Background:
This pilot project is being carried out at American Water’s Innovation Department as part of the company’s strategy of constantly improving and increasing the efficiency of the water and waste disposal systems it operates.
For the pilot, two Environmental Disposal Corporation (EDC) facilities were connected in order to demonstrate RealiteQ system’s capabilities and its compatibility with AW’s needs, to allow the subsequent connection of the various remaining water company facilities to this system. All that resulting in the command and control of the entire corporation’s facilities being managed by a single system.
Needs:
EDC features various facilities spread out over a fairly large geographical area, ranging from sewage pumping facilities, through a waste treatment and purification facility, to a system for discharging the treated waste into the river. The vast majorities of these facilities are not equipped with telemetry devices, and are not connected to a comprehensive SCADA array. Therefore, no command and control exists for the various facilities and tracking their function and operation is complicated.
As a result, the customer has defined a need for an advanced system that can connect all the sites to a single command and control array, quickly and at low cost.
Unique capabilities:
A cellular telemetry system and cloud-based integral SCADA, saves the cost of installing any software or applications, while allowing an unlimited number of approved users to connect to the system (subject to their authorization level) from any device (computer, tablet, telephone etc.).
The system can be installed very quickly. Connecting both sites, including splitting measurements using analog and discrete distributors, and wiring them to end units, took the installing integrator, who has never encountered the system before, six hours.
From the moment physical installation was completed, data began to gather in the cloud database, and the system’s functioning could be viewed in real time.
Beyond the display of the facility’s real-time operational data and saving their history, effective dashboards were defined in the cloud management portal.
The operation and maintenance personnel observe a larger amount of data and can, each according to their own authorizations, perform different actions in the system.
The installed system is simple and easy to operate and use.
The system and installation costs are miniscule (CAPEX) and the regular operating costs are extremely low (OPEX).
As the system is managed, there is no need for ongoing maintenance. Maintenance is carried out as part of the service.
Summary and results:
- The customer receives a working system within hours of its installment with no disruptions to the facilities’ ongoing operation.
- Screens were defined (management and operation) allowing customers and employees to receive the required information in real time, and to operate the system from off-site in an effective, safe and highly secure manner.
- Concentration of problems read off the programmed controller, allows the manager and the operational personnel to receive email and text messages when a problem occurs and upon its conclusion.
- Access via the management interface allows one to view the problems’ occurrence timetable, their confirmation time by the duty operator (including identification of implementing parties), the problems’ end time and their overall duration.