Success in the air for EMR with communications installation for UK offshore transmission system

~ High-speed microwave radio links deployed at Greater Gabbard offshore substations to transport critical plant information including wind turbine data ~

 

Dunboyne, Co Meath, Ireland, Wednesday, 25th November 2020:  EMR Integrated Solutions, a leading SCADA network and wireless telecommunications provider, today announced the completion of a communications project for the Greater Gabbard offshore transmission assets located off the coast of Suffolk in the United Kingdom.

The upgrade involves the deployment of 100Mbps resilient microwave radio links, specifically designed for marine applications.  The links, located at two offshore  substations, will transport vital plant information including wind turbine data, ensuring uninterrupted operational information to the onshore transmission SCADA system.

Commenting on the project, Roger Morgan, general manager of Greater Gabbard OFTO, said:

“We agreed on the most efficient solution which was mindful of people’s safety, the installation methodology and the project costs. It has been a big success story for us.  Everything is working well and it is a rock-solid, robust solution for our needs.”

The team at EMR recommended the use of Advanced Space Diversity technology which uses fewer antennae for microwave connectivity as Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR explains.

“Three antennae, rather than the traditional four, provide a hybrid system with two separate paths.  If one path is degraded due to tidal effects, the system immediately switches to the second path without any alarm or interruption. This provides reliable traffic pass-through of data as well as quicker deployment and more cost-effective project costs when compared to fibre-based interconnector replacement.”

As always with offshore installations, the main challenge was access to the substation platforms during periods of bad weather, meaning the project had to be completed during suitable weather windows.

EMR have a proven track record for delivering robust, high-throughput, low-latency solutions for mission-critical remote sites with plant-wide SCADA applications, such as windfarms and oil and gas terminals.

ENDS

EMR keeps Enerco Energy trading with comms upgrade across windfarm portfolio

  • Comms infrastructure upgrade completed at 15 onshore windfarms stretching from Cork to Mayo
  • Secure, resilient network carries reliable trading data with maximum network uptime
  • Helps Enerco Energy meet its data reporting requirements for regulatory purposes
  • Announcement coincides with EMR’s exhibitor presence with Enterprise Ireland at the Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference


DUNBOYNE, CO MEATH, IRELAND, Wednesday, 28th October 2020: 
Leading SCADA network and wireless telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has completed a communications infrastructure upgrade at 15 onshore windfarms for independently-owned renewable energy provider, Enerco Energy.

Stretching from Cork in the south to Mayo in the west, the upgrade provides a secure, robust and resilient communications network allowing Enerco’s energy trading desk to have ‘always on’ access to reliable windfarm data and meet its regulatory reporting requirements to grid operator, EirGrid.

Announcement of the deal coincides with EMR’s exhibitor presence at the Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference, which starts today and takes place virtually until 30th October, 2020.

Commenting on the project win, a spokesperson for Enerco Energy said:

“EMR provide us with a level of comfort in that we know our forecasters are getting the data they require in order to trade efficiently and effectively in the market.  With changing regulatory requirements, we had to be able to provide real-time, reliable power data to the grid operator and EMR have helped us to achieve that.”

The EMR team performed a discovery exercise at each windfarm and issued a set of network design recommendations, based on telecoms availability at each site.  Fully redundant satellite backup links with automatic failover were deployed, mitigating the risk of network downtime.

A multi-layered information security solution was also configured, protecting the integrity of sensitive trading data as it traverses the internet.

Alan Feenan, director of communications sales with EMR said:

“Enerco Energy leans on the EMR team for the depth of its IT and networking skills.  We’re Enerco’s eyes and ears and they trust us implicitly with their most commercially sensitive data.”

The EMR team has built up significant expertise in the onshore wind sector, with similar projects completed at windfarms for Greencoat UK Wind and Greencoat Renewables, across the UK and the island of Ireland.

The Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference remains open for registrations and the team at EMR welcome virtual visitors to its exhibitor booth. Run jointly by RenewableUK and Scottish Renewables, the conference brings together 400 speakers, over 70 other exhibitors and 22 live sessions, which aim to take a deep dive into the role of offshore wind in the green economy.

