Airport audio

• Case Studies

Rutledge AV was tasked with providing the audio for the Canberra airport Western Concourse. Hurrairah bin Sohail speaks with the integrator to find out how the managed the project and surmounted the challenges faced.

Airports are busy activity centres with round the clock operations. Larger airports handle millions of passengers every year. The day to day operations place enormous pressure on the infrastructure to ensure arrival and departure times are met whilst maintaining public safety at all times. It goes without saying that AV projects related to airports require special handling and care.

Canberra airport opened a new terminal spanning across 55,000m2 and Rutledge AV was commissioned to design, install and deliver the Western Concourse public address system as well as the emergency warning and intercommunication system (EWIS) for Stage 2. This system also needed to integrate seamlessly into the airport’s existing systems to ensure airport wide communication from a centralised control point.

Craig Glover, the operations manager from Rutledge AV was the project manager and he talks about the brief received: “Stage 2 of the airport required systems that cover the vast spaces with specific technology. For example, Rutledge installed equipment in 11 zones dividing up 330 Tannoy CMS601BM ceiling speakers within Stage 2 of the airport redevelopment. The general PA zones of the terminal include both scheduled and non-scheduled announcements. This also included an interface with a Notifier Fire Panel.”

He continues: “The system also needed to be integrated closely with the security system to enable recorded security warnings to be triggered in specific zones. This is used to as part of their automatic analytic monitoring to detect when people are walking the wrong direction through specific secure areas.”

As can be expected the scope of the project was vast and Rutledge AV was working with a budget of AUS$600,000 (approximately US$470,220). Glover says: “The scope of works included the design, supply, installation and certification of a digital public address and EWIS system with complete integration with the Stage 1 – Southern Concourse Klotz digital public address and EWIS system.”

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