Ever since its foundation in 1993 Infracontrol has stuck to its business concept of linking technical systems without it costing the Earth. The idea was a bullseye and works just as well today as it did then, according to Johan Höglund. One of the first assignments was carried out on behalf of the Swedish Transport Administration's western region and involved replacing the 1970s control equipment in the in the Gnistäng and Tingstad tunnels with modern industrial automation systems. Thanks to the replacement traffic managers were able to improved both air quality and tunnel safety due to such things as remote systems control and better supervision.
"Many people talk about major technology shifts and futuristic improvements in different systems, but in actual fact many of the original problems remain. Take what happens during a cloudburst as an example. Roads often flood resulting in serious disruptions to traffic. This type of problem could easily be prevented with the aid of relatively simple monitoring systems. What good is it that your car is hugely intelligent when the road you've taken is flooded," asks Johan Höglund.

The supervision and control system in Gothenburg's Gnistäng tunnel was upgraded in August 2011 for the purpose of improving traffic safety — pretty necessary considering it's one of the most heavily trafficked places in Gothenburg with around 55,000 vehicles passing through every day. Today the tunnel has fan control, traffic management and monitoring systems. 

Infracontrol Online — Cloud Services
One of the company's solutions is the web-based service, Infracontrol Online. The service involves connecting different technological installations to a single point to achieve supervision and control. This allows the control and supervision of all the installations via a single service even when an owner such as the Swedish Transport Administration or a municipal authority makes use of many different system suppliers.

"The great thing about our online service is that all you need is a cell phone or tablet in order to use it. Another advantage for customers such as the Swedish Transport Administration who use a number of different operations contractors to keep their traffic installations running, is that our service means there's no hassle when a contractor is replaced. What's more, the system gathers technical alarms from e.g. street lighting, water pumps, traffic signals and defect reports to a single point which means managers are always able to keep track of system states," says Johan. 

Gothenburg's Partihall Link
On December 1 it will be time to inaugurate the new four-lane bridge that connects the E20 with the E45 just east of Gothenburg's Tingstad tunnel. Infracontrol's part in the project includes a control and monitoring system for managing surface water before the latter is released. In the event of a hazmat spill on the bridge or adjacent road network, water in the surrounding environment is protected by means of automated detectors and predetermined action plans at the traffic management center. The installation is controlled and monitored with the aid of PLCs and SCADA systems supplied by Infracontrol. The system's most important task is to make sure only clean water is released into the River Säve and that substances hazardous to the environment do not leave the installation if a hazmat discharge happens on the bridge.  "Managers at the traffic management center have predetermined plans that help them quickly shut down the plant in the event of an accident," Johan tells us.

Not Rocket Science
When Johan Höglund peers into the future he sees above all a need for better control and supervision of our society's basic infrastructure."The more technological installations society has, the more important it is that we make sure everything is working as it should. New IT and communications solutions mean that we already have fantastic opportunities to create the intelligent infrastructure we need. There's no need for rocket science, in fact simple solutions will take us a long way. The systems must function right here, right now. If they do, and if we have good monitoring systems, we can reduce costs by preventing problems and also reduce energy costs when systems are not in use. There are many places that have hardly any supervision at all, and they use up a lot of resources whenever a fault occurs. Which means Infracontrol envisions a great many potential customers throughout Scandinavia," concludes Johan Höglund.