Near Zero!


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The Evolution of Emergency Mass Notification PPG Industries / Lake Charles: (Westlake), Louisiana Challenge:

A large chemical processing plant requires a conversion from two-way radio controlled emergency notification to an IP-based network system; however, the long-running facility has hardware intact, where a complete tear-out, reinstall or new install would be expensive and disruptive to production and operations

Solution: Valcom Provides Easy Integration & Performance • Uses Existing Network & Infrastructure • Integrates with Many Existing Hardware Devices • Alert Tones, Alert Messages & Voice Paging • Powerful, Flexible, Robust, Durable Construction • Full Coverage for Harsh or Noisy Environments

“Near Zero!”

Built for Production

PPG Industries is a leading global supplier of chemicals, paints, coatings, glass and specialty materials with $13.4 billion in sales in 2010. Established just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1883, the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG) now has more than 140 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates operating in more than 60 countries. Its Lake Charles plant, located near the Gulf of Mexico, produces chlorine and silica products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets. Approximately 1,300 employees work at the plant, which occupies about two square miles. The initial construction of the Lake Charles complex began in the early 1940s. The plant has changed a lot over the years, but every upgrade has been for the primary purpose of establishing an environment that is safe and as environmentally-friendly as possible, without sacrificing efficiency and productivity. PPG maintains a fully-trained staff of medical, safety, fire and emergency response personnel, 24-hours a day. A top priority is the emergency alert system. The ability to broadcast information and provide direction to all employees at different stations inside and outside the facility is essential.

“It requires a very low amount of training,” You get an overview map of the facility,

1.540.563.2000

and if you want to evacuate Plant A, or alert another area, you just push a button. It’s all web-based...

I 800-825-2661 I Valcom.com I [email protected] I Roanoke, VA USA

A Better Emergency Alert System

“PPG [Lake Charles] had a wireless network using two-way radio, that was somewhat antiquated,” says Tony Pooser, a system integrator with Kay Communications, Inc., “and the IT department wanted an IP-based system.” An IP system would provide flexibility and features that would not only improve alert capabilities, but it would combat the noisy industrial setting, Pooser says. Having what he calls a “graphic overlay” of the plant (from any computer accessing the private control panel on the web-based application) was a real plus. “The head of safety can do his weekly test at his computer, or remotely on a laptop,” Pooser describes, “and see everything right there on his screen.” “The beauty of Valcom is... it saved a lot of money.”

Easy, But Formidable

“PPG [Lake Charles] is a complex industrial site,”Pooser begins, explaining the application. “They called, looking for a ‘device to alert over,’ and they told me they liked Valcom.“ “The specifications of the new emergency alert system called for coverage over the outdoor and general areas, as well as indoor alerting to the control areas. They wanted to be able to selectively adjust audio, and they very much liked what they knew about how an IP-based system would perform.” “Here, we had a chance at installing a significant upgrade— and yet we could simply integrate it all with the existing infrastructure.” Not only would the Valcom solution install right over the network that was already in place, but it could utilize existing devices (such as the alert speaker poles) and allow additional new devices to be placed anywhere along the network as needed.

1.540.563.2000

A Control Module Here, A Speaker There, All IP Now The entire upgraded emergency alert system installed by Kay Communications at PPG Lake Charles consisted of the hardware (and network) already in place, and primarily four products from the IP Based product line by Valcom. The three-week installation, covering about 700 acres of real estate to reach by page and alert, included the following (with additional speakers and system expansion to be added later): • Existing Alerting Poles • Approximately 50 Control Modules – Valcom VE6001 Applications Server – Valcom VE8001 Networked Page Zone Extender – Valcom VE8014 Quad Networked Station Port • Valcom VE4080L IP Paging Horns The system broadcasts select zones or all areas, including 58 indoor locations and the exterior perimeter. “Valcom has been a wonderful fit,” says Pooser. “The performance, the expanded features, the ease of installation, and its flexibility with existing equipment as well as working with other components.... all of these factors combine to make it an excellent choice for sites of all sizes, simple or complex. “We are definitely looking at recommending and installing Valcom IP systems in other applications, including the most demanding industrial facilities.”

I 800-825-2661 I Valcom.com I [email protected] I Roanoke, VA USA

“We’re all about safety here,” he says. “Having a networkcontrolled IP-based emergency alert system is an improvement; and one thing that really drove us to doing the change with Valcom was simply the issue of ‘mounting.’” Borel says it was impractical to move much of the existing hardware. With Valcom, there was no need to move devices; but PPG could also expand and add or enhance coverage with new IP-based Valcom controllers and speakers during the conversion—and anytime later.

Full-Featured, But Simple

The emergency alert system change over at PPG Lake Charles was quite an improvement. Not only the IT department, but the safety department and facility managers were thrilled with the improvements, enhanced control, broadcast features, and paging coverage. And yet the installation cutover itself was, frankly... rather underwhelming. No one expected an upgrade at that level to be so simple, including PPG project managers.

“The Valcom IP-based emergency alert system runs— and it runs well,” Borel reports, succinctly. “We’re getting additional Valcom speakers, where we can place them anywhere along the network without a lot of difficulty — near zero.”

About Valcom

Corporate Headquarters: 5614 Hollins Road Roanoke, VA 24019

“Near zero!” exclaims Reese Borel, a process control

specialist at PPG Lake Charles. He uses his “near zero” qualifier to describe multiple facets about the new Valcom IP-based emergency alert system, from the design, the installation, the operation, and even the training. “It requires a very low amount of training,” Borel says. “Near zero. You get an overview map of the facility, and if you want to evacuate Plant A, or alert another area, you just push a button. It’s all web-based, with your own control panel, and it’s also secured. You don’t have to install clients. And it’s very low maintenance. The Valcom system is built kind of like a server-based environment. My guy can be in the field and access, or we can access at the guard shack or other dedicated centers.”

Fulfilling an Agenda

Like Kay Communications proposed, Borel was also attracted to Valcom’s a bility to seamlessly integrate with the existing system at the plant. “I had an agenda,” he says, “to keep it simple; but one of my goals was to move over to IP. It was strange... I had just found Valcom by an internet search at the same time Kay called with the recommendation. Everything about it [Valcom] looked like it was not really that difficult.” Borel says it was time to upgrade the system, even though the current system worked.

1.540.563.2000

Founded in 1977, Valcom’s focus has always been and will continue to be listening to and providing customer-based solutions. Valcom has extensive experience in IP and Analog Voice Paging systems, IP Centric Multimodal Systems and Telecommunication Enhancements and is well- known for providing guidance and assistance in implementing the simplest paging system to highly complex mass notification communication solutions. Valcom’s customer base includes most Fortune 500 companies, the majority of highly secure US Government facilities, local government emergency service organizations, healthcare companies and 40,000+ schools. Virtually all of Valcom’s products are engineered, manufactured and supported in a 120,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Roanoke, Virginia, USA.

I 800-825-2661 I Valcom.com I [email protected] I Roanoke, VA USA