Case study Harvard LISE Helium turnkey

Helium Recovery System Turnkey Solution

Implementing a secure, uniform site-wide system for enhanced safety and emergency response.

Challenge

Established in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest and one of the most respected institutes of Higher Education in the United States. Long known for exceptional academic and research programs, Harvard is often at the forefront of new and innovative technologies. In their Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering (LISE), scientists collaborate on nanoscale science research. The on-going research utilizes Helium, which can be costly and some forecast supply constraints in the future. Harvard installed a Helium Recovery System to support their LISE facility and needed a company to provide turnkey control system services; they selected Hallam-ICS.

Solution

Hallam-ICS was responsible for completing the control system design, fabrication of UL508A control panels, PLC & HMI programming and system start-up for the Central PLC and the Blower Control System. The control system consisted of an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC and a PanelView. Hallam-ICS also subcontracted the installation of the control system, including all low voltage, 24 VDC instrument power and Ethernet wiring.

Once the design, programming and control panel fabrication were completed, Hallam-ICS performed a thorough Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) on the system to ensure proper configuration of the system prior to field installation. After installation, a Site Acceptance Test (SAT) was performed along with operator training to ensure that Harvard’s staff would be able to properly operate and maintain the system.

Results

Our team accomplished the following:

  • Turnkey Control System Delivery: Designed and fabricated UL508A control panels, programmed the Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC, and managed system start-up for the Central PLC and Blower Control System.
  • Quality Assurance and Training: Conducted thorough Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) to ensure reliable system performance and provided comprehensive operator training for Harvard staff.
  • Efficient Helium Recovery Support: Delivered a robust control solution supporting Harvard’s Helium Recovery System to enhance cost efficiency and address future resource constraints.

Partial Project Team