The installation of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Building Automation Systems at two of the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadia in which Electrical Engineering Solutions (EES) is involved is well under way.

The first lengths of the 600km of structured cabling is being installed at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium while Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium proceeds onwards, having begun installing several months ahead of Green Point.

EES is part of the WSP Consulting team, tasked with designing and implementing the intelligent electronic transmission backbone on which all stadia’s data and electronic services will operate. The installation is proceeding smoothly, thanks to the experience of the integrator Dimension Data.

“The installation teams are almost at full steam onsite and we are confident that our aspect of the stadium’s construction programme is on schedule,” says EES project engineer James Ricketts. “Because of the tight timelines it is essential for us to have a complete offsite acceptance and commissioning programme working in parallel with the construction works.”

Cabling installation Green Point Stadium

In Green Point, the mass access system (turnstiles) has already been successfully demonstrated offsite. As an example of ideal design sourcing, two suppliers have teamed up to provide this solution. UK Company Fortress supplies the software and ticket reading hardware components, whereas a South African company Turnstar manufactures the turnstiles.

In Port Elizabeth the bulk of the transmission infrastructure on Level 1 is complete, with levels 2 and 3 coming on fast. Patch panels and equipment racks have been installed in all the electronic rooms, readying the areas for connecting the security systems, communication systems, and the Building Management Systems.

Ricketts says that offsite “we are excited that the core data room environment is operational and the network is almost completely configured.”

EES managing director Bradley Hemphill says exceptional collaboration between most parties is ensuring that the contracts are generally running smoothly with the occasional hiccups that one would expect from projects of this magnitude.

“We were fully aware of the time and cost pressures and so have invested beyond the normal scope in our planning and relationship building with all involved, and this is now paying dividends.”