Reno-Nord is a Danish waste management company in Northern Jutland that operates one of Europe's most modern and efficient incineration plants. To make this possible, Reno-Nord has chosen to monitor large parts of the incineration process, to have a better opportunity to document the correct processing of the 250 loads of waste that pass through the system every day.
Reno-Nord is a Danish waste management company in Northern Jutland that operates one of Europe's most modern and efficient incineration plants. To make this possible, Reno-Nord has chosen to monitor large parts of the incineration process, to have a better opportunity to document the correct processing of the 250 loads of waste that pass through the system every day.
Reno-Nord had used analog surveillance for both the waste disposal site and the incineration plant for several years. A desire to store surveillance images of the incineration plant made it think about investing in a new surveillance system.
"During our deliberations on how to resolve the storage problem, our IT supplier, MRC Computer A/S, stepped up and suggested a digital installation using Mobotix cameras, which closely matched our needs and the requirements and wishes that we already had for the installation," said Thomas Lyngholm, Environmental Manager at Reno-Nord.
MRC Computer is a turnkey IT supplier to both large and small companies. Jesper Tommerup of MRC Computer said the company sees a great market potential in the surveillance market as demand for IP monitoring increases. MRC Computer has purchased cameras to install at Reno-Nord from their long-term supplier of network equipment, SEC DataCom.
With their previous surveillance solution, Reno-Nord found that the outdoor cameras, particularly those on the waste disposal site, leaked or began to mist up in the damp environment. One of the challenges of the installation was to find a type of camera that would be able to survive the tough environment of both the waste disposal site and the energy plant.
"We had to find a surveillance camera that would be able to work in the hot, damp, dusty and vibrating conditions of the energy plant as well as in the tough environment of the waste disposal plant, where the Limfjord deposits traces of salt water on all the material on site. With this in mind, we chose to suggest a Mobotix solution to Reno-Nord, which in our experience is hard-wearing enough for the harsh environment that they would have to work in at the energy plant," Tommerup said.
The cameras are used for a variety of purposes at Reno-Nord's site. A large proportion of the cameras monitor the plant's operating processes, so that the employees can sit in the control room and have an overview of what is happening at all the different parts of the plant. There are another two cameras set up as access control for the two sites, so that it is possible to monitor any irregularities, such as noncompliance with workplace regulations.
The surveillance solution also has a third vital function. Cameras have been installed to monitor a section of the waste that is delivered to the plant. This enables special waste that is delivered to be checked and its handling to be documented. Particular attention is paid to waste that could damage the incineration plant, such as long beams, hazardous waste such as batteries and chemical waste or recyclable waste such as metal, paper and glass.
"The Aalborg municipality in particular wanted to be able to document what kind of waste was delivered to the waste incinerator and with this surveillance they are now better able to document whether recycling requirements are complied with, for example. Our weigh station is visited by consultants from Aalborg municipality and they use our surveillance system to collect data and documentation to use in their preventive work," Lyngholm said.
"The surveillance of the incineration plant also means that the police and customs authorities do not have to turn up with seven people every time they need to destroy seized goods," Lyngholm said. "They now only need to send one person, who can enter the control room and follow the waste throughout the entire process and take away documentation that the waste has gone into the furnace."
In the new solution, Reno-Nord chose to keep some of the cameras that they already had, as it was possible to convert them so that they worked in conjunction with the new IP surveillance solution. The solution at Reno-Nord is controlled using Milestone software, which is able to manage the combination of different camera types and the new Mobotix cameras were easy to incorporate in the existing network.