One of the most interesting projects we took on was developing an 8 acre Japanese Garden over at Meijer Gardens. Japanese Gardens are considered some of the most beautiful in the world & are known for not only their beauty, but tranquility & simplicity. In 2009, Fred Meijer mentioned that he had a love of Japanese gardens & contacted us about installing one.
In order to capture the true essence of the Japanese Garden, we worked in tandem with principal designer, Hoichi Kurisu, & the Kurisu International firm. We knew that the Japanese Garden had to implement the following systems for efficient operation:
- Handle pumping speed & flow control of water
- Install a water filtration & water removal system
- Retention pond intake system
- Establish user adjustable operation parameters
Our solution consisted of developing systems that were easy for Meijer Gardens personnel to understand along with a web-based intranet system that had local & remote access capabilities.
We designed & installed the following in order to ensure efficient processes for the staff to operate the gardens with:
- An Allen-Bradley Compact Logix PLC & PowerFlex VFD Platform, a SCADA automation system
- SCADA system based on Rockwell Automation’s software & Industrial PC monitors
- HMI & system monitoring screens
