Singleton Birch Process Control Room Furniture

Our Case Study Singleton Birch process control room furniture features Singleton Birch, who were looking to upgrade the existing control room of their lime processing plant. They approached Thinking Space to provide a customised solution. A 12 metre desk in a u-shape was designed and installed by Thinking Space with a 10.5m curved Evolution media wall, creating the focus for monitoring plant activities.

Singleton Birch are a family business based in North Lincolnshire. It was founded over two centuries ago, in 1815, by William Singleton Birch. They are now the UK’s leading independent lime supplier, which is used in building, construction and civil engineering, the environment and agriculture. Their portfolio also includes Birch Energy, Birch Chemicals, Birch Solutions and Birch Waste and are global suppliers, expanding into renewable energy, rubber and plastics sectors.rnrnIn response to Industry 4.0 across the manufacturing industry, Singleton Birch planned to install the very latest data analytics software into the control room. As well as upgrading to accommodate the new technology, they approached Thinking Space to help upgrade their control room furniture from the existing office furniture located around the perimeter of the room. The result would be to create a new central control room, data centre and meeting room from an existing store room.

Thinking Space worked with the client to understand their requirements in terms of monitoring and analysing data. As Thinking Space uses the operations centred design approach, it was clear that all operators needed to be able to view all monitoring screens. As part of their free design service, Thinking Space created 2D technical drawings and 3D renders to help visualise the solution. The design proposals centre around a curved Evolution media wall, so that analytics can be monitored using multiple large flat screen monitors mounted in a video wall configuration, by all operators.

A 10.5 metre curved Evolution media wall was provided by Thinking Space, custom designed to accommodate ten by two rows of 55” flat screens. So that all operators have an ergonomic view of the monitors, Thinking Space designed a 12 metre process control console, configured in a U-shape around the room. PC bays with glass doors are provided at either end, with the remaining curvature unhindered by supports, creating flexible workspaces for operators along its length.rnrnDesk-mounted flat screens displaying monitoring information was also an important requirement. Using Novus Folding Arm II monitor mounts, a continual row of 22 flat screen monitors create a sweep around the desk, with two rows of monitors at either end.rnTo retain a corporate feel, Singleton Birch logos were added to the end panels of the console by Thinking Space, whilst the client added branding to the wall and the headrests of the chairs.rnrnClients’ Singleton Birch officially opened the new control room in August 2019. As Jack Brow, Operations Assets Manager explained “This is the second time we have worked with Thinking Space; previously we built a control room specifically for the Quarry Operations, however this project included bringing both the quarry and lime operations together to become more efficient and effective in the way the departments operate. We had a large store room that was to be converted, the idea / concept we had was to build as large a desk and media wall as possible as this gave room for expansion.”rnrn“Thinking Space visited site and worked with us on a few ideas before coming to the final design where full 2D and 3D drawings were created to really help visualise exactly how the control room would look. Thinking Space were very helpful on installation dates as we were on a very tight deadline and had a critical path to stick to. Finally the installers worked in a very professional manner to a high standard, they also worked with us to ensure everything was installed to meet our requirements”.rnrn“In summary I would highly recommend working with Thinking Space, they provide A+ service on all aspects from start to finish”.