28 | Tees Business
THE SKY’S
THE LIMIT
H
igh-flying Applied
Integration has
celebrated 10 years in
business by designing
and delivering a complex
control system that will keep UK
flights operating on time.
The Tees business installed an
emergency power management
control system for a datacentre
that ensures the safe and timely
operation of all flights across the
UK.
Having previously renewed
a similar control system for the
British Embassy in Moscow,
Applied Integration directors
believe these initial power
management control system
contracts are just “the tip of the
iceberg”.
The work was carried out
on behalf of ABB, international
leaders in power and automation
technologies, who are responsible
for the upgrade of similar
installations in prestige buildings
such as banks and data centers.
Having received hugely positive
feedback on the installation,
the Stokesley-based systems
integrators are now looking to tap
into a potential multimillion pound
international market over the next decade.
The Exeter-based client operates the
datacentre to provide pre-flight insurance
policies for every UK airport, as well as a
number of their US counterparts. Prior to
take-off, an airline must issue a
document to the datacentre detailing
vital flight information before the
aircraft can be approved to fly.
Information such as the number
of passengers on board, baggage
count and aircraft weight must all be
recorded and sent to the datacentre
before being returned with the
necessary paperwork required for
take-off.
As no plane may leave the runway
without such documentation, this is a critical
operation that could be badly affected by loss
of power, having significant ‘knock-on’ effects
to air travel across the globe.
Applied Integration were scoped with
the design, build, testing, installation and
commissioning of a power management
control system that had no single point of
failure, as well as allowing one of three
backup generators to supply the facility with
power should there ever be a failure to the
main system.
Going abroad? You might just have
Applied Integration to thank if your
flight goes without a hitch
The firm worked alongside other parties
to ensure that all failure scenarios had been
captured by the £100,000 system.
Director Garry explained: “Without the
negative paths, could be 100% functionally
tested in the factory prior to delivery, thus
assuring the customer the highest degree of
confidence in the system.
“This was a key aspect of the
project, as the installation period was
limited to just 20 hours”.
Applied Integration is now looking
to win contracts to install similar
systems to buildings such as banks,
data centres and businesses in the
UK and overseas.
Garry said: “We have installed
four similar systems over the past
18 months, including renewing
the control system for the British
Embassy in Moscow, but this truly is the tip
of the iceberg.
“We have built up an excellent, long-term
relationship with ABB over the past 10 years,
during which time we’ve become their
supplier of choice because they know we
deliver every time.
“Having received hugely positive feedback
from our first installations, we are confident
that we have opened up a major long-term
opportunity that will continue to provide work
for the next 10 years and more.”
“We are confident we’ve opened
up a major long-term opportunity
that will continue to provide work
for the next 10 years and more.”
insurance certificates, aircraft cannot legally
take off, so it is a critical piece of equipment.
“Having suffered a mains power failure
that resulted in planes across the UK being
delayed and grounded by up to three hours,
the customer wanted to introduce a new
control system to provide high availability and
ensure there would be no repeat incident in
future.
“Having designed and built the system, we
then developed extensive test documents
to ensure that all failure modes, including