It’s really encouraging to hear of a local company achieving recognition internationally. Intelligent Environments Ltd (IEL) have done just that, by having their project for Auckland District Health Board’s new Stroke Unit receive Highly Commended in the recent prestigious DALI Lighting Awards. This was a tremendous achievement and is the first time a New Zealand project has been recognized in this international arena.
The design of the lighting control system utilized zencontrol technology, which is an IoT solution out of Australia, for which Intelligent Environments hold the sole distribution rights for New Zealand. It is a big leap forward from older type control systems as it is programmable and maintained via the cloud.
As the COVID-19 state of emergency was declared last March, it became apparent that all current and potential medical facilities could be called upon for the care of COVID-19 patients, and as such, work on this ADHB project with its additional 41 inpatient beds was deemed essential.
Intelligent Environments obtained the required equipment overnight from the Australian supplier and manufacturer and provided this to the electrical contractor for installation during lockdown. Supply of a simple 3G data solution allowed IEL to program the system remotely, with no need for a controls engineer to attend site. With the zencontrol DALI-2 system IEL can fully configure to client requirements as well as access and support the system remotely for any future changes.
This DALI-2 system has allowed IEL to meet today’s unique challenges (e.g. lockdowns, enforced social distancing, vulnerable sites) with a system that offers comprehensive and transparent reports for facility managers, automated testing and monitoring of emergency systems, and the ability to resolve maintenance issues remotely for critical sites. This must be the way of the future.
So well done Intelligent Environments and their project partners on becoming the first New Zealanders to obtain this esteemed award.
Roundabout Magazine
This article was published in Roundabout Magazine Issue 172 (March 2021).