EMR is part of the Enterprise Ireland pavilion, which includes six other Irish organisations, addressing the global offshore wind market.

Tickets can be purchased here:  https://events.renewableuk.com/gow20

Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR

EMR appointed Authorised Channel Partner for GE’s Grid Solutions business across UK and Ireland

Dunboyne, Co Meath Ireland, 18th August 2020:  Leading utility network and wireless telecommunications specialist, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced its appointment as an Authorised Channel Partner for GE’s Grid Solutions, a division of GE Renewable Energy.

The relationship recognises EMR’s deep technical expertise and commercial success in designing, deploying and supporting communications infrastructure for utility networks across the UK and Ireland.

EMR will offer GE’s extensive portfolio of wireless connectivity solutions to its customers across the water, wind, solar and energy distribution sectors.

GE’s market-leading technology supports EMR’s commitment to provide resilient, reliable and efficient communication networks to utility operators and independent power producers evolving to a smarter, greener, more resilient grid.

Commenting on the relationship Alan Feenan, sales director at EMR said:

“Our business is growing strongly, particularly in the UK.  Utility operators are increasingly engaging with EMR as we provide the turnkey services they require to realise their digital transformation plans.  The depth and breadth of GE’s product portfolio coupled with our integration and service wrap is a compelling proposition and one that continues to strike a chord across multiple sectors.”

The team at EMR is currently involved in extensive communications projects including one for a major electricity utility, where it expects to deploy up to 8,000 radios over a three-year period.  It has just completed a communications network and cybersecurity upgrade at over 100 sites for a major solar farm owner, combining GE’s advanced technologies and professional services from the EMR team.

Giovanni Puppo, senior regional sales leader Europe, Russia & CIS with GE’s Industrial Communications group within Grid Solutions believes the appointment of EMR to the partner program will serve to support GE’s market development plans in Europe.

“To reinforce our worldwide leadership in deploying hardened communications networks for industrial and energy companies, it’s key to collaborate with partners that can deliver, and have the required skills and experience to represent us.  That’s why we are excited to work with EMR and have them represent us part of our Value-Added Reseller network.”

The addition of GE’s line of industrial communications solutions to EMR’s partner eco-system signals continued investment in training and technical certification and enables the company to continue on its upward business trajectory with high profile contract wins such as Severn Trent Water, Greencoat UK Wind, Affinity Water, SSE and Enerco Energy.

-ENDS-

About GE’s Grid Solutions

Grid Solutions, a GE Renewable Energy business, serves customers globally with over 15,000 employees in approximately 80 countries. Grid Solutions helps enable utilities and industry to effectively manage electricity from the point of generation to the point of consumption, helping to maximize the reliability, efficiency and resilience of the grid. For more about GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business, visit www.gegridsolutions.com.

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Pic above is Alan Feenan, communications sales director with EMR

COVID-19: We’ll keep you connected

STATEMENT FROM MARK QUINN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EMR INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

 

The team at EMR continue to provide our clients with a combination of uninterrupted field and remote support.

And whether you need engineering services to keep your telemetry networks online, or two-way radio handsets to keep your staff safely connected, our full team is here to serve.

We’re very conscious that much of our work involves the support of critical national infrastructure across energy, renewables and water in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Our field engineering teams and remote staff in our Network Operations Centre are working as normal to manage support requests as they arrive.

We have adopted strategies to minimise risk exposure for staff, all of the team and our clients.  We continue to work in a safe and secure environment that respects the current advice from government and public health authorities.

Let’s get through the difficult weeks and months ahead together and please reach out to us if there’s anything we can do to help.

We hope you all stay safe.

EMR strikes oil with major communications upgrade for country’s leading petrochemicals manager

EMR strikes oil with major communications upgrade for country’s leading petrochemicals manager

Utility network and wireless telecoms supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced the deployment of a high performance, two-way radio solution for the Common Oil Pipeline (COP) located at Dublin Port.

Based on Motorola Solutions technology and managed by COP operators, Hugh Munro and Co, the system eliminates blackspots by providing improved radio coverage for staff and boosts health and safety compliance with lone worker tracking via integrated GPS.

