The telecommunications upgrade provides reliable, robust cellular and Wi-Fi service serving the airport’s new North Concourse and ticket lobby, renovated main lobby and ramp. The expansion facilitates delivery of a wide range of communications services to Dallas Love Field tenants and passengers.

MSB’s experienced telecommunications engineering staff provided consulting and evaluation of the DAS infrastructure, RF engineering plan review and specification development, carrier negotiations, and vendor selection consulting. The firm will provide ongoing support for the telecommunications network.. MSB also maintains expansive DAS networks at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and other locations.

The network was developed in partnership with Boingo Wireless (NASDAQ: WIFI), which offers complimentary and tiered Wi-Fi service as the exclusive wireless provider at Dallas Love Field. The network was designed as an equal-access system, allowing space and bandwidth for other cellular service providers, including Wi-Fi roaming and platform service partners such as Sprint, Verizon and NTT DOCOMO.

“This new network was designed to meet passengers’ increasing demand for reliable wireless voice and data service,” said MSB President and Engineering Manager Leo Holzenthal. “A well-designed Wi-Fi – DAS is a smart solution to achieving seamless service in high density, complex facilities such as an airport, convention center or stadium because it can be expanded easily as technology evolves and the facilities’ needs grow.”

With vast experience in supporting large-scale customized telecom projects throughout the Gulf South, MSB earned the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport’s Passenger Services Corporate Partner of the Year Award for its successful management of the telecom network expansion that provided enhanced wireless service to the airport’s five terminals, parking garages, and the Hyatt Hotel.

MSB has worked on projects to implement or enhance cellular coverage in venues such as airports, hotels, arenas and convention centers throughout the Gulf South, including Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport and Dallas’ premier entertainment complex, the American Airlines Center. The firm has completed more than 150 telecom projects and worked on numerous DAS and other communications infrastructure projects for facilities such as Houston Hobby Airport, Houston Intercontinental Airport, and New Orleans International Airport. Recently, MSB oversaw installation of the largest DAS network constructed to date, a 4G LTE Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome & New Orleans Arena, site of Super Bowl XLVII.

ABOUT DALLAS LOVE FIELD
Owned and operated by the City of Dallas, Dallas Love Field provides the best that can be offered in a convenient, efficient airport, serving both commercial airline and corporate user needs. Located in the heart of Dallas, Cedar Springs at Mockingbird Blvd, the airfield is 20 minutes from the Downtown Convention Center, West End, Infomart, and the Dallas Market Center. Love Field is served by Southwest Airlines, United, Delta, and Seaport airlines.

The Love Field Modernization Program (LFMP) will renovate and expand Love Field – creating a cohesive, modern facility that will serve the needs of Dallas citizens and travelers for many years to come. The LFMP renovations include a new centralized concourse with 20 gates, a remodeled lobby, expanded baggage claim area and a new ticketing wing.

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 has offices is in Metairie and Mandeville, La., and Houston, Texas.

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The Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) manages and provides public safety for Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port. Port Fourchon is ideally located on the Louisiana coast in close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. Port Fourchon serves as a base of operation for over 250 oil and gas service companies and is the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP, LLC), Louisiana’s largest domestic and foreign crude offloading, storage, and distribution center. LOOP is also the storage and terminalling facility for domestically produced oil from the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day are transported via pipelines through the port, in addition to the massive amounts of vessels, trucks, and helicopters that transport goods and personnel to and from offshore locations. All told, Port Fourchon is the nation’s premiere intermodal hub for the support of oil and gas industry.

With Port Fourchon’s critical need for reliable security, GLPC has made providing communications and surveillance infrastructure for the Port Fourchon Harbor Police and public safety dispatchers a priority. GLPC’s communications needs are complex and widespread, including everything from two-way radio communications to CCTV cameras in multiple locations throughout the 10^th Ward of Lafourche Parish.  The infrastructure needed for such communications has traditionally been challenging to maintain, with dispatching stations located inside the levee system 23 miles north of the port and tower facilities located on privately owned and operated properties. Disparate tower and equipment locations, multiple owners, and multiple users from various agencies made keeping communications running smoothly a serious challenge.

The need for a port-run telecommunications hub was especially evident during weather emergencies. Private tower facilities must often terminate electrical power with any threat of inclement weather (i.e. hurricanes, tornadoes; etc.) due to safety regulations. Such shutdowns occurred when emergency communications were most needed by GLPC and other critical agencies, making communications equipment inoperable at the most demanding times. This also posed multiple challenges for the continued operation of law enforcement, port security, EMS and fire services.

THE SOLUTION

The Port Commission, in conjunction with several other public safety agencies, began discussions to procure and build a state-of-the-art, hurricane-resistant, critical public safety communications site in Port Fourchon, including a large tower and telecommunications buildings. GLPC budgeted $2.7 million for the entire project and obtained funding from Homeland Security and the State of Louisiana through the federal Port Security Grant program.

The GLPC consulted with MS Benbow & Associates (MSB) on the tower project.  After initial review and preliminary design discussions, MSB was selected to provide detailed design and project management for the entire project. MSB developed design documentation for the entire site to include electrical, telecommunications, network infrastructure, telecommunications backhaul, two-way radio communications (provided by Motorola), microwave relocation and tower requirements. MSB sub-contracted Gillen Design Systems for design work on both tower and building foundations. Sabre Tower and Poles designed and fabricated the tower steel.

