WESTINHOTEL Sydney, Australia Scope: A casestudy on the use of the KRONE TERMINATOR™ system by Sielox Security Systems to connect the room control units at the Westin Hotel, Sydney. Prepared by: Jeff Glen, Manager Power & Control Division KRONE (Australia) Technique Pty Limited Background The Westin Sydney, which officially opened in September 1999, is part of the $700 million redevelopment of the GPO site at No 1 Martin Place. Undertaken by Melbourne construction company, Grocon Pty Limited. The project has included the restoration of the heritage GPO building and construction of an office tower and the hotel complex. Grocon awarded a security services contract worth more than $5 million to Sielox Security Systems. As part of the contract Sielox was responsible for the installation of the electronic systems in the hotel’s 417 rooms. Interfacing with property management, the sophisticated electronic systems use the most advanced technology available to control room conditions. From the moment a guest presents a card at the door to their room, the control unit takes over, adjusting lighting, room temperature and fan speed to achieve the perfect environment for each guest depending on the time of day. Control Wiring Criteria According to Sean Burke, Project Manager for Sielox Security Systems, the main challenge of the installation was the large number of different rooms varying in size and shape. The hotel spans the original heritage building with 51 rooms and the new 31-level tower with 366 rooms. “We looked for an electrical termination system that was quick and could be mass produced. With each room requiring a control panel with up to 30 connections, time was a critical factor,” said Mr Burke. The specification required all wiring to be 2.5mm2 building wire. Sielox was also concerned about the potential for damage from the connection of heavy wires on to their printed circuit-mounted control panels. The Solution Sielox chose to provide a terminator box outside of the room’s electronics enclosure to allow a clear demarcation between the electrician’s power circuit and the room electronics. Faced with the potential for significant extra costs in materials and labour to complete 30 screwed terminals per room for over 400 rooms, Sielox looked for an electrical termination system that could minimise labour costs while maximising the quality of connections. The solution was the KRONE TERMINATOR™ system which allowed termination of all the 240V cables quickly and reliably without any screwed terminals. Bridging connections were also easily made on the TERMINATOR modules. The building’s electrical installers simply connected into the interface connection box and Sielox connected to their equipment. The KRONE termination system is based on the Insulation Displacement Connection (IDC) technique which requires no stripping or screwing. Using a simple tool, wires are inserted between contacts placed at a 45-degree angle which simultaneously displace the insulation and notch the conductor. This method leaves more conductor between contact points and provides a more reliable, connection. Screwless terminations also overcome the potential risk of failing to tighten the screw correctly, a common cause of terminal failure. Evaluation The TERMINATOR system saved time and money for Sielox on the Sydney Westin project as well as produced reliable connections for the room control units. “The beauty of the system is that we didn’t need to screw and strip the cable, just punch it in. We were able to terminate every room in a quarter of the time we would have needed had we used screwed terminals and we know we don’t have to go back to check the connection is good,” Mr Burke said. “From an initial trial we found that it reduced the cost to the point that we were then able to go ahead with adding the interface connection box and the Westin Hotel now has a much better system as a result.” For further information please contact: KRONE (AUSTRALIA) TECHNIQUE PTY LTD PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259 2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 Tel: (02) 4388 4422 Fax: (02)4388 4499 Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Web Site: www.krone.com.au Room control box (left) with the control cable connected to one side of the TERMINATOR TM modules (right). . WESTINHOTEL Sydney, Australia Scope: A case study on the use of the KRONE TERMINATOR™ system by Sielox Security Systems. The hotel spans the original heritage building with 51 rooms and the new 31-level tower with 366 rooms. “We looked for an electrical termination system