According to David Springer, the energy management controller, “Our main goal is to always achieve customer satisfaction. Whether that consists of cooling off a surgery suite for a doctor or turning a manual process into an automated one, providing a quick and satisfactory response goes hand in hand with the KMC network of controls.” Springer continues, “Having to efficiently maintain a building of this size requires a lot of individual units to maintain air quality. Having all of those individual controls easily accessible from one central PC is simply an outstanding achievement. It allows any user to simply point and click to find out room temperature, set point, temperature trend, etc., on any controlled point existing on the system.”

St. Edwards Mercy Medical Center has an active environment, and is constantly performing construction/renovation work. New add-ons and remodeling jobs make communications throughout the facility a challenge. Educating the contractors on what can and can’t be taken out is essential to maintaining good relations. Keeping connectivity throughout the various networks is St. Edward largest challenge. The versatility and flexibility of KMC, via its use of networks, allows St. Edwards to perform tasks from any PC loaded with WinControl that would otherwise involve employees walking all over the facility.

During the recent building addition, two additional LAN controllers and a new chiller plant were added. Incorporating the chiller programming across the Ethernet network had some initial problems, but KMC and TL Services provided excellent support, and everyone worked together until the problems were resolved.

KMC products have also been integrated into other facility functions. Seasonal lighting is controlled using a photo eye, shared across the Ethernet network to four sub-networks, to control lighting contactors. A sink, used for patients receiving radioactive therapy, is controlled by a simple time on/time off program. Isolation rooms are monitored using specialized pressure monitors incorporated into the network.

Currently, there are over 50,000 points in the system that monitors the environment at all times, and the number continues to rise. St. Edwards and TL Services are integrating the laboratory fume hood system and remote resets of the pneumatic tube stations into the network. Future plans are to upgrade the KMC Control system from WinControl to Acuity, KMC’s newest and most flexible program. Acuity will enable operations to be controlled from a remote location through the use of the web, providing even more system flexibility.

According to Terry Looper, President of TL Services, “St. Edwards Mercy Medical Center has chosen KMC Controls as the provider of choice because of the local presence, quality of customer service, and product reliability. We have corrected existing problems and continue providing top-notch customer service.”