Integrated Remote Control and Monitoring for Airport CNS and ATM Systems

Integrated Remote Control & Monitoring System Overview

The Sitewatch™ Integrated Remote Control and Monitoring System (iRCMS) is a high performance, high availability solution which runs on Windows platforms.  

Sitewatch™ provides remote control and monitoring of a wide range of airside systems from one virtual platform, greatly reducing the space needed for the control and monitoring function and simplifying the task for the operators.

Sitewatch™ usually operates in a fault tolerant configuration with multi Servers and multi Client workstations inter-connected on a secure LAN.

Sitewatch™ integrates with the airside equipment and exchanges its control and monitoring data across airport links, from fibre-optic cables, UHF/VHF radio and fixed copper lines, whatever may be available.

Sitewatch™provides not only a picture of the status of the monitored equipment but also the “real time quality control” (RTQC) of the data being presented to the operators and controllers.

User Interface for Simple, Intuitive & Consistent Operation

The Sitewatch™ User Interface (UI)  is specially designed to meet ICAO requirements. Using an internationally recognised symbol set, Sitewatch provides information for both engineers and managers regarding the status of airport equipment and services.

The Sitewatch UI is designed to provide a simple, intuitive and consistent interface to a wide range of field equipment, allowing operators and controllers to quickly assess the condition of systems and services and to safely and rapidly respond to changes.

The Sitewatch™ client workstations are configured to support multiple monitors, typically the airport overview is shown on one screen while more detailed views of areas of interest and investigation are launched on to the second and  third screens.

The Sitewatch™ UI uses a mouse as the pointing and control device and high-resolution active colour graphics displays to dynamically indicate the status of the remote site equipment.

Integration with the Airfield and Tower Systems & Services

Sitewatch™comes with a library of existing, proven interfaces to a wide variety of Communication, Navaid and Sensor equipment as well as a range of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems and services.

These interfaces include SNMP, DNP and other IP interfaces as well as proprietary protocols developed subject to non-disclosure agreements with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). 

Where needed Lee-Dickens’ Sitewatch™ Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) provide the field interface to the remote equipment.

Sitewatch™ also provides interfaces to monitor and control the support and service equipment for these systems and services, such as the outside electrical supplies, (OES), diesel generators, Air Handing and HVAC, Low Voltage Distribution (LVD) systems, fire and intruder detection equipment and many more.

Airport Services Availability Management System (ASAMS)

Lee-Dickens’ Airport Services Availability Management System (ASAMS) is a relational database driven airport management package, which uses “event and incident” data from Sitewatch. 

ASAMS builds a database allowing the airport operators to access reports on a wide and detailed picture of the airport covering incidents, failures and frequency of failure, system recovery, fault acknowledgement and attendance and many other parameters.  These reports enable compliance with service level agreement to be assessed as well as showing the effect of the failures on the ability to provide an effective service.

Additionally this information can be used to maximise the efficiency of the deployment of support staff, the running of shift services for 24-hour coverage and to monitor the actual Incident Response times as well as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) figures of the equipment providing the services.