Digicel Jamaica GenTrak power management systems

AlanDick proves that GenTrak can overcome the searing heat - and Hurricane Dean - to provide a power management system in Jamaica

Digicel is Jamaica's premier mobile network, with over 550 cell sites across the island.

The terrain is tough and some of the site locations are extremely remote. The climate is hot and humid and the threat of hurricanes - which can take out the fragile power lines - is high. It is vital that site generators run when needed to keep the network and life on the island running. Therefore a system to report the condition of the generators and provide the means to remotely control them is equally vital.

AlanDick's GenTrak system was the obvious solution, but the system had never been tested by such harsh conditions. Digicel's cell sites are situated in open locations, generators have steel enclosures and temperatures regularly hit 60 Degrees Celsius. After an initial trial it became clear that the GenTrak units to be installed in the generators would need to be to handle the heat.

The AlanDick team quickly set to work on a new robust design, whilst managing customer liaison and planning site installations. Challenges such as incompatible generators and faulty controllers were overcome to provide the right solution.

Digicel now has an easy to use interface that enables the user to quickly and efficiently resolve generator problems - it also raises alarms via email and SMS messages.

The GenTrak system was put to the test on Sunday 19th August 2007, when category 4 Hurricane Dean hit Jamaica, with winds of up to 145 miles per hour.

GenTrak enabled Digicel to be prepared for the hurricane, monitor sites during the storm, respond rapidly to site problems after the storm - and provided remote control of the generators at all times.

According to Digicel, it was the only network with functioning sites in all 14 parishes of Jamaica within 24 hours following the passage of the hurricane  - and loss of power was never an issue. It also cited its hurricane preparedness measures as the reason why it was able to maintain the stability of its core network across the island.

The AlanDick team is now moving to Phase 2, which will provide Digicel with even greater control - including fuel monitoring and battery theft detection.

Figure 1 Connected Generators displays the cell site locations, with each generator colour coded to identify it’s condition.

Figure 2 shows that the generators are running.

Figure 3 shows the GenTrak system

Please click on the link to download GenTrak brochure