Electrical Engineering Solu- tions (EES) has been involved in the project management and system integration aspects of the information technology (IT) and building automation systems (BAS) of the Cape Town stadium, in Green Point, and the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, in Port Elizabeth (PE).

These stadiums are ready for the FIFA World Cup kick-off on June 11, but they are also heritage structures, which will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come, says EES MD Bradley Hemphill.

To date, the test events, includ- ing a local football derby, have run very smoothly. Any possible hitches are being identified and all minor adjustments made.

EES is the specialist subconsultant providing management and consultancy services to the multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, WSP Consulting Engineers. The company is part of the consulting team tasked with designing and implementing the intelligent backbones at both the Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Bay stadiums.

“Owing to time and cost pressures, we invested beyond the normal scope in our planning and relationship building with all involved, and this certainly paid dividends,” he adds.

“Construction of the new [Nelson Mandela Bay] stadium enabled IT infrastructure to be included in the early planning phase of the stadium design and development to ensure that IT and BAS were designed to support current and future information needs. This is the ideal situation, as it is important for such planning to take place right from the start.” he says.

The Nelson Mandela Bay multi- purpose stadium was the first stadium in South Africa built to meet the international soccer governing body’s exact standards. When PE was chosen as a host city for the 2010 World Cup, the city decided against upgrading the existing Eastern Province Rugby Union stadium, as it would have needed to be almost completely rebuilt in order to meet FIFA requirements, he says.

It is the [Nelson Mandela Bay] stadium’s intelligent backbone which enables it to be a multipurpose stadium, catering for the needs of diverse events, ranging from sports matches and concerts through to trade shows and exhibitions, adds Hemphill.

“All the management sys- tem applications that run on the stadium are integrated, meaning that management tools are in place, enabling the smooth running of events and streamlined stadium maintenance,” he says.

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