Ballard Locks (Hiram M. Chittenden Locks)

Small Lock Control System Modernization

Seattle, Washington

Fail-Safe Electric provided complete PLC control system design, fabrication, and programming for the modernization of the Small Lock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, the Ballard Locks, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation facility connecting Puget Sound to Lake Washington and Lake Union.

Originally constructed in 1917, the facility processes nearly 50,000 vessel passages annually and welcomes over two million visitors each year. The modernization replaced century-old electromechanical gate and valve operating machinery with a new hydraulic actuation system controlled by a modern PLC-based SCADA architecture. Fail-Safe Electric's scope encompassed the complete electrical control infrastructure required to operate the Small Lock's miter gates and cylindrical filling and emptying valves.

All control panels were designed and fabricated in Fail-Safe Electric's UL Listed 508A control panel shop to meet USACE specifications. The work reinforces Fail-Safe Electric's track record with USACE, complementing prior work on the McNary Dam modernization and the Lake Washington Ship Canal emergency closure.

Scope

Main Control Panel (Operating House 4): a custom stainless steel enclosure housing an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix 5380 PLC with fiber-optic Ethernet switching, a 240V/120V control transformer, a 24VDC power supply with UPS battery backup, internal heaters with thermostats, and panel lighting with door switches.
Three custom stainless steel operator consoles for the Lock Tower, Upstream Control Station, and Downstream Control Station, each with an Allen-Bradley 21.5-inch touchscreen HMI, push-to-test LED indicators, pushbuttons, emergency stop controls, and joystick control for precise gate and valve operation. The Lock Tower console includes a remote I/O station for distributed control.
Hydraulic actuator control panels: variable frequency drives for 30HP motors with line and load reactors, ventilated and heated enclosures, manual controls with status indication, and integration points for hydraulic cylinder position feedback.
A fiber-optic control panel with SC Duplex infrastructure connecting the distributed control system across the facility.
Instrumentation: LED laser level transmitters for water-level monitoring and magnetic proximity switches for gate and valve position feedback.

Standards and Compliance

NIST 800-171USACE Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Interlock StandardIEC 61131-3NEC / NFPA 70

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