Southeastern Energy Company Operations Center Case Study
A video wall and KVM control room solution is designed to support grid operations during severe weather.
Organization
Southeastern Energy Company
Location
Southeastern U.S.
Market
Energy
Solutions
Barco, Draper, Legrand AV, Q-SYS, Windy City Wire
A southeastern energy company in the U.S. launched a new facility, a central hub for tracking power grid activity and weather patterns.
The company needed a new video wall and control solution across its control, simulation, and meeting rooms to support daily operational and collaboration needs. The system had to give operators centralized information to support operational response and situational awareness. Furthermore, it had to operate in harsh weather conditions. Key tech needs included:
- Instant content switching with a single keyboard and mouse
- User-friendly content sharing for teams and vendors to any screen
- Realistic training scenarios in multiple environments
The energy company had a relationship with Barco, a longtime AVI-SPL partner. Beyond the capabilities and requirements above, the solution had to incorporate Barco technology. Following a Barco recommendation, the energy company selected AVI-SPL to design, deploy, and manage the Barco-driven solution.
Control room design for centralized monitoring and redundancy
“One of the big challenges you have in the Southeast is ensuring systems work in harsh weather conditions,” Eric Mills, AVI-SPL Project Manager, said. “So, we designed this solution so that, should it fail, control room workstations stay on.”
AVI-SPL and Barco engineers selected TruePix direct view LED and Unisee video walls, and Barco CTRL, a keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) platform.
Barco CTRL enables operators to switch between transmission, distribution, and renewable energy monitoring with a single mouse and keyboard. Additionally, users can easily share content to any video wall in any space.
TruePix video walls deliver large-format views of system maps, alerts, and dashboards in the large control rooms.
In addition, Unisee LCD video walls give employees additional viewing options for situational awareness and multi-source monitoring.
AVI-SPL utilized Draper mounting for video wall support, Legrand AV racks for Q-SYS audio control and computer hardware, and Windy City Wire cabling.
Flexible integration and communication power on-time deployment
AVI-SPL coordinated with the energy company and kept deployment on schedule.
The integration team installed the dvLED video wall and KVM control solution across three large control rooms and two large training spaces. Additionally, KVM control and LCD video walls span five medium-sized rooms and a meeting space.
The dvLED video wall footprint totals 3,400 square feet.
Bringing the solution together
Barco CTRL connects 64 control stations, each displaying content across eight monitors.
18 video walls cover 12 spaces. 2,400 ports connect across 43 racks, with over 60,000 feet of cabling.
Real-time tracking and coordination support grid operations
Now, the southeastern energy company can oversee and respond to transmission, distribution, and renewable energy systems from any workstation.
Live control rooms allow employees to:
- Access multiple sources via one interface
- Manage power distribution
- Monitor outages
- Coordinate responses during grid failures and storms.
In training rooms:
- Operators can practice workflows and response scenarios.
- Teams and vendors can also share content to any display easily.
- Real-time monitoring and training support outage response preparedness and operational continuity.
As part of the project’s scope, AVI-SPL is continuing to work with the energy company, providing Elite Plus Support.
Build a future-ready command and control center
AVI-SPL regularly designs and deploys AV solutions for command and control centers that support monitoring, coordination, and rapid response during critical events.
Contact us today to start planning your next command and control center.
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