Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage system

[L D[AR2P#0.0]]

I wonder if there will be any posts concerning the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage system after the reported 400,000 hours of software design ? Anyone familiar with the architecture - for example is it all Rockwell or Siemens or etc. or a mix of everything ?

 

[504bloke]

I wonder if it will work ever work 24/7

Cant remember which airport (UK) but on a siemens course last year they (Siemens UK with an integrator) had implemented a large ASi network approach to the baggage system with S7's controlling it.
Cant remember where as it twas late and the bar was open

 

[nonuke]

I just heard on CNN that Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage system had lots of problems on the first day.

 

[PeterW]

I wonder if there will be any posts concerning the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage system after the reported 400,000 hours of software design ? Anyone familiar with the architecture - for example is it all Rockwell or Siemens or etc. or a mix of everything ?

I worked on it for some time before leaving for Canada.

Siemens Step 7, all 400 series PLC's. PILZ safety PLC's. All distributed Profibus and ASi and WinCC SCADA.

There are some additional intelligent systems for some functions, such as fast routing on carts running at 10m/sec etc.

 

[PeterW]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/27/nheathrow427.xml
Cant remember which airport (UK) but on a siemens course last year they (Siemens UK with an integrator) had implemented a large ASi network approach to the baggage system with S7's controlling it.

Not T5, unless of course they are trying to steal credit from a Dutch firm that built the conveyors and desgned the control.

 

[uptown47]

I wonder if there will be any posts concerning the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage system after the reported 400,000 hours of software design ? Anyone familiar with the architecture - for example is it all Rockwell or Siemens or etc. or a mix of everything ?

I'm not sure but I can bet that there's some poor software guy having a really really bad week (and I betcha he'll be working the weekend too!)

 

[Paulus]

I'm not sure but I can bet that there's some poor software guy having a really really bad week (and I betcha he'll be working the weekend too!)

I know one of the guys who was involved in implementing the PILZ system, might just drop him a mail...

 

[PeterW]

I know one of the guys who was involved in implementing the PILZ system, might just drop him a mail...

I knew them all One is still there, I was going to give him a call... seeing as he's one of the very few left, it must be his fault..

 

[JohnW]

Don't blame the poor bl***dy programmer...

"During the inadequate training days prior to the opening, any staff questions were bounced back with 'I don't know' " .. a baggage handler.

operator training, always the weak point of any new PLC system.

 

[fornhamspark]

400,ooo hours is someone pulling our leg, 154 years based on a 50 hour working week??

Would be interested in any more info of how thgis system works.

 

[Oakley]

This thread brings up the memories of the Denver Airport fiasco.

 

[mountainbikedude]

Denver International Airport

A former coworker of mine was very heavy into programming and commissioning PLC's for Denver International when it was being built. He worked for http://www.cage-inc.com/ It's been a long time ago but I believe he told me that the plcs were Square D. It must have been fun working for them because he left the company I was at to go back to work for them. Most problems I see are not due to programming but to the intial design of the system is not that great to begin with. Good programming can make up for bad mechanical design to an extent.

 

[jstolaruk]

Good programming can make up for bad mechanical design to an extent.

But don't let the mechanical guys hear you say that

I just returned from a two week trip to Mexico to replace some motor contactors with VFDs, a very simple task really until I found out that the mechanical guys had underpowered the electrical to begin. They thought I could make up for it with some kind of magic (make a 1hp motor behave like a 3hp).

 

[uptown47]

From what I saw on Sky News, it seems that the main problem was some sort of barcode reader on the baggage conveyor that is meant to read the barcode sticker on the bags as they go past and route them to the correct plane...

Seems it wasn't sufficiently tested...

Probably the same old problem..
Customer: "Can the system walk on water?"
Salesman: "Yes, no problem at all"

..Back at the office
Salesman to Programmer: "By the way.. I promised the customer the system would walk on water. Have a nice weekend, see you on Monday".

 

[PeterW]

From what I saw on Sky News, it seems that the main problem was some sort of barcode reader on the baggage conveyor that is meant to read the barcode sticker on the bags as they go past and route them to the correct plane...

very unlikely, they use SICK BCR's, as used all over the world, very reliable.

More likely the higher end computers that receive the information and responds with routing information.

I can see the poor PLC's getting blamed when all they do is run conveyors and pass info read to the higher level and respond to instructions from above.