The customers requirement was to be able to remotely view the waste water levels within the Well in order to view the performance of the pumps and ensure correct activation sequence of the pumps in order to prevent flooding. Due to the hazardous environment within the Wet Well – explosion risk, pitch black and limited space, there were some challenges to overcome.

Secure Engineering removed the existing Wet Well steel cover plat to a safe distance from the Wet Well and cut a precise square access hole for the new ex-rated camera assembly. The cover was then replaced. The camera assembly was then mounted on a specially made steel ‘sub plate’ so the camera could be suspended on the underside of the plate through the opening on the steel cover and fixed into place from the upper side. For Health and safety reasons it was crucial to make the opening for the camera to specific dimensions allowing only the camera to fit through and therefore not be physically possible for a person to fall into the chamber below, necessary when installing the camera or when carrying out future maintenance procedures. A blanking plate was also made so the opening can be securely covered should the camera need to be removed for maintenance or even redeployed to another Well.

The camera used was a 2mp Explosion-Proof Network Bullet camera, housed in stainless steel with integral IR lighting. Cat5 SWA cable is connected to the camera with EX-rated glands and extended externally to a nearby building and connected to the customers broadband connection. The camera was programmed to regularly email an image to the Customers email account

Benefits of this camera installation enables visual assessment of: –

• Remote access to images without visiting site
• The water levels in the Wet Well
• The performance of the pumps
• The efficiency and order of pump activation
• Whether the Well needs cleaning

Enables the ability to: –

• Reduces manpower and Health and Safety issues related to accessing the Well to Re-program the pumps or sensors to achieve correct levels
• Assess if the pumps require Maintenance
• Re-program the order of the pumps to achieve higher efficiency
• Identify when cleaning of the well is required