Modernising existing infrastructure is a big challenge for utilities. One water company is currently undertaking a large upgrade of its telemetry assets, entrusting the project to its multi-disciplined engineering solutions provider. Part of the upgrade involved selecting reliable custom enclosures for critical network communications equipment. Consequently, the contractor approached leading enclosure manufacturer, Spelsberg.
Switching from physical to digital
In the past, the water companyβs telemetry assets have transmitted key information via the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Data regarding pump operation, water levels and more is sent to a main control room, where operators respond accordingly to information received. To modernise its network, reduce downtime and eliminate the maintenance associated with physical lines, the water company is currently upgrading to digital communications for this equipment.
Initiating the project, the water company approached its framework contractor, which needed to source custom enclosures to house a battery, universal power supply (UPS) and a 3G or GSM router.
Sourcing a bespoke enclosure
An engineer at the framework contractor, who was tasked with designing a solution, commented: βThese sites vary wildly, from full size brick buildings to small roadside kiosks. This meant the enclosures had to be compact to fit within all these pre-existing installations. They would be located outside too, so weather protection was important.
βWe also needed a transparent cover, so that water company maintenance engineers could immediately see equipment faults and alarms without opening the enclosure. I did a lot of research into possible suppliers, and the dimensions as well as the available customisations of the Spelsberg enclosure fitted perfectly with my design.β
Engineers initially selected a 400 mm x 300 mm GEOS enclosure, with the internals modified to house the equipment. Featuring durable glass reinforced plastic (GRP) construction, a transparent lid, a mounting plate and an IP66 ingress protection rating β the GEOS proved to be ideal for most of the telemetry sites. However, the variance in assets would present the contractor with an additional challenge.
Sometimes it takes two
βSome of the installations have so little space available, that occasionally we canβt use the GEOS,β the engineer explained. βTo overcome this, I proposed a split design, with two separate enclosures linked by a cable. This allowed us to fit everything within tighter spaces.β
Again, Spelsberg had a solution. Two 250 mm x 180 mm TK PS enclosures enable the equipment to be split between them, improving space efficiency. The versatility of the Spelsberg range, as well as the businessβ highly flexible customisation service, has allowed every enclosure design requirement to be met.
Custom solutions in quantity
However, like any large-scale project, the framework contractor required a high quantity of the enclosures backed by reliable delivery. This was something else that Spelsberg could provide.
βSo far, we have used well over 2,000 enclosures during this project and will require many more in the future. Delivery has been good throughout, and weβve never had delays due to a shortage,β the engineer said.
The high manufacturing capacity offered by Spelsberg has ensured that despite the increased complexity of the designs, the two enclosure models can be mass produced to meet customer demand.
Ticking the boxes for water utilities
The water company is planning to upgrade all its telemetry assets to digital communications, with Spelsberg enclosures helping its framework contractor to deliver this large, ongoing project. Once complete, the upgrade will greatly simplify network maintenance, reduce downtime and improve the resilience of the telemetry network β all contributing to highly reliable, modernised water infrastructure.
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