The COP is a critical piece of infrastructure with over two-thirds of all petroleum fuel imported into the country, coming through this pipeline network that runs from the port jetties back to the tank farms of each individual oil company.  Organisations operating at Dublin Port include household names such as Applegreen, Calor, Circle K, Tedcastles and Valero.

Commenting on the deal, Peter Murphy, managing director with Hugh Munro and Co said:

“We have a long-standing commercial relationship with the team at EMR.  They have always demonstrated a deep understanding of our business that helps us to deliver for our clients.”

Design of the two-way radio system had to take into account the hazardous nature of the environment.  Motorola’s range of ATEX DP4801Ex portables met that challenge head on, delivering high quality audio, integrated GPS, text messaging and full-colour displays with day/night mode to make reading text messages easier.

The deployment of extra base stations throughout the facility helps to eliminate several blackspots and in a clever twist of technology, a custom-built Call Point was designed.

This Call Point is used by the on-site fire warden to communicate with port staff and has at its core, Motorola telemetry radio.  Once activated, radio signals can remotely open the jetty gate on demand.

A five-year managed service brings management and monitoring of the radio system to a new level, with a greater degree of proactivity.  And a managed service financial model, negates the need for large-scale, upfront investment as the cost is spread over a five-year cycle.

“We designed a robust solution based on best-in-class Motorola Solutions technology. Motorola’s robust design philosophy coupled with our managed service ticks all the boxes for Peter and his team.”

Mark Quinn, managing director with EMR

 

Pictured left to right above are:  Mark Quinn, Managing Director, EMR, Peter Murphy, Managing Director, Hugh Munro & Co and Dean Reardon, Account Manager, EMR

AIRSIDE SAFETY: Pic l-r: Rioch Farrelly, Operations and Quality Engineer, CLH Aviation Ireland, Mark Quinn, Managing Director, EMR and Dean Reardon, Account Manager, EMR

EMR boosts airside safety at Dublin Airport

Dunboyne, Co Meath, Ireland, Wednesday, 14th August 2019:  Leading SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced the introduction of an airside emergency fuel shut down system for Dublin Airport.

The system, which allows staff to immediately cut jet fuel supply to the underground fuel hydrant following the accidental release of fuel at aircraft stands, significantly boosts airside safety for staff and the 30 million passengers that pass through the airport annually.

Based on Motorola wireless radio technology, the emergency stop system consists of eight emergency shut down enclosures located at fixed points in Pier Four, where the airport’s new underground fuel farm is now live.  A fleet of 16 mobile fuel support vehicles have also been fitted with emergency stop buttons.

“We were under huge time pressure to get this emergency system in place,” said Rioch Farrelly, operations and quality engineer with CLH Aviation Ireland.

“The system had to be fully operational before the underground hydrant went live.  The team at EMR were extremely knowledgeable and they brought that expertise to bear in the design, planning and deployment of a quality system, which was completed within a matter of weeks,” he said.

Each enclosure consists of an emergency button connected to a Motorola radio, which when triggered sends a telemetry signal back to SCADA system located in the CLH operations centre.  This immediately shuts off the fuelling valves and halts the flow of jet fuel.  The system provides remote, real-time status reports on the emergency enclosures, negating the need for manual checks by airside staff.

The enclosure also includes a front-mounted security camera to capture the image of the activator.*  It records 10 seconds before and after the activation and an integrated USB port allows aviation staff or airport police to download the images as required.

Back at CLH operations, staff have a granular view of the power status at each enclosure and this is visually represented on screen via their SCADA system.  They know the exact location of each enclosure and this saves time when re-setting or troubleshooting the emergency system.

Thanks to a SCADA controller, also deployed by the EMR team, CLH can carry out scheduled testing of the enclosures and hydrant support vehicles, without interfering with the live system or aircraft flight schedules.  It is a critical component of health and safety operating procedure, strictly enforced by the airport operator, Dublin Airport Authority.

Under a 20-year contract, CLH Aviation has plans to build an underground fuel hydrant pipeline to serve Piers One, Three and Four.  With the recent completion of the pipeline at Pier Four, aircraft can be fuelled airside, accelerating turn-around times and protecting tight operational margins for some of the major airlines based there.