The ultimate design for this facility resulted in a massive TIA-222G-rated 400-foot self-support solid steel tower that includes:

• An elevated communications building platform 17 feet above mean sea level
• A 225kW power plant for emergency power service
• A 150 MPH communication building design for the two buildings installed
• Communication duct banks to existing command buildings
• A substantial electrical grounding system
• The ability to hold the following equipment for wireless communications and telemetry:
  • Terma Scanter 4100 18’ RADAR Appurtenance
  • 40 Omni Antennas ranging from RFS BCR12H (Bogner) to Andrew dB222 UHF Antennas
  • 14 Parabolic Microwave with Radome ranging from 4’ to 8’
  • 6 PTZ Head weatherized remote cameras
  • 6 Ethernet panel antenna for remote video feeds
  • 12 GPS Antennas
  • Dozens of Yagi Antennas
  • 36 Cellular Panel Antennas
  • One WeatherBug
• A total estimated combined appurtenance weight of 11,350 lbs.
• A total estimated combined cable weight of 7,760 lbs.
• The largest tower members are comprised of 9-foot diameter solid rod legs and 8.5” x 8.5” angle iron used as leg bracing.
• The widest stance is at the tower base, stretching 34 feet 9 inches, and the tower face at the top is 5 feet wide.

 THE OUTCOME

The extensive list of potential equipment to be loaded on the tower was developed by GLPC and MSB and includes requirements of potential government and public safety agencies -related equipment that may one day use the port’s tower. Additional equipment was estimated for commercial and cellular use as well.

The tower was erected in October 2011, with critical communications infrastructure going on-air in March 2012. Microwave backhaul was complete in June 2012.

This facility provides extensive communication resources to aid in the security and public safety of Port Fourchon and surrounding areas in South Louisiana. This facility supports over a dozen public safety agencies and will provide government, commercial, and cellular vendors with endless communication resources into the future.

With the presence of highly corrosive chemicals in the hazardous areas, the monitoring system would require intrinsically safe explosion-proof rated cameras and enclosures able to withstand exposure to corrosive materials.

THE SOLUTION
The ability to access accurate and timely information is critical to allow the plant to respond swiftly to incidents that could affect the quality and safety of its operations and overall security. A turnkey design and installation was provided to convert an analog video surveillance system to a digital CCTV system that would allow the operators to remotely monitor hazardous areas of the plant from a new central control room. The system was designed to support future expansion while being efficient with the use of fiber infrastructure.

The engineering team selected camera housings and mounts that are explosion-proof rated and resistant to corrosion, and high-resolution cameras to accommodate extreme lighting conditions.

The project team installed more than 36 CCTV cameras in five different units to provide video surveillance coverage of all of the facility’s critical operation areas. Camera placements were selected based on providing maximum coverage, with additional cameras mounted in areas that had experienced past incidents of fire or explosion. Monitors for each of the 36 video surveillance cameras were incorporated into control room consoles.

In some areas where traditional methods for camera mounting was an issue, the team configured a lens designed to allow the camera/housing to be mounted in safer areas, but still provide the field of vision needed to monitor the equipment.

THE OUTCOME
The new video surveillance system allowed the client to locate its employees to a central control room away from potentially dangerous equipment and chemical hazards.

The video system has already provided a return on the investment by allowing operators to discreetly manage key operations areas and respond rapidly to equipment failures. The rapid response to failures based on the surveillance systems has contributed to the overall safety of the plant.

The acquisition of Louisiana-based Omni Technologies’ Telecom division brings with it more than 15 years of industry experience and knowledge in turnkey fiber optic and digital video surveillance system design and installation to MSB. The division has considerable experience working for clients in oil and gas, transportation, petrochemical, agriculture, commercial and industrial markets, with services including systems’ engineering, system design, and installation. In addition, the division brings significant experience with data and voice networks, copper, fiber, RF and satellite communications. The division has unique expertise in a specialty area of CCTV analytics for large and small systems, and hands-on experience in providing design build services for video surveillance systems in hazardous locations.

MSB specializes in the fields of Telecommunications & Technology, Electrical Power Systems, Instrumentation & Controls Engineering, and Drafting Services. MSB provides a wide range of professional services including system design and integration, specification development, project management, construction oversight, testing/analysis, installation and field services.

“The acquisition of Omni’s telecommunications division greatly complements and enhances the capabilities of our communications and technology service division,” said MSB President and Engineering Manager Leo Holzenthal. “We look forward to providing an expanded array of telecommunication services for our clients.”

With this acquisition, MSB’s telecommunications and technology capabilities include: CCTV and Video Systems; Fiber Optics; Wi-Fi Networks; Trunked Radio Systems; FCC Licensing and Wireless Regulatory Compliance; Communications Towers; Microwave Systems; Cellular Networks/Distributed Antenna Systems; Site Development and Public Safety Radio.

About M S Benbow & Associates

M S Benbow and Associates is a professional engineering firm that provides multidiscipline 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 has offices in Louisiana and Texas. It is located online at msbenbow.com.

Click here to learn more about MSB’s Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) services.