Making this type of provision is unusual at outdoor events. However, the decision was taken to supply such extensive induction loop coverage because production company WRG and the Home Office knew that there were likely to be large numbers of elderly people attending and they wanted to ensure that as many attendees as possible were fully catered for.
The design and installation of this temporary system was a major logistical exercise and presented a number of challenges that the engineering teams had to overcome. The event's audio contractor Wigwam Acoustics worked closely with both WRG and the Home Office, providing equipment and a crew of 28.
Wigwam's Nigel Comrie and Rob Priddle also worked with Ampetronic system design engineer James Bottrill to design, install and commission an induction loop system that would meet the requirements of the latest International Standard for Loop System Performance IEC60118-4:2006 and provide adequate coverage for such a vast area and the huge numbers of people in attendance.
The solution arrived at involved the design and installation of three separate induction loop systems. These systems were used to cover two wheelchair platforms and part of the main arena. The wheelchair platforms measured 950m2 and 580m2 respectively, providing space for a total of 850 wheelchairs, while the main arena system covered an area greater than 14,300m2 (an area equivalent to almost two football pitches), to accommodate up to10,000 members of the main congregation. The system used in the main arena area, involved the installation of almost five kilometres of burial grade cable, by the ingenious use of a quad bike and a custom built plough arrangement.
"It was an interesting and unique challenge," says Bottrill. "We had to come up with a solution that would work, but which could also be installed within a tight timescale, the client being under pressure to provide access for the hard of hearing whilst not compromising the rest of the build. Installation had to fit in with the other contractors on site and the construction of the facilities for the Mass were necessarily timetabled not to take up large areas of one of Birmingham's major green spaces for longer than was necessary."
(Jim Evans)
