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Q&A:
Advanced Technical Installations in Tunnels
José Ismael Gómez Lucena
Tunnel management systems have
advanced over the last decade. What
have been the most important? What
does FCC Industrial contribute to the-
se advances? What is FCC Industrial’s
expertise in these projects?
Without a doubt, tunnel management sys-
tems have made great advances in this mi-
llennium. The key technological innovations
in electronics, communications and soft-
ware have been reflected in the architec-
ture of these systems. Installations in new
tunnels are now totally digitalised: intelligent
video-surveillance, Gigabit high-capacity
optic fibre networks, emergency VoIP SOS
posts, and automatic decision and control
algorithms.
Also worth mentioning is the advanced
regulatory framework as a result of the
application of European safety directives
(2004/54/CE) in Spanish road tunnels and
the subsequent export of this technical mo-
del worldwide.
FCC Industrial has more than 25 years’ ex-
perience in this sector. We have engineers,
experts, and specialist project managers.
Our company has been able to develop a
wide range of products and a proprietary
technological platform.
What is FCC Industrial’s portfolio in the-
se products? What is the Company’s
strategy in this respect from an inter-
national perspective?
FCC Industrial has an innovative techno-
logical platform, the result of the research
and development activity of the Systems
Division. Of the products in our portfolio,
we would highlight:
• The SCADA tunnel control and manage-
ment application (AVANZA).
• Automatic monitoring systems for techni-
cal tunnel installations (ERU).
• High precision traffic and classification
(ADR).
Manager of FCC Industrial’s Systems Department
FCC Industrial has been implementing this
technology in several international projects
such as Estrada Regional ER-1 Madeira
(Portugal), Vidin-Calafat Bridge (Bulgaria-
Romania), and Nuevo Necaxa – Tihuatlán
(Mexico) highway. We are currently involved
in several international tender processes in
Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
Having our proprietary technical solution gi-
ves us a great competitive edge, enabling
us to build solutions with greater added va-
lue and controlled risk.
What are the advantages of tunnel ma-
nagement systems in terms of the en-
vironment, the safety of the driver, and
energy savings?
The objective of current tunnel manage-
ment systems is to improve the environ-
ment as well as increase energy efficiency
and reduce electricity consumption. Auto-
matic algorithms regulate the interior and
exterior lighting of the tunnel, adapting it to
weather and environmental conditions and
ventilation is controlled automatically taking
into account levels of pollution (CO, NOx,
Opacity levels), traffic (intensity and type
of traffic), and critical fire emergency situa-
tions.
Road safety is the lynchpin of all decision-
making and automatic regulation strategies.
Tunnels are fitted with artificial vision inci-
dent detection and exhaustive video-sur-
veillance (CCTV) at the moth, interior and
galleries of the tunnel. The fire-protection
systems comprise sensor cables (fibre op-
tic DTS) capable of detecting any sign of
fire (hot and cold smoke) and activate the
extinguishing systems according to the
safety protocols defined in the Operations
Manual.
What are the particularities and advan-
tages of FCC Industrial’s proprietary
technology? Can this technology be
extrapolated to the management of ga-
lleries, railways, and other infrastructu-
res?
It should be noted that FCC Industrial has
been developing its technology platform for
a couple of decades and that we have im-
plemented it in more than 90 tunnels and
that we are continuing to develop our fourth
generation. Therefore, this technology has
a long-track record.
We believe that we have been able to incor-
porate the advanced knowledge of many
clients in our products and that we have
built a very friendly and easy-to-use tech-
nology.
The FCC Industrial platform is capable of
monitoring all types of critical and complex
infrastructures (railways, tramways, brid-
ges, galleries, buildings, industrial comple-
xes). It is precisely in these areas where we
are focusing our research and development
efforts.