When you have a facility located in one of the most remote and harshest environments on Earth there is no room for error because mistakes aren’t just costly, they could mean life and death. You need the best to support you.
At Scott Base in Antarctica, the Building Management System (BMS) is in control of temperature and lighting, and more importantly it is safeguarding life-critical infrastructure in extreme conditions that can plunge below -50°C.
For more than two decades, Setpoint are proud to be partners the Antarctica New Zealand team have relied on to keep the buildings running that keep them alive.
The Challenge: Reliability at the Edge of the World
Maintaining a robust BMS in such an isolated location, where reliability isn’t optional it’s vital, means any failure can compromise safety, operations, or essential systems.
It meant that when Antarctica New Zealand team were looking for a partner, they needed one who could install and maintain complex systems but also provide real-time support day or night.
Setpoint delivered.
From minor tweaks to major system overhauls, Setpoint has always been available to support the team remotely – even in the middle of the night or the depths of winter. Delays could be catastrophic, so Setpoint needs to be on as soon as needed.
Always-On, Always-Ready Infrastructure
The aim was simple to have maintenance and support for a Building Management System that operates reliably all the time. Easy to say, not so easy to implement in such extreme conditions.
Never one to back away from a challenge Setpoint stepped up to the task. Our team looked at how to actively managed upgrades, worked through a series of anticipated problems before they occurred, and ensured seamless system performance through every Antarctic season. The upfront thinking and planning needed to be as robust as the environment it was going into.
Proactive, Personal, Professional
What makes us different isn’t just our technical skill but our approach, experience and consistency.
The team at Scott Base has been able to rely on our Setpoint team’s continuity and consistency because most of our technicians who support them have been on this journey for over 20 years.
That depth of experience fosters a rare true depth of understanding of what it takes to deliver safe, reliable operations in extreme environments.
Whether it’s upgrading hardware, refining control logic, or improving user interfaces, Setpoint never cuts corners. This is no set and forget. This has been a true partnership over the years.
But it’s not all done from home base in New Zealand. Our Setpoint team regularly head to the base to check, maintain and upgrade systems as needed.
Integrating Critical New Systems Seamlessly
The latest challenge came with the arrival of a new Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant, supplied with a Siemens PLC. Setpoint’s solution was:
- A high-level interface between the new RO plant and the existing Siemens BMS
- Custom HMI graphics to enhance usability and operator insight
- Full integration with trending software to support problem diagnosis and system optimisation
The Results: Improved Monitoring, Smarter Maintenance
The Scott Base team now has greater visibility into their systems than ever before. Operators can:
- Monitor key equipment performance in real time
- Use trends and analytics to pinpoint issues
- Make informed decisions about maintenance or repairs
This is a partnership built on more than 20 years of working together. When you operate in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments, it’s about who stays with you for the long haul, understands your systems intimately, and never lets you down.
Our work at Scott Base is a testament to our commitment to going the extra mile – literally and figuratively. Through extreme cold, remote locations, and mission-critical systems, we’ve proven reliability, responsiveness, and expertise can thrive – even in Antarctica.
If our team at Setpoint can support life-critical systems at the bottom of the world, imagine what they can do for your business when they are just down the road.
