World class aquatic contractor Bahamas Environmental Group (BEG) saved 250 man-hours in custom controls development and commissioning on a Martin Aquatic designed and engineered-luxury pool project in the Bahamas by using SplashBotix’s Main Control Panel (MCP) over a custom equipment room controller solution. Committed to delivering projects on time and on budget, BEG was able to commission both pools with unprecedented speed and efficiency thanks to the MCP’s easy-to-use electrical wiring diagrams, VFD control interface and real-time monitoring functionality.
About Bahamas Environmental Group
Bahamas Environmental Group (BEG) is a leading Bahamas-based aquatics contractor credited with the construction of some of the Caribbean’s most luxurious resorts and leisure destinations. The company is a trusted partner to several name-brand resorts, cruise line companies, and design and engineering firms, who choose to work with BEG for the company’s reliability, professionalism and commitment to quality.
Bahamas Environmental Group (BEG) is a leading Bahamas-based aquatics contractor credited with the construction of some of the Caribbean’s most luxurious resorts and leisure destinations. The company is a trusted partner to several name-brand resorts, cruise line companies, and design and engineering firms, who choose to work with BEG for the company’s reliability, professionalism and commitment to quality.
The Application
SplashBotix’s Main Control Panel was selected by the project’s designer and engineer, renowned Orlando, Florida-based firm Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering, to support two new pools being developed on an existing private island resort property in the Bahamas owned and operated by a multi-billion-dollar international cruise line. With a combined bather load of more than 1,400 people and spanning 17,000 and 6,000 square feet respectively, the two beach-front pools, located several hundred feet away from one another, share a single mechanical room. Each pool includes an infinity edge feature, underwater low-voltage lighting fixtures, a low-water usage regenerative filtration system and automated water chemistry feed. Martin Aquatic’s design called for a single automation system, capable of controlling underwater lighting fixtures and interlocking pumps with infinity edge features and water filtration and chemical systems.
The Solution
SplashBotix MCP and Low Voltage Lighting Cabinets
Installation
Controllers maintaining other aquatic amenities on the island were developed by BEG ad hoc using a Siemens PLC and LOGO! Software.
“We typically build our own panels using Siemens LOGO! software, which involves many more steps to develop a custom solution,” said BEG Project Manager Cristian Gomez Banquet. “Using the [MCP] saved us about 250 man-hours in system design, development and commissioning.”
Using SplashBotix’s electrical design template, the design firm that produced the project drawings converted their controls and automation specifications into an easy-to-use wiring diagram reflecting exactly where and how various systems and devices needed to be wired to the MCP. Once the controller arrived at the job site, BEG’s team of electricians were able to quickly and accurately install it in the pump room along with corresponding sensors, devices, systems and equipment.
“The panel was very straightforward connection-wise,” said Cristian. “All the terminals were already labeled, and it was very easy for our electricians to run low voltage lines to the panel.”
Setup and Testing
The Main Control Panel’s control and monitoring interface treats pools and other aquatic amenities as individual basins, each with their own network of sensors, pumps and water quality systems.
Before shipping the controller, SplashBotix’s engineering team used the MCP’s set up interface to define the systems and equipment supporting each basin and set corresponding operating parameters to match those outlined in the project drawings. This ensured that when the cabinet arrived on site, SplashBotix and the customer had fewer adjustments to make during system commissioning.
In testing the various pumps, water quality systems and sensors supporting each basin, BEG found the MCP’s setup interface to be tremendously valuable for making parameter adjustments in real time directly from their phone or from the panel’s 10-inch touch screen HMI.
“Changing the VFD parameters was very easy,” said Cristian. “It’s very handy to be able to easily ramp the pump speeds up and down during testing.”
Example MCP Pump VFD Control Interface
The ability to make real-time adjustments from a single touchpoint made the commissioning process more straightforward, especially compared with previous project startups.
BEG was also enormously appreciative of SplashBotix for the quality of its on-site equipment startup and commissioning support services, led by SplashBotix engineer Kilian Belz.
“The technical support from Kilian was awesome,” said Cristian. “He is extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and we love working with him, particularly during site visits.”
Operator Experience
Capable of ingesting data from various system sensors and using that data to coordinate the activity of each basin’s network of pumps, mechanical valves and water quality systems, the MCP maintains both basins largely autonomously. As a result, the controller requires little daily input from the island’s operations team, making the team overall more efficient, and freeing them to tend to other aspects of the property.
Though, while the operations team rarely has to make changes to the MPC, they do rely heavily on the MCP for its real-time health and performance monitoring of each pool. From the controller’s HMI or from their handheld or laptop device, operations staff have access to information about everything from the performance of water quality systems to basin water levels. According to Cristian, this feature is especially important when it comes to monitoring for faults and errors.
“Having a touch screen that shows the operator what is happening in real-time is a huge plus,” said Cristian. “If you are using a LOGO panel, and something goes wrong or something stops working, you have to plug a computer into the panel to identify the error. With the MCP, error alerts appear right on the touch screen.”
The Impact
As a leading aquatics contractor based in the Bahamas, one of the world’s premier vacation destinations drawing millions of visitors each year, BEG’s major focus is on delivering world class landscapes for its clients and design partners on time and on budget.
By opting for the MCP instead of developing a custom system to meet Martin Aquatic’s design requirements, BEG saved over 250 man-hours in development and system commissioning, thereby improving their ability to meet critical project deadlines.
“The lead time of the MCP was great – it was on site when it needed to be on site,” said Cristian.
“The key is the electrical diagrams that are submitted with the MCP. They are so easy to read and make the panel so easy to install that we were able to install the panel and commission and test the system in just three weeks.”
Highly impressed with the quality of the MCP and its impact on the commissioning process, the resort’s ownership and operations teams remarked that the control system was one of their favorite things about the new pools.
Reach out today to learn more about how the MCP can support your next project.
