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Public Address Distribution Warehouse Case Study / PA System |
When it comes to Public Address some buildings are more hostile than others in their treatment of sound, some aging Public Address systems in railway stations are a prime example of the way that the environment conspires against the installer.
Our experience of hostile acoustic environments was recognised by a leading acoustic consultant when we were asked to design a system to fulfil an exacting specification in one of the countries largest distribution warehouses measuring over 500 metres in length, with a height of 17 metres.
As if the pure size of the building was not challenging enough the Public Address system also had to cater for environmental, ambient noise and temperature changes within the four internal chambers as well as external circuits.
It was also necessary to incorporate not only Public Address requirements into the design but also the requirement for high quality music reproduction with ease of volume adjustment, also required was the automatic all call alarm tone to be broadcast in the event of a dangerous gas discharge. Access to the system for Public Address announcements were to be made from four locations with each position able to page into any combination of sixteen zones an eight zone telephone paging interface, DAB radio and multi-disc CD player enabling music to be selected to any zone completes the Public Address system inputs.
A combination of loudspeakers were chosen for use in the project, each carefully chosen to operate with maximum efficiency taking into account the type of environment where they were to be mounted, their frequency response, dispersion angle and their efficiency the latter being of great importance so as to minimise the amplifier power required and to keep the loudspeaker circuits in any zone to a minimum. As some areas had automatic material handling machinery the ambient noise levels were quite high and this was a challenge in the way that the Public Address loudspeaker design was optimised in order to achieve the required sound pressure levels and clarity while minimising the required amplifier power and reducing the cable volt drop allowing installation costs to be kept under control.
After careful consideration it was decided that the system control equipment would be centralised into a secure location, a position was chosen in a plant room in the centre of the building hence minimising the lengths of cable runs.
The Public Address equipment was installed into three 45 Unit high 19” equipment racks each with lockable doors to prevent unauthorised access. In total 800 loudspeakers of varying types were installed by our own engineers over a 6 month project duration. Direct Communications are one of the few Public Address companies who use directly employed engineers, all are trained to CSCS level most at supervisor level and all are IPAF certificated in the use of MEWP (mobile elevated work platforms) and PASMA certified in the erection and use scaffold towers.
The project was delivered on time and budget to a satisfied client. The benefits of such a Public Address system are far reaching, being able to locate staff promptly and efficiently, summon help if required, increase productivity and of most importance to be able to inform in the event of an emergency as well as making standard health and safety announcements.
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| If you have any questions about anything featured on this page please call 01480 466300 to speak to a member of our team or email us: enquiries@directcoms.co.uk |
| Useful Company Documents |
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Health and Safety Policy |
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Insurance Documents |
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Environmental Policy |
| The above documents are available on request. Please contact us for further information. |
| Specialists in public address sound system installation since 1972. providing the design, supply, installation and maintenance of public address and audio / visual communications nationwide throughout the UK. |
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