15 minute read
SICE ANZ
TAKING INNOVATION UNDERGROUND
SICE is the global systems integration company at the forefront of intelligent transport and tunnel systems. We go behind the scenes with Manuel Gonzalez Arrojo, Managing Director of SICE Australia and New Zealand, as SICE celebrates its 100th year
Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Lewis Bush
When the global systems integration company SICE first entered the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) space in 2005, the move was not without its challenges.
“We were a new company in Australia in a market that is extremely process-driven. There were already companies here delivering SICE’s portfolio when we arrived, and at the end of the day we were a bunch of Spaniards trying to deliver system integration systems here in Australia!” opens Manuel Gonzalez Arrojo, Managing Director of SICE ANZ.
Despite these initial hurdles and cultural differences, SICE found a welcoming and receptive new market in which to thrive, delivering its innovative portfolio of highly configurable motorway control, tunnel, and tolling systems.
“It’s very exciting to be working here. In Australia, both technology and safety are taken extremely seriously – and while they welcome cost effective solutions, they are not just looking for the cheapest one. Generally, Australians and New Zealanders are also open to working with international companies,” he continues.
Of course, having the strong global footprint of a vast international enterprise such as SICE provided a concrete backing that continues to be an enormous advantage for SICE ANZ today.
“Operating in ANZ, our projects can be completed much faster as a global company rather than as a smaller, local company,” Gonzalez Arrojo states. “The advantages include: innovation coming from all of our international and Spanish projects and R&D department, international supply chain that includes strategic agreements with companies like Dell, Oracle, Cisco, as well as access to our vast group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) located in 40+ countries.”
Following a strong background in SICE’s Madrid operations, Gonzalez Arrojo himself came to ANZ after the company secured a tolling based project centred on technology integration – ConnectEast, based in Melbourne. Soon, he was hooked.
“What was initially a two year assignment ended up being a fifteenyear journey and counting,” he tells us.
Subsequently, in 2012 the SICE footprint extended into New Zealand, with Gonzalez Arrojo taking the helm over operations in both countries.
“Back in 2011, SICE had one project in Australia – our tolling system with ConnectEast. 10 years later, SICE systems are controlling four tunnels, motorway and two tolling systems. Plus we are delivering four additional tunnels, one motorway, one tolling system and one rail project to add to our portfolio in ANZ”. Furthermore, we are providing support services to most of the projects already delivered.
The SICE enterprise is primarily a systems integration company, comprising more than 3,000 employees worldwide. The company’s vast footprint extends to over 45 countries and is established in five continents.
“SICE has always been strong in the Spanish and Latin American markets,
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Control Room Partner of Choice for the Backbone of Sydney’s Motorways
WestConnex is Australia’s largest road infrastructure project and when complete in 2023, WestConnex will provide motorists with a continuous, 33km traffic-light free motorway network, with connections for future projects linking the north shore and northern beaches, Sydney Airport and the southern suburbs.
In 2020 Barco was selected as the chosen partner to embark on the WestConnex M4-M5 Link Tunnels project with systems integration technology company, SICE Australia. Barco’s stateof-the-art control room technology and videowall systems provided the perfect solution for WestConnex.
As the central spine of Sydney’s motorway network, WestConnex leverages Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) to streamline transportation and ease congestion on behalf of Australian commuters. The M4-M5 Link Tunnels project consists of twin 7.5km tunnels that will connect the New M4 at Haberfield and the M8 at St Peters Interchange. Each tunnel is designed to accommodate up to four lanes of traffic in each direction.
Barco has been awarded the partnership due to its robust videowall and technologies portfolio comprising LCD, LED and rear-projection with proven and sustainable record in this market segment. Barco’s Control Room Solution supports traffic management centres with the ability to display maps, road camera footage, social media feeds, and sensor information. This advanced software is integral to the successful surveillance monitoring of the WestConnex tunnel systems, facilitating critical decision-making and user security.
Why choose Barco? For SICE Australia, Barco is an obvious choice for a partner. “There are many reasons for selecting Barco as a partner. Barco’s videowall systems allow integration with SICE’s tunnel control systems and the company offers a wide catalogue of products and services with engineering capabilities on shore in Australia. It is also Barco’s ability to deliver its videowall as a turn-key solution, from design to commissioning, including in-house resources for physical installation” - Manuel Gonzalez Arrojo, SICE Australia Managing Director
The success of the ongoing partnership is testament to Barco’s unparalleled flexibility and reliability with control rooms solutions in helping its customers to collect, visualise and share critical information, so they can make the most optimal decisions.
“We look forward to our partnership with SICE to grow from strength to strength. We will continue to uphold our commitment towards our partners and end users in delivering quality product and services with longevity and reliability in mind as a global control rooms technology provider” - Claudio Cardile, Managing Director Barco Australia.
