INDUSTRY: Public Sector | SERVICES: Controls & Automation | Industrial Control Panels
ABOUT THE CLIENT
The US Army Corps of Engineers is a US government entity dedicated to delivering “engineering solutions for our Nation’s toughest challenges.” They turned to the engineering and control panel design experts at EAD to support them with one of their most challenging – a project to replace Lock and Dam 26 in Alton, IL.
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
The Melvin Price Locks and Dam Project replaced a Lock and Dam demolished in the 1990s due to structural deficiencies. The US Army Corps of Engineers wanted the new lock and dam installation to not only have a state-of-the-art control system, but the structural resiliency to withstand riverbed scouring. EAD was tasked with providing 17 new industrial control panels and NEMA-12 electrical enclosures within a very tight schedule to help the US Army meet their goal.
APPROACH & SOLUTION
Using our in-house industrial panel shop, EAD designed, built, programmed, and tested 17 new panels. We also custom-engineered NEMA-12 electrical enclosures in a range of sizes. In order to reduce our client’s costs and meet the condensed schedule, we conducted the manufacturing and assembly processes at the same time. All enclosures were networked together for three days of burn-in and factory acceptance testing (FAT) and then processed for shipping and on-site installation.
RESULT & BENEFIT
EAD was able to complete the control panels within budget and in record time. The Corps of Engineers were satisfied with the quality of the panels as well, awarding them an exceptional performance rating in 90 percent of their categories. Today, the Melvin Price Locks and Dam is hailed as an engineering feat, standing strong as both one of the largest and most technologically advanced locks on the Mississippi River.