Customer Stories

Delivering the Three Rs of Monitoring

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-5- Technology&more collected and recorded the data in an SQL database. From there, technicians could extract data to create maps, charts and graphs needed for meetings and client reports. As part of creating the customized system, Giles defined alerts that would be issued when the software detected changes or motions that exceeded specific levels. The alerts, sent by email or text messaging, enabled rapid reaction to changes in the field. The team created customized alarm triggers to provide information including tolerances for displacement, with pre-programmed alert levels at 8 mm, 15 mm and 20 mm (0.3, 0.6, 0.8 in). Other sets of alarms monitored instrument maintenance and detected damage to an instrument or prism or if the line-of-sight to a prism became obstructed. By using the T4D filtering to manage who received the alarms, Owsianka established a new level of security. If an alarm were triggered, an email alert was sent to three selected members of the Morgan Sindall monitoring team. One of the members could then immediately log onto the system—even from home—and analyze the data to decide if action and further alerts were necessary. Typically, an initial alarm was triggered if measurements revealed prism movement of 8 mm. The data was compared to the tilt sensor system and the prism was then "watched" over the next three monitoring cycles to detect any changes. Giles described an example of the system's performance. An alarm triggered at 8 mm, alerting the three members of the Morgan Sindall team. They monitored the affected prism through subsequent cycles and no further movement was detected over the next three months. Network Rail was advised of the 8-mm alarm from the outset, but because no action was necessary, Morgan Sindall's filtering process prevented distraction to other parties. Later, when a second alarm was triggered at 15 mm, the monitoring team immediately alerted Network Rail and stakeholders with full confidence that the alarm was genuine. The track was realigned in less than 12 hours. Producing Information from Data Morgan Sindall produced a daily monitoring report detailing any recorded movement (including a graph if an alarm had been triggered) as well as reports for weekly Review Panel meetings. Additionally, all the data was uploaded in Crossrail's preferred format to the underground construction information management system (UCIMS). The customized reports enabled Morgan Sindall to quickly observe and analyze trends and present their findings in formats preferred by project stakeholders. Giles is happy with the system performance. "Managing the monitoring in-house has brought us innumerable benefits— including satisfied clients and stakeholders," he said. "Should significant movement in the track occur, there is no ambiguity and trains can be stopped immediately." Morgan Sindall has delivered on the requirements for a robust, reliable and repeatable system. Read feature in Rail Engineer UK's February issue: www.railengineer.uk Left to right, Chris Hind, DLR; Pawel Owsianka, Morgan Sindall; Nick Giles, Morgan Sindall and Darius Rindeika, DLR, collaborated on the monitoring efforts. One of more than 600 prisms attached to the track. The Trimble software combined optical measurements with data from tilt sensors. Measurement data for a single prism reveals changes in three dimensions. Each prism was measured on an hourly cycle.

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