EMR has just been appointed a Platinum Partner for Motorola in Ireland.  This is the highest possible accreditation in the Motorola partner program and recognises the company’s expertise and success in bringing innovative mobile communications solutions to the island of Ireland.

ENDS

Pic l-r: Rioch Farrelly, Operations and Quality Engineer, CLH Aviation Ireland, Mark Quinn, Managing Director, EMR and Dean Reardon, Account Manager, EMR

EMR connects to TU Dublin for future engineering staff

Leading SCADA network and telemetry supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced its continued participation in the ‘Learn and Work’ programme with TU Dublin’s Blanchardstown campus.

This innovative programme combines training at TU Dublin with blocks of work placement at EMR.  This work experience gives students the opportunity to apply their learning, be coached by EMR staff and develop the work-ready skills to gain employment upon graduation.

The course is part-funded by Irish Medtech Skillnet which in turn is financially supported by member companies and the Training Networks Programme through the Department of Education and Skills.

The programme delivers lots of benefit for employers, in a market where automation skills are in much demand.

Commenting on the development, Derek Glynn, COO with EMR said:

“We have access to graduates who come with a high level of industry experience from day one.  Through their four-year placement with us, they’re already embedded in the culture of our organisation, understand how we work and what it’s like to work in a challenging environment.”

Richard Bodnar is the company’s student for the 2018/2019 intake and is pursuing a BSc in Process Instrumentation & Automation.  Similar to an apprenticeship scheme, Richard attends college every Monday and spends four days a week with the EMR team, when he gets the opportunity to work on small plant automation and SCADA design.  He is mentored by senior EMR engineers and even graduates from last year’s programme.

From September to January next year, Richard will attend TU Dublin, Blanchardstown.

EMR first engaged with the ‘Learn and Work’ scheme back in August 2017, when Mechatronics students Dean Glynn and Darragh Quinn joined.  The program is designed to provide highly-educated students for the changing needs of industry.

ENDS

Pic l-r are: David Peyton, Academic Coordinator with TU Dublin, Richard Bodnar, EMR and Mark Keyes, Work Placement Coordinator with TU Dublin

EMR's PMO with Niall Clancy, Michael Quinn, Colm Farrell

Contract win success drives establishment of EMR’s formal Project Management Office

Leading SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced the establishment of a formal project management office (PMO) with dedicated management and a dedicated team, to handle project delivery for its many customers across Ireland, UK and Europe.

The team has been set up in response to a strong upsurge in contract wins particularly in the UK, following the company’s entry to that market in late 2015.

The primary role of PMO is to provide a blend of overarching project direction and ongoing control and it will serve as the central hub between senior management, supervisors, engineering, sales, finance, service, logistics and the customer.

Commenting on the development, Derek Glynn, COO with EMR said:

“We’re seeing increasing project volume, variance and complexity, particularly in our UK business.  The establishment of a PMO will guide multi-project management processes that closely tie into EMR’s existing ISO quality, environment and Health and Safety procedures.  This will generate a significant reduction in project cycle times and successful project delivery in line with customer expectations.”

The PMO is led by Michael Quinn, a seasoned industry professional who previously served as COO with Dennison Trailers and as a senior director with Tomra, a world leader in sorting technology for the food, recycling and mining industries.   He was also formerly group operations manager with Odenberg Engineering and VP of European Operations with MTI and brings a wealth of operational experience to the role.

Michael is supported in his role by Niall Clancy and Colm Farrell.    Niall has been with EMR almost three years now in a project management role while Colm has been promoted from within, moving from a field technician role into project management.

EMR recently announced a €500,000 investment in the business and plans to increase headcount to 50 over the next 12 months.

ENDS

Pictured above left to right are:  Niall Clancy, Michael Quinn and Colm Farrell

EMR and Viatel announce partnership on cloud computing for EMR's hosted SCADA service

EMR flies high with Cloud Compute solution from Viatel

Irish cloud and connectivity company Viatel have today announced a deal with EMR Integrated Solutions, a leading provider of SCADA, mobile communications and instrumentation solutions in Ireland and the UK.

