PRODUCT NEWS
 

          
 

          
Protecting
          10,000 sq metres of flooring at Tate Modern

          

          
How does one
          go about ensuring that a £260 million revamp of one of
          London's most iconic cultural buildings goes smoothly? Additionally,
          it needs to go quickly whilst still retaining extreme precision
          during the process. This was the challenge the builders of Tate
          Moderns' extension threw down.

          

          
For a start,
          it was more technically challenging than anticipated. Timber
          shrinks when dry, and expands when damp, which is a normal process;
          the challenging part comes with the precision involved, as each
          gap between the timbers used had to be 0.4mm, with 1mm accuracy
          on 30 m spans, on top of the fact there was 10,000 square metres
          of timber flooring spread across ten storeys! Controlling ambient
          conditions within acceptable parameters was paramount so as to
          avoid expansion and potential damage to the flooring. Just to
          add to the challenge there were over 600 items fixed in or on
          the flooring, such as temporary walls or access panels, to work
          around. So whatever system was used had to be autonomous, robust,
          simple and quick to deploy.

          




          Fortunately, the RDL//1000 wireless sensor system was there to
          monitor everything. With its quick and easy setup and robust
          battery powered sensors it proved to be incredibly simple to
          keep an eye on everything. The system monitored combinations
          of ambient temperature and humidity and wood moisture levels,
          at intervals of 15 minutes, and sent the data to the SmartHub
          via its own on-board GSM function once every hour.



          From the CDL SmartHub the contractors could use their smartphones,
          tablets or PCs to monitor trends, set alarm thresholds and most
          importantly receive alerts by text and email if the alarms were
          triggered, giving the site team time to resolve any issues that
          cropped up over the course of construction.



          Thanks to the RDL//1000 sensor range of up to 500m, the RDL//1000
          wireless sensors were able to monitor the ambient conditions
          with simplicity even through the thick concrete flooring bases.
          Each base station was able to transmit and receive through 4
          thick concrete floors, so the connectivity between sensors and
          base station was assured. Even so, due to the size of the Tate
          Modern project there were over 4 base stations and 80 sensors
          covering the entire site and maintaining optimal coverage.

          

          
The connectivity
          of sensors was important as temporary walls were laid and then
          removed or moved as needed. This meant even more atmospheric
          changes were occurring than on a normal construction site, which
          needed to be monitored to ensure that the flooring was not compromised.

          

          
The alarm system
          on the CDL SmartHub alerted the on-site supervisors and workers
          whenever the ambient conditions changed sufficiently above or
          below the programmed levels, and disasters were avoided. One
          of the many features of the RDL//1000 and its SmartHub is the
          management reporting function and data archiving, so there is
          permanent data available and an audit trail in case of any future
          issues.

          

          
They can also
          link sensor systems to 3D graphics that they create for their
          clients of a building, showing real time conditions of a multitude
          of parameters and any "alarm" situations, so creating
          "Smart" buildings. These can work with the existing
          Building Management Systems [BMS], or autonomously alongside
          them. The building operators can then see and manage their assets
          from their smartphones or tablets, giving a complete end to end
          solution that covers all functionality that may be required.



          

          
February 2017


        

          

            
              
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