System detects Low Frequency noise within 5 minutes
Agristo specialises in the production of pre-fried and frozen potato products and specialities. Just think of fries, potato slices, nuts and croquettes. The family business employs 1000 people in four branches with headquarters in Harelbeke and production sites in Wielsbeke, Nazareth and Tilburg (NL). Agristo cherishes its neighbours. They are tackling odour and noise pollution with absolute priority. They do this by regularly planning a neighbourhood meeting and sending out newsletters. There is also a central reporting point for neighbours who might experience nuisance at some point.
In the context of a report about running refrigerated lorries, RTS developed a noise detection system together with Agristo. Thijs Naessens (ICT Infrastructure Manager at Agristo): "There's a lot of transport to and from our companies. About a thousand lorries a week drive to and from our sites. Also at night. Although loading and unloading can usually be done very quickly, some drivers stay on our sites longer than necessary and make a virtue of necessity to suddenly respect their rest periods. Unfortunately, this also involves the necessary noise pollution, which we cannot accept.
The sound of the refrigerated truck carries far. "This is very annoying for the closest neighbours. To solve this problem, we first engaged an external night watchman. This turned out not to be the best system: the night watchman sometimes only noticed the refrigerated lorry after an hour. Together with RTS, we therefore devised a system with sound sensors linked to the cameras."
New product and unique software developed after thorough analysis
RTS installed sound sensors on the long wall at the company site in Wielsbeke. After thorough on-site measurement and analysis, RTS built a new product and the software for this application. "The sensors in the wall detect low frequency noise. When these sensors detect the specific noise of the refrigerated lorries for five minutes between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., an Agristo employee receives a message. Our own night employee can then see from the images where the refrigerated lorry is located and politely ask the driver to move or abandon the refrigerated transport. We no longer need the external night surveillance company," he says.
Access control project to start soon
Agristo has been working with RTS for several years now. There is also an extensive camera network of some 200 cameras on the Wielsbeke site. Data and video images between the other sites are transmitted via a high-speed jet link network (400Mbps Full DupleX). A major project for access control will start soon.
“Wij kwamen voor het eerst met RTS in contact dankzij onze Agrodirecteur die zaakvoerder Ronald Supply kent. Onze grootste zorg was of RTS de uitgebreide en soms complexe vragen van Agristo zou kunnen waarmaken. Die zorg bleek onterecht. We hebben alleen maar positieve ervaring. De medewerkers zijn uiterst professioneel en zeer vriendelijk. Het werk wordt steeds op tijd en goed afgeleverd. Net zoals bij ons, zijn de communicatielijnen van RTS kort. We zijn dus super tevreden over de samenwerking.”
- Thijs Naessens, ICT Infrastructure Manager Agristo
