Project SuperBowl

When lives are at stake in an emergency, it is crucial that first responders are able to communicate quickly and clearly, to ensure the safety of everyone in the building. And when the building in question is an enormous warehouse with a complex layout, automated machinery, and even large amounts of potentially flammable inventory, it becomes all the more important to have clear, strong wireless signal for two-way radios.

So, when the world’s largest online retailer built a new, 1.1 million square-foot fulfillment center codenamed “Project SuperBowl” in Kansas City, Kansas, a Public Safety DAS was a must-have.

Short for Distributed Antenna System, DAS is a life safety code-required system that ensures high-quality wireless signal in  buildings with poor coverage. It’s a technology many contractors and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) are only just becoming familiar with, but one Tech Electronics specializes in.

Torgeson Electric, the electrical contractor on Project SuperBowl, needed a design assist from a partner who was not only familiar with Public Safety DAS, but had intimate knowledge of the code requirements involved. With this in mind, they chose Tech.

“This was a new challenge for us, as we hadn’t really done DAS before,” Brad Szopinski, Project Manager for Torgeson Electric, said. “Tech was instrumental not just in knowing the code, but also in helping us develop and solidify our general understanding of the system, and how each component functioned.”

As is fairly commonplace with DAS installations, the need for the system was identified fairly late in the game and required a quick turnaround. Nonetheless, Tech Electronics and Torgeson collaborated productively, and delivered on time despite several challenges.

“It’s always daunting when you’re already on a tight timetable and run into material procurement issues,” Szopinski said. “But it goes a long way when a partner is flexible, and Tech’s willingness to have people come in on the weekend and keep pushing into the eleventh hour was a key factor in the success of this project.

Laura Hoffman, Project Manager for McCownGordon, the general contractor on the project, echoed those sentiments, saying:

“The Super Bowl project posed a unique set of challenges, in part because the building lacked final conditions (significant amounts of racking, product, and other equipment) all of which had the potential to affect the system’s functionality. Coupled with volatile supply chain issues and a compressed design and install schedule, the successful completion of the DAS system in a timeline to accommodate the client’s operational schedule would appear out of reach; but Tech Electronics and Torgeson Electric knocked it out of the park.”

When it came time to test the system, the KCK Fire Department showed up in force, with two trucks’ worth of firefighters dispersing throughout the facility to test signal strength, which passed with flying colors. According to Tech Electronics Project Manager, Darin Wassinger the AHJ described the audio quality provided by DAS as “crystal clear.”

More broadly, it’s another success story for a solution whose profile is growing.

“Public Safety DAS is a technology everyone in the construction industry will be hearing more and more about in the coming years, and I’m hopeful installations like this can set the standard moving forward,” said Adam Baer, Director of IT Solutions for Tech Electronics. “As it continues to gain a foothold, we’re confident the industry will come to see it for what it is: not just another code-required box to tick, but a crucial, effective life-safety solution.”