MSB’s on-site DIMS team with assistance from the MSB Corporate Office Drafting Department in Metairie, La., is responsible for maintaining integrity of the piping system at the Shell/Motiva facility. The group was commended for its record of working 10,000+ hours without an OSHA-recordable injury or First Aid Injury in 2011. MSB Safety management also attends the plant’s monthly onsite Contractor Safety Forum to ensure employees are aware of safety hazards at work and home.

Kevin R. Patton, Project Coordinator and Safety Manager for MSB, accepted the award during a presentation last month. The facilities have received numerous awards relating to Health, Safety and Environment performance, including National Petrochemical & Refiners Association Safety Awards (now the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers), and Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence.

“MSB puts safety as our first priority, and we are proud of our role in helping Shell/Motiva maintain a safe operation at the Norco facility,” Patton said.

The MSB on-site and off-site teams are responsible for providing refinery inspectors accurate Corrosion Measurement Location (CML) drawings that are used for testing, maintenance and correcting deficiencies of equipment and piping systems at the facilities. The MSB teams also conduct field verification of process systems and updates critical documents in Shell/Motiva’s Process Safety Management (PSM) program to ensure continued compliance with federal regulations and best industry practices.

ABOUT M S BENBOW
M S Benbow and Associates is a professional engineering firm that provides multi-discipline professional engineering services to public and private industry sectors. MSB can service projects from initial scoping through design and project management to construction support and completion. The firm offers engineering services in the fields of electrical, mechanical, civil and structural, instrumentation and control systems, telecommunications, drafting and design, and project management. The company was founded in 1978 and represents clients throughout the Gulf South.  The company’s corporate office is in Metairie, Louisiana with branch offices in Houston, Texas.

The adoption of wireless cellular devices that provide both voice and data services is driving the need for enhanced coverage throughout the nation. Today, consumers expect wireless cellular voice and data coverage that performs reliably almost anywhere at anytime.

Since opening in 2001, the 84,000-square-foot American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, has maintained its standing as one of the most technologically advanced venues in the world. The American Airlines Center is a premier sports and entertainment venue and home to the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, NHL’s Dallas Stars and AFL’s Dallas Vigilantes.

Wireless users expect seamless service as they transition from outdoor networks to stadiums, airports, convention centers and other large facilities. For the facility’s operator, Center Operating Company, meeting the highest customer expectations at the American Airlines Center requires keeping pace with demand for reliable wireless service by employing advanced technology, including infrastructure expansions to support the latest advancements in communications.

THE SOLUTION

Center Operating Company selected M S Benbow & Associates to provide wireless technology consulting services to help the facility stay on pace with consumer demand by managing upgrades to the cellular infrastructure needed to serve the American Airlines Center’s estimated two million annual patrons.

For the past 11 years, MSB has provided system planning, project and construction management for the multiple distributed antenna systems deployed throughout the facility.  The antenna systems have gone through several upgrades since the original equipment was installed.  Each upgrade provided coverage or capacity improvements in addition to new technological deployments.

MSB assisted with negotiating business agreements with leading wireless carriers, which maintain individual standalone systems that maintain commercial cellular service for mobile phone users and employees.

MSB provides end-to-end customer representation for cellular infrastructure projects including:

• Project scoping
• Contract negotiations
• Design review
• Project & Construction management
• Commissioning oversight
• RF Coverage and Performance Testing
• A & E Drawings and related documentation

THE OUTCOME

Through its ongoing relationship with Center Operating Company, MSB has been instrumental in helping to keep the multi-purpose facility at the forefront of cellular technology improvements and provide the highest level of service to patrons of the center.

Center Operating Company in 2011 awarded MSB a Corporate Partnership Award recognizing the engineering firm for its commitment to providing engineering and project management services for the wireless infrastructure that supports an estimated two million guests annually at American Airlines Center.  MSB continues to have involvement in any aspect of cellular technology upgrades and capacity improvements at the center.

MSB worked with the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Board of Directors to design, engineer and manage the system deployment for a large-scale customized telecommunications project to provide enhanced wireless service to DFW’s five terminals, parking garages, and the Hyatt Hotel.  The upgrade consists of more than 320 remotes, 1,920 antennas, 10 miles of high-density fiber cable, 25 miles of composite fiber cable, and remote monitoring and alarming. The upgrade also provided RF services to sixteen (16) million square feet of the campus.