The deal will see Viatel provide cloud-based infrastructure to EMR, which delivers the company’s hosted SCADA as a Service to Irish Water and Dublin City Council.

EMR’s SCADA as a Service securely monitors and manages water production, water treatment and flood defense solutions using a combination of Infrastructure and Software as a Service delivery.  A helpdesk, manned by a dedicated support manager and engineering staff provides 24/7/365 support as well as more proactive services including SCADA application maintenance.

Commenting on the deal, Derek Glynn, chief operations officer with EMR said:

“We’re providing mission-critical SCADA services to a variety of organisations so it was important to choose a secure, reliable cloud services partner.  Viatel ticks all the boxes for us in terms of providing the type of secure, scalable, resilient infrastructure and robust SLAs our clients demand of us and we’re confident in our partnership as we grow our SCADA business in Ireland and beyond.”

EMR offers clients highly secure, co-located and virtual cloud application servers hosted in Viatel’s data centre with multiple Compute Cloud instances.  In the case of Irish Water, each local authority has its own cloud instance and can log into the EMR SCADA portal to view critical data associated with its water production and water treatment assets in the field.

With centralised physical servers in the Viatel Flexi cloud environment, EMR and its clients enjoy improved availability and resilience. Each VM on the Viatel Flexi Cloud is protected by Viatel’s backup service with full resiliency and failover back into EMR’s own datacentre.

Commenting on the announcement Viatel Director of Sales and Marketing Damien McCann stated:

“We are delighted to welcome EMR Integrated Solutions to the growing number of clients choosing Viatel for critical cloud and data centre applications. We look forward to building on this relationship for many years to come.”

Ends

Pictured above from left to right are:  Marc Lynch, Public Sector Director, Viatel, Derek Glynn, COO, EMR and Damien McCann, Sales and Marketing Director, Viatel

LtoR: Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR, Robbie Scott, UK & Ireland Channel Account Manager, Motorola. Picture: Maura Hickey.

EMR appointed Platinum Partner for Motorola Solutions in Ireland

Dunboyne, Co Meath, Friday, 16th November 2018:  Leading SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced its appointment as a Platinum Partner for Motorola Solutions’ range of mobile radio communications systems in Ireland, the highest accreditation in the Motorola Solutions partner program.

The appointment recognises EMR’s expertise and success in delivering innovative two-way radio systems that connect customers with critical information in moments that matter.

EMR is one of only two Platinum partners on the island of Ireland.

The EMR team has a long-standing relationship with Motorola Solutions, stretching back to the early 1980s and has supplied two-way radio solutions to a wide range of business users in sectors including energy, manufacturing, local government, education, construction and hospitality.

Recent successes include a three-year framework contract with ESB Telecoms Services for the refresh of their digital mobile radio (DMR) network across 23 power stations nationwide.

Commenting on the accreditation, Craig Calvert, Motorola Solutions channel sales director for Northern Europe and Middle East said:

“Motorola Solutions has made great strides forward in the development of our Partner Program, PartnerEmpower, and we are very proud of what we have achieved so far. We are even more proud of our extensive network of partners across the whole EMEA Region that have decided to join us on our journey.

“I am delighted that EMR have now reached the highest level, being recognised and awarded the Platinum Partner status. This is testament to the management and staff at EMR and their continued focus and drive to provide top quality communications solutions that incorporate Motorola Solutions equipment. Congratulations to all involved.”

Motorola Solutions is a core part of the EMR business and one which the company is committed to developing into the future, as Mark Quinn, managing director of EMR explained:

“Significant sales, marketing and technical investment in the Motorola Solutions brand has really paid off for us and aligns with our strategy of providing best-in-class communications solutions to industry.

“Customers have responded very positively to the Motorola Solutions portfolio as evidenced by very strong revenue performance in our two-way radio business through 2018. We’re predicting continued growth into 2019 and beyond.”

The Motorola Solutions PartnerEmpower Program is recognised as one of the best channel programs in the industry.  It equips Motorola Solutions partners with the technical knowledge and commercial acumen to serve the complex needs of the company’s customers worldwide.

ENDS

Pictured left to right above are: Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR, Robbie Scott, UK & Ireland Channel Account Manager, Motorola Solutions