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but now in the last few years we have really grown in the UK, US and Canada, and now also Scandinavia.”
The company’s core specialities comprise system integration, intelligent transport systems (ITS), Rail systems, Smart Cities, control systems, telecommunications, and security systems.
“In ANZ we are more focussed on the areas of control systems, both for motorways and tunnels, rail and tolling systems. Currently in ANZ we are approximately 230 employees, the majority of whom are engineers,” Gonzalez Arrojo adds.
“Our client portfolio ranks from government bodies to private operators, private organisations and construction companies.”
SICE prides itself on offering industry-leading end-to-end capabilities. The company’s expertise in integration is founded on a holistic approach that allows SICE to offer tailored turnkey solutions to a wide range of projects.
“We are not a software or a design house – however our expertise goes from design to operations. Our engineers have knowledge of the whole project life cycle. This minimises integration risk whilst maximising quality and ensuring that it is a fit for purpose solution,” he states.
NO TWO ROADS THE SAME
Arguably SICE’s greatest defining advantage is its versatility and the flexibility in the customisation that they bring to their client’s solutions. Essentially this translates to the understanding that no two clients, and indeed, no two roads, are the same. Agility is paramount in serving different operator’s needs.
“We don’t attack the market saying here is my product – take it or leave it. We tend to adapt to the project or clients’ requirements,” Gonzalez Arrojo comments.
This is best evidenced by SICE’s flagship product, SIDERA – a software platform that offers an integral solution for centralised management in tunnels and motorways. As a highly configurable, commercial off-theshelf technology, SIDERA has been developed to suit clients’ unique needs and requirements.
AWARD-WINNING INNOVATORS – SICE WINS ITS AUSTRALIA NATIONAL AWARD FOR 2020
Last year, SICE won a Smart Transport Infrastructure award in recognition of its COVID-19-Safe remote testing solution designed for the WestConnex M8. This innovative solution will shape the future of ITS conduct testing and commissioning activities.
“This award from ITS concerned a project that went live last year in the middle of COVID-19; borders were closed, Spain was one of the worst countries suffering, and still SICE managed to perform the required testing in relation to the M8 with members of the team separated by thousands of kilometres and the time difference. Even though we go through tough times in many projects, we put in everything to get to the finish line and that’s on behalf of our clients.”
– Manuel Gonzalez Arrojo, Managing Director, SICE ANZ
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NHP
NHP, your first choice in automated SMART Safety solutions in key infrastructure projects
As the sole distributor for Rockwell Automation in the South Pacific, NHP is proud to partner with SICE to keep road users safe if there is an unexpected event in tunnels, such as road accidents, fire or flooding.
NHP has provided SICE with an array of automated systems that are necessary to make a road tunnel safe, such as tunnel ventilation to exhaust fumes, automated signage for traffic safety and emergency control systems and signals to monitor the safety exits out of the tunnels where required. If water is flowing into the tunnel, water pumps and drainage systems will activate to keep drivers and passengers safe.
The engineering teams at NHP and Rockwell Automation will work collaboratively with your business to deliver the optimal automated systems.
AT A GLANCE – SICE’S KEY PROJECTS
CALLE 30, MADRID – over 40 kilometres (km) long, this is one of the largest inter-urban tunnel networks in the world. As SICE’s original flagship project, the company was recently awarded a technology upgrade.
ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT, SEATTLE – SICE implemented an Integrated Tunnel Management System for what was the tunnel with the largest diameter in the world at the time of construction.
MADEIRA – An outstanding feature of this project is the number of tunnels that SICE integrated in its in-house OMCS (SIDERA). The road currently in service covers more than 80km with 52 tunnels concentrated in that area, adding up approximately 44 km.
STOCKHOLM BYPASS – SICE is currently executing the implementation of the traffic systems of the iconic Stockholm bypass for the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket): a beltway that includes 55 km of tunnel and with which it is sought to divert traffic from the urban centre.
WATERVIEW CONNECTION TUNNEL, AUCKLAND – the largest interurban tunnel in NZ and the first tunnel delivered by SICE in this region.
CONNECTEAST PROJECT, MELBOURNE – A long client relationship, SICE began to work on the ConnectEast Tolling Systems in 2005. 16 years later, SICE continues to partner with ConnectEast to upgrade and improve the solution.
WESTCONNEX TUNNELS, SYDNEY – This will become SICE’s tunnel flagship project when completed, as Australia’s largest road infrastructure project.
“For each project, we need to configure to our client specifications. The same can be said about our tolling products like TOS and BIS – they are highly configurable products that we adapt based on specificities.”