MSB provides ongoing maintenance and support for the network, and in 2010 was honored by DFW as Passenger Services Corporate Partner of the Year for the successful management of a multi-year expansion project to achieve superior cellular coverage at DFW.

Click here to learn more about MS Benbow’s DAS Services.

SMG, which manages both of the sports and entertainment facilities, selected M S Benbow & Associates to provide engineering consulting services for an open-architecture, neutral-host Distributed Antenna System (DAS) that is capable of supporting all cellular operators within the facilities.

The new network provides seamless wireless voice, data and text services across the entire sports and entertainment complex encompassing the Superdome, Arena, parking areas, administrative offices, team offices, team locker rooms, Champions Square and Club XLIV. The largest DAS system of its kind in the country with 70 miles of cables connected to more than 900 remote antennas, the network was engineered to serve 70,000 fans inside the Superdome and additional patrons in the adjacent facilities simultaneously. AT & T was selected as the lead carrier for the project development and construction.

MSB had a lead role in negotiations, system specification development, design review and project management.  MSB worked with SMG to evaluate their options for type of DAS being installed and assisted in the selection of the lead carrier for the project. The firm also reviewed RF engineering plans and architectural engineering plans for the system, and provided project management for the construction and system launch.

Verizon Wireless recently launched their service on the DAS. MSB continues to represent SMG as new operators are added to the system and provides ongoing operational management, project support for future technology upgrades and expansions. MSB is currently working with SMG to ensure connection by other operators prior to Super Bowl 2013, which will be hosted next year by New Orleans at the Superdome.

MSB has worked on projects to implement or enhance cellular coverage in large-scale venues such as airports, hotels, arenas and convention centers throughout the Gulf South. In addition to the Superdome and New Orleans Arena, MSB has provided engineering consulting and management services at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas; the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Louis Armstrong International Airport, East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center, located in the New Orleans metropolitan region.

THE CHALLENGE

Providing seamless in-building radio communications for public safety personnel as they respond to calls for service in office complexes, high-rise structures, hospitals and other critical locations.

Many local jurisdictions have enacted or are considering enacting ordinances and codes that ensure a requisite level of public safety radio communications reliability in buildings and public spaces. Authorities such as the National Fire Protection Association and the International Code Council are working to develop national level model codes to ensure reliable public safety radio communications are provided from the outside Radio Frequency (RF) network throughout building spaces.

As first responders within their communities, hospitals are recognizing the need for reliable wireless public safety communications as both a standard safety assurance and in the event the location becomes a staging location for responders during an emergency.

THE SOLUTION

Deployment of solutions for reliable in-building coverage in a hospital must consider the environment, building parameters, and 24-hour operational needs while working around interference issues from technology such as ultrasound, X-Ray, CT Scanners and other equipment.

M S Benbow & Associates  (MSB) was selected as the telecom engineering firm to design and oversee installation of a dedicated public safety radio communications system that provides public safety coverage throughout all areas of a four-story, 450-bed hospital, including elevators, stairwells and units with sensitive equipment.

SCOPE OF WORK

MSB was both the design and construction management contractor throughout the project and had turnkey responsibility for the RF site assessment, design of the in-building RF network, development of construction drawings, construction management, system commissioning, start-up and acceptance testing.

MSB’s initial step was to conduct an RF site survey and walk-through of the hospital to determine where advanced coverage was needed and identify the appropriate solution set to ensure reliable, seamless service was provided similar to the outside RF network.

Once the site survey and audit was completed, design was conducted. Project responsibilities included:

• Spectrum analysis and coordination
• System design and engineering
• Record and catalog site specifics
• Development of a detailed scope of work

MSB also supported the Facilities funding requirements by preparing an overview of the site conditions and a detailed scope of work, project budget and investment justification.

THE OUTCOME

Once funding was approved by hospital administration and the local government administrators, MSB implemented the telecom engineering plan to ensure reliable RF public safety communication transmission for hospital security and first responders. The upgrade entailed installation of a 700/800 MHz Narrowband amplifier with battery backup and Distributed Antenna System (DAS) inside the hospital with coaxial cabling to the exterior RF antenna.

The installation was implemented over a two-month period to accommodate the operation’s 24/7 schedule, coordinate with department downtime and adjust for hospital capacity. MSB also ensured the communication system met Federal Communications Commission OET-65 RF exposure standards.