Donated E3 supervisory control drives uptime, refrigeration reliability and food security for state of Alaska
By Copeland
Founded in 1979, the Food Bank of Alaska in Anchorage ships donations statewide to 150 partner food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and children’s programs — with a goal of feeding their hungry neighbors. For many years, it had been making the best of outdated equipment in a remote facility, dealing with frequent equipment breakdowns that led to significant losses of perishable items. The added challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic stretched the facility beyond its capacity, prompting a move to establish a more reliable base of operations.
Using funds from the Cares Act, along with corporate and private support, food bank administrators launched a plan to move the operation into a larger facility with more modern equipment. Fortunately, a local retailer had moved a few years earlier — leaving behind a vacant building that was well-suited to its growing needs.
To support this move, Copeland donated an E3 supervisory control to monitor and maintain the food bank’s mission-critical refrigeration system. The facility’s combination walk-in cooler/freezer system was comprised of:
- Two outdoor condensing units (OCUs) and four indoor evaporators for the cooler
- Three OCUs and six indoor evaporators for the freezer
- Two leak detection systems
Within the new facility, temperature sensors were added to multiple locations to preserve the organization’s critical food stores. Anchored by the new E3, the system upgrade enables on-site or remote access to these key assets using the software’s user-friendly, web-accessible interface.
Overcoming costly maintenance and reliability issues in harsh conditions
Previously, the facility’s remote location, age of equipment and inaccessibility to service technicians made service calls a complicated and costly endeavor. Other than a bi-annual maintenance plan, technicians were only asked to make the trip during times of critical need — and that typically meant flying in at a cost of $2–3k per day. Alaska’s frigid climate only compounded the usual challenges of repairing an outdated system.
The previous alert process used a wireless alarm system that was only capable of providing notifications while staff was working during the day. If an issue on the refrigeration system developed overnight, the team wouldn’t find out until the next day — often too late to save the perishables.
Using the E3 in the new facility, the food bank can now gain remote access to system performance from anywhere with an internet connection. Alerts notify stakeholders of any issues when they occur and provide specific information about where the error is. Now the team can quickly determine whether an issue can be fixed easily or needs immediate attention.
E3 delivers next-generation management and control
The all-new E3 supervisory control builds on the foundation of the industry-standard E2, adding a built-in, touch-screen display and integrated robust control software. This significant upgrade delivers a user-friendly, web-accessible interface that enables control over critical building and refrigeration systems, including compressor groups, condensers, walk-in units, HVAC and lighting systems — all while offering the same physical footprint of legacy E2 controllers.
The E3’s Floorplan feature enables big-picture visibility to the facility at a glance, giving staff and service technicians the abilities to monitor each device, locate active alarms, and streamline issue prioritization and response.
- Monitor multiple devices in one view
- Provide 2D/3D visualizations of equipment layout
- Quickly identify alarms at the asset/fixture levels
- Accelerate issue resolution
Real results, fast issue resolution
For operators of the Food Bank of Alaska, the E3 upgrade delivered immediate benefits and security about the future of their operations. Remote access has already significantly reduced the need — and associated costs — of maintenance calls. When they do need service, smart alarms and notifications capabilities have given the staff advanced notice to allow their service teams to fix issues that easily could have developed into much larger problems.
As Tom Losey, vice president of construction operations for Arctic Refrigeration and Air Condition — who services the Food Bank of Alaska — recalled, the E3 has transformed their responsiveness.
“What used to take us half an hour to an hour can now be done in 10 to 15 minutes — if we even need to go up there,” he said. “Say that drain is clogged and causes a unit to freeze up again. Now you can sit at a screen and manually defrost the unit without having to go anywhere. Problem solved.”
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