As necessary as they may be in developed areas, waste management facilities are often viewed as having few if any redeeming qualities. They consume acres
of American soil that could otherwise be used for housing, educational facilities
or parkland. At American Ref-Fuel Company in Westbury, NY, they are taking a more practical approach to waste management they are turning trash into electricity. Generating electricity from garbage is an inglorious and
cumbersome task.

As one of the nation’s leading waste-to-energy power providers, American
Ref- Fuel converts nearly one million tons of solid waste into fuel for its
Westbury facility’s 72-megawatt turbine generator.

In addition to providing an efficient source of energy for 65,000 homes, the process provides a safe,
practical and efficient waste management solution. With environmental health and safety as paramount concerns at American Ref-Fuel, the company is proud to have five facilities earn the elite “Star” classification within Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program. In addition, the Hempstead plant is a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Performance Track
Program, an honor given to facilities with outstanding environmental records.

Steve Bossotti, Plant Manager at American Ref-Fuel’s Westbury plant, realized that a new video surveillance
system would help to improve plant operations by facilitating the smooth flow of materials, which would
in turn enhance efficiency.

The initial video system installed in 1989 simply did not offer the performance, versatility and
feature capabilities that Bossotti envisioned. Bossotti assigned Maintenance Manager, Ken Hinsch
and electrical/Instrumentation and Controls Supervisor, Anthony Notaro the task of scoping out the
specific camera needs the Plant would require.

Notaro then spoke with Sr. E/I&C Technician, Jorge Hernandez, to begin investigating possible vendors who could put together a system that would meet the Plant's needs. Hernandez was responsible for the original CCTV system installed at the plant.

After visiting Panasonic Security Systems’ web site, Hernandez realized Panasonic offered the systems technology the Plant required. With a Panasonic National Certified Dealer located virtually in his backyard Intelli-Tec Security Services of Westbury, NY Hernandez knew they could get increased functionality from
a new system coupled with expert local support to implement all of the system’s capabilities and
performance they desired.

The day after speaking with Mary Ellen Dee, Sales Manager for Intelli-Tec, Hernandez and Notaro met
with Mr. Marty L. McMillan, President of Intelli-Tec. A seasoned video surveillance specialist with over
28 years of experience, McMillan quickly offered several possible system solutions to meet their
requirements.

During the initial site tour, McMillan immediately summarized that his installation team had several installation issues to address as a result of the hostile environment in which the system was to be deployed. McMillan recognized that the restrictive conditions would increase the installation time required, yet Intelli-Tec had
to minimize downtime at the plant during the complex installation process.

The installation schedule including the coordination of timing and duration
of each area’s shut down was critical to the success of the project and was
placed in the hands of Matt McMillan; VP of Operations at Intelli-Tec and Hernandez. McMillan’s expertise in handling special video surveillance
installations was to be put to the test.

To help streamline and expedite the installation process, Hernandez and Notaro provided Mr. McMillan with OSHA’s safety guidelines and American Ref-Fuel’s
plant procedures.

While the equipment was on order, McMillan had the Intelli-Tec installation team complete the certified safety training classes. This allowed Intelli-Tec to meet American Ref-Fuel’s immediate installation schedule.

At the inception of the design phase, Hernandez and Notaro emphasized that Control Room Operators
needed the ability to monitor each key area of the plant. “It is critical that our operators can see if there
are any disruptions in the process, starting with our east and west crane operations which begin the process,” said Mr. Hernandez.

Two Gantry-style cranes with claw-type grapples load tons of garbage into one of three hoppers which feed massive burners to heat the system’s boilers and drive the steam driven turbine. The garbage dropped into each hopper is moved across burners at a controlled rate on six separate metal roller grates. The resultant ash and residue exits on the opposite side and is dropped into a conveyor belt system. It passes through vibration machines where the residue and ash is sorted by size. The cameras used to monitor the three hoppers allow the crane operators to spot large metal objects such as car engines, refrigerators or air conditioners, which must be quickly removed from the process to avoid jams.

The problematic old video system which was used to monitor these areas consisted of three monochrome tube cameras in standard interior housings that were connected with a sequential switcher.