When dealing with such highprofile clients, maintaining a competitive edge that confidently handles the latest technological advances is critical in securing projects.
“Because our clients are government operators and organisations that are looking for the latest solution and innovation, there is a natural competition between different countries - each region wants to be at the forefront.”
For Gonzalez Arrojo, there are three key components that define SICE’s stance on innovation and keeping pace with technological advances, with R&D representing a crucial pillar of SICE’s operations:
• It begins with European activities, where the company participates in many combined R&D projects;
• Closer to home, in-house innovation is essential to remain competitive, as evidenced by
SICE’s development of its original traditional tolling systems to multilayered, free-flowing solutions;
“If you don’t upgrade your technologies, then you become stuck and excluded from the advanced markets,” Gonzalez Arrojo comments.
• Finally, feedback is everything. This is ingested from clients and systems operators and fed back through the company to guide innovation, rejuvenating the life cycle of systems design and integration within the company.
PRIDE IN PROJECTS
SICE’s successful segue into the ANZ market is entirely attributed to the backbone of successful projects that the company could rely on to prove its cutting-edge abilities and technological prowess.
Indeed, the move to Australia was project-driven, after SICE secured a contract on the Melbourne-based ConnectEast tolling system. This was entirely granted due to the company’s work on its previous tolling project, Autopista Central in Santiago (Chile).
Another flagship project, this time in the tunnel area, Calle 30 in Madrid, opened SICE’s doors to the ANZ tunnels and motorways market, with SICE winning the Waterview tunnel in Auckland (NZ) as part of the WellConnected Alliance back in 2011.
SICE’s portfolio today finds its true culmination in what will become the company’s new flagship project with what is set to be Australia’s largest undertaking in road infrastructure - the WestConnex motorway network.
SICE is engaged in each of the four major stages of this project which, when completed, will comprise 33km of the continuous and seamlessly integrated underground motorway. From the New M4 Tunnels, which opened in July 2019, across the M8 Motorway in operation since July 2020, to M4-M5 Link Tunnels and Rozelle Interchange, the last and final stage is forecast to open in 2023
“SICE was appointed to deliver its unique federated tunnel control system and Operations Management and Control System (OMCS) architecture, that will allow for lowrisk safe construction of one of the longest underground road networks in the world.”
Port of Miami Tunnel
“SIDERA - SICE’s in-house world leading fully integrated OMCS - essentially allows road operators to seamlessly manage the entire operation surveillance, traffic management and allied safety equipment of the four tunnels simultaneously,” Gonzalez Arrojo tells us.
Not only is SICE is delivering services during the construction, but also, once the tunnels are opened SICE will also provide post opening support during the Operation and Maintenance phase.
SICE could not undertake such notable projects without the robust backing of a solid supply chain. In Gonzalez Arrojo’s opinion, it is the company’s in-house supply chain operations that also provide a truly competitive advantage, together with the ability to provide post opening support and ongoing technical support during the operating phase.
“This is one of our differentiators. We define ourselves as systems and as such we do not manufacture equipment or hardware, so we need to rely on third party providers. One of our advantages is that we can integrate any third-party system into our global solution. This allows us a lot of flexibility, because in each given project we can decide the third-party product that is best suited for that particular project based on specifications, compliance with requirements, availability and price.”
SICE source different local providers based on each country, with each supplier vetted by the company’s international procurement network.
“We also use commercial Tier One solutions from providers such as Barco.”
LOOKING AHEAD
For the years to come, SICE’s pace of sustainable growth shows no signs of abating.
The company continues to invest heavily in cloud-based solutions, including selling Software as a Service (SaaS) alongside its already varied portfolio of products and hardware, especially in the tolling and motorway and tunnel control systems sectors.
WestConnex M8
“We are also investing hugely in our training capabilities to improve our clients’ understanding of our products before they start operating with our solutions.
“With motorways and tolling management, there is a strong human element behind our systems, so it is essential that operators understand the system before a tunnel opens.
“Secondly, during the training process we get a lot of feedback from the operators and all that feedback feeds back to our development teams to allow us to keep improving,” Gonzalez Arrojo explains.
Diversification also has a key role to play in further expanding SICE’s cutting edge portfolio, with exciting projects ahead.
Earlier this year, SICE successfully entered the rail space in the ANZ region, after the company was appointed to provide tunnel ventilation control systems for a new rail project in Auckland.
“Rail has been one of our priorities during the last three years, and there will be massive investments in ANZ rail over the next five to 10 years, so we are extremely content with this,” Gonzalez Arrojo concludes.
With further market penetration ahead, SICE is truly the name to watch in delivering intelligent infrastructure.
Tel: (+61) 3 8256 6900 admin@sice.com.au www.sice.com/en
