Being able to remotely program, maintain, and make changes to hospital lighting control systems and to other high risk sites such as residential care homes and other medical facilities has been a complete game changer during these challenging times.
The DALI-2 zencontrol cloud-based commissioning platform, installed along with a network connection makes commissioning simple with no site visits required.
Reducing the number of trades needing to access vulnerable sites is of major importance while New Zealand grapples with COVID-19 in the community. This element alone is sufficient to ensure zencontrol becomes the control system of choice for such facilities.
Southern Cross Hospital Rotorua – Wards 1 + 2
IEL were requested to assist with the design of the lighting control system for the upgrade of rooms and corridors in Wards 1 and 2 of the Southern Cross Hospital in Rotorua. This was to follow the design protocol already employed at other Southern Cross Hospitals.
The project included eleven individual patient rooms, with ensuite bathrooms.
The design for each typical bedroom consisted of a room controller controlling five circuits: general lighting, medical light, bedhead lighting, nurses table, and ensuite bathroom lighting. Some lights were DALI dimmable, others ON/OFF control only via DALI relays. The lighting control system also interfaces with the nurse call system patient pendant. Overriding control for each bedroom is also available from the nurses station.
The use of room controllers allows any circuit to be isolated locally for ease of maintenance (plug and play functionality). Should a lighting driver fail, it can simply be replaced, and the system “repairs”. This obviously saves significant maintenance time, and prevents rooms from being “out of action”.
Corridor lighting is also controlled along with reception, administration/consultant rooms, and service rooms. Every circuit is “plug and play” with easy maintenance as described above.
Both push button and rotary dimming switches were utilised. Should any switch be damaged, again it can be replaced easily with a new one without any requirement for re-programming.
IEL controls engineers worked with the on-site electrical contractor, Guild & Spence Electrical, to ensure installation was as per drawings supplied. With provision of internet access, we were then able to commission the entire system remotely, with no site visits required.
The project was completed while our engineers were “locked down” in Auckland.
Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) – Southern Cross Hospital New Plymouth
The new extension to the New Plymouth Southern Cross Hospital includes two operating theatres, a 12 bed PACU unit and a 13 chair day stay unit. The Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU), provides a safe environment for patients to recover from anaesthesia and surgery. Patients are monitored after surgery via a range of equipment and when the PACU team are satisfied with the patient’s progress, they are returned to the ward, or in the case of day stay surgery, released to go home.
The fitout of the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Southern Cross Hospital in New Plymouth was another example of a healthcare project undertaken where the DALI-2 lighting control system was fully commissioned without physically attending site.
Specified by WSP, the zencontrol DALI-2 was selected for its ability to be commissioned remotely via the zencontrol cloud. Partnering with local electrical contractor ICE Electrical, the project was completed by IEL engineers, sight unseen. ICE Electrical were on site to install the electrical infrastructure for the PAC Unit, and they liaised with the controls engineers to identify individual DALI lights which were then programmed from IEL’s Wellington office. This provided an efficient method of commissioning and ensured there were no issues with the project’s tight timeline.
Prior to the client walk around and handover a couple of minor programming changes were requested. Having the ability to remote into site enabled the adjustments to be made simply and efficiently.
LCPs (lighting control panels) located at each of the two Nurses stations (Recovery & Day Stay) provide global lighting control of their respective areas. Nursing staff in control stations can manually set light levels during the day and reduced light levels at night
Each LCP panel was programmed to allow:
· Master On/Off
· Circulation Area On/Off/Dim
· Recovery & Day Stay Ward On/Off/Dim
· Nurse Station general lighting On/Off/Dim
· Nurse Station LED strip lighting On/Off/Dim
In addition, local Bed-side (Recovery) and Chair-side (Day stay ward) DALI push button switches allow patients to adjust the light level to the fitting immediately above them. Patient control to increase/decrease over bed lighting levels allow them to reduce glare and set lighting to a comfortable environment, benefitting recovery.
In operating theatres lighting is an essential design consideration for the wellbeing of the surgical team. Light must be delivered without excessive glare and shadowing to provide a safe and productive working environment.
The lighting in the two operating theatres is also DALI controlled. The DALI fittings are configured into two concentric rings. Surgical staff have the ability to independently adjust the light level to both/either the inner and outer rings of lights to achieve optimum lighting for the theatre.
The final stage of the project will see the new extension integrated into the existing hospital wing.
Southern Cross, Auckland Surgical Centre, 9 Saint Marks Road, Remuera, Auckland
Another project where IEL were requested to assist with the design of the lighting control system to follow the design protocol already employed at other Southern Cross Hospitals.
This project included thirteen individual patient rooms, single or double, with ensuite bathrooms. plus corridors and service rooms.
The design was based on room controllers to allow simple “plug and play” functionality. This means that any circuit can be isolated very easily should maintenance be required. If a lighting driver fails for example, it can simply be swapped out and the new one will work immediately with no need for further DALI addressing or programming. Likewise, any switch that sustains damage can be replaced, with no requirement for programming.
Lighting for patient rooms and ensuite bathrooms can be controlled locally by the patient, but with overriding control in case of emergency from the nurses’ station. Lighting is either DALI dimmable, or ON/OFF control only via DALI relays. The control system for patient rooms also interfaces with the nurse call system patient pendant.
IEL controls engineers worked with the on-site electrical contractor, ASECO Electrical, to ensure installation was as per drawings supplied. Once internet access was available, the lighting control system was then commissioned remotely, without requirement to visit site.
Another project commissioned during Auckland’s lockdown.
