Fairwinds Automation designed, manufactured, and programmed the alarm and monitoring system (AMS) for the "Powhatan" passenger and vehicle ferry constructed for Virginia's Jamestown-Scotland ferry service. This was a turnkey delivery where we assumed responsibility for all aspects of design and construction for a firm fixed price.

The AMS meets stringent American Bureau of Shipping standards for marine engineering, including redundant power supplies, redundant alarm servers, and sourcing of electronic components that meet ABS quality standards.
 

The system integrates over 200 I/O points from ship sensors into a graphical touchscreen interface that can be accessed from five locations throughout the ship. The design includes a sophisticated alarm management system that allows crew members to view, silence, and acknowledge alarms from the different operating stations. We developed the code for the programmable logic controller that processes signals from a wide range of sensor types to generate intuitive displays, alarms, trends, and historical logs that will assist the crew in the safe operation of the ship.

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The system consists of 6 custom programmed panels that were assembled and thoroughly tested at the factory. We delivered detailed mounting and wiring diagrams to support shipboard installation and interconnection.

This project was completed successfully in 2019 and the Powhatan ferry is in operational service.