Handphone in Control Room

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Thread Starter

fazlimanaf

Hello Guys,

IS there any guideline or restriction that handphone cannot bring in to the control room or rack room or marshaling room? or just rumours that the handphone signal (GSM emission) can trip or shutdown the controller?

Note: DCS Honeywell HPM Controller and FSC

Because we will install fire alarm devices that using the GSM protocol to connect to the centralize system. This devise to be locate in the marshaling room. Which means that the device function as a handphone.

my email address: [email protected]
 
Hello, Guy,

In my experience, any such guideline or restriction is imposed site-by-site based on their experience using mobile (cell) phones in control- and rack rooms.

And, what does the manufacturer/supplier of the fire system equipment say about this potential for problem?

Also in my experience, most problems with radio transmissions in control and/or rack rooms stems from incorrect or poor grounding/earthing of the control panels and/or the wiring used to interconnect the control equipment to the control panels. Specifically, shield drain wires of the twisted, shielded pair cables and the twisted, shielded triad cables. If the shield drain wires are not properly grounded/earthed in accordance with sound construction practices then radio transmissions can cause electrical noise and interference with the low-level signals being transmitted by the cables inside the shielding. Shield grounding/earthing is an often-overlooked but extremely important part of construction, and poor practices are often at the heart of many mysterious and nuisance problems with control systems.

Some older control systems just were not designed to handle radio transmissions of any significant strength--particularly if the control panel doors were not properly closed. (Many doors have special gaskets which can prevent radio transmissions from affecting internal components--but only if the doors are properly closed.)

A lot of control systems are assembled in painted or powder-coated panels and they are not properly grounded/earthed during installation. This can make them large antennae.

Having said all of the above, most control systems these days are pretty robust and are designed for low-level radio transmissions, including mobile (cell) phone transmissions. Certainly, most PCs are up to the task, especially if they are industrial PCs.

You should be working with the manufacturer/supplier of the equipment being proposed to understand what their experience is at plants similar to yours, and what can be done to mitigate potential problems. Many plant managers and operations supervisors routinely use their mobile phones in control rooms. You should also work with the manufacturer of the control equipment in the environment to understand if they have any concerns or issues with the proposed equipment/configuration, and if they have any recommendations for mitigating any potential problem(s).
 
R

RocketTester

My company has management fiats of "no cellphones in control rooms and test bays", but impossible to enforce since managers are the worst offenders. It shouldn't affect any equipment. Anything sold in Europe requires a "CE mark" (even toys). Testing for that measures EM sensitivity where they blast the device with strong RF swept frequencies. We had a hard time passing an instrument because it had an antennae to detect pulsed eddy-current signals, so was of course sensitive. My guess is that if a cellphone was powerful enough to affect anything in a control room or airplane, people would be showing more brain cancers on the side they hold the phone.
 
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