.

The original engineering was reasonable for the era the building was constructed, but the installation was done before computers had such a large role in jail management. Electrical systems are notoriously difficult to inspect, so it was easy for inadequacies to go undetected by local inspectors. We were replacing more than 10 percent of the systems and had to bring everything up to code.

In addition to the security controls replacement, the electrical crews also replaced the existing Cutler-Hammer 800 amp main service, emergency transfer gear and 22 distribution panels with new Square D equipment, all in one night. Transient voltage protection was installed in every branch circuit panelboard that feeds electronic equipment, with a full-facility suppressor at the main service entrance, to virtually eliminate the over-voltage spikes.

The zone-based fire alarm system was also replaced over the course of the project with an addressable system from Simplex. A substantial amount of engineering was required to retrofit the power and fire alarm systems into the existing plant, provided by Square D and Simplex. We had to be careful not to disrupt the building’s operational 911 Dispatch Center. We had to know what equipment every circuit affected, not simply guess, and have a clear plan of operation, in pain-staking detail, to achieve the desired result.

Architect Frank Berg performed the oversight of the project, along with Joshua Dodson of Milstead & Associates, a project management firm located in Clackamas, Ore. Every aspect of the project was evaluated for cost-effectiveness to stretch budget dollars.

“We developed a close relationship with our contractors and relied on them to evaluate options and present them to us for final approval. If we wanted three options; they gave us five, in depth,” said Dodson. “We liked that.”

What is the key to success on a project of this scope and complexity? The first thing to understand is that a project of this type is bigger than most people imagine. It falls outside of the realm of their experience, even for established contractors. It is also a very hostile environment, with many risks and pitfalls. In an occupied facility, the project can take three or four times longer, and this costs money.

Second, get the very best company that you can to do the job, not the cheapest. If a candidate contractor thinks remodeling jail systems is going to be quick and easy, you might want to look for someone else. Everything about this project is going to be about the installation, and you want the best installers.