Case Study

Modern SCADA

IMPROVES OPERATIONS ACROSS THREE WATER DISTRICTS

Vertech harnessed the power of Ignition Perspective to significantly enhance the SCADA system for Warren, Simpson, and Butler County Water districts. This new system seamlessly adapts to the districts' evolving needs as they continue to expand, ensuring optimal performance. We successfully implemented the project across 131 separate stations.

131 Stations

164 Screens

1705 Alarms

48k+ Tags

THE PROTAGONIST

Warren County Water District (WCWD) delivers over 8.1 million gallons of water daily via a network of 1,145 water lines. They provide safe, high-quality drinking water to more than 75,000 residents spanning 530 square miles.

WCWD also provides access to reliable wastewater disposal services for most of the community. They transport over two million gallons of wastewater every day using their comprehensive system that includes 59 wastewater-pumping stations and 173 miles of sewer lines.

In addition, WCWD has a joint operations agreement with two neighboring counties - Butler and Simpson. This agreement allows them to provide water services to over 8,200 additional customers.

THE STORY

In the Beginning...

Warren County Water District's existing iFix SCADA system was limited in flexibility and scalability. The system was unable to offer valuable insights to service technicians addressing increasingly complex operational requirements. Organizing and analyzing data was time-consuming and tedious.

The Plot Thickens

Vertech addressed WCWD's current and future needs by leveraging Ignition Perspective by Inductive Automation. With a sleek, modern interface, our solution delivered new insights and techniques for gaining operational intelligence in the field.

We crafted a solution to work alongside the existing SCADA while maintaining a balanced load factor on devices through radio telemetry. This approach enabled WCWD to execute a tiered transition, retaining both SCADA systems until they could phase out the older one at their discretion.

The Happy Ending

Vertech expertly developed an innovative system for WCWD that gave them control of equipment and access to granular data insights on network reliability and performance, all through a unified interface. Operators can now generate dynamic reports, significantly reducing time spent on alarm analysis and maintenance planning. By harnessing the power of Ignition, we streamlined processes and automated report generation, ultimately enhancing productivity and efficiency for the water districts.

Application Features

Modern SCADA and Beyond

Our solution for Warren County Water District (WCWD) not only delivered a modern, data-driven SCADA system, but also provided valuable insights into the operational status of their equipment. We ensured easy access to crucial data, including alarm frequency, alarm duration, radio telemetry data, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Discover some of the innovative features we integrated into this project below.

Flexible and Scalable Screens with Effortless Navigation

We developed versatile overview screens designed to evolve and grow alongside WCWD for years to come. These screens enable operators across all counties to quickly access essential operational information. The screens feature intuitive, click-through navigation, making it easy for users to quickly diagnose and understand any issues that arise.

WCWD_SS10

Streamlined Notes within the Ignition Platform

We integrated note-taking and notice posting directly into the Ignition platform, transforming a process that was previously manual and cumbersome. Notes are now readily accessible and viewable right where the point of action occurs.

Comprehensive System Status Visualization on a Single Screen

We designed distribution screens that present large-scale information in an easily accessible format, allowing for rapid understanding of the entire system's flow. These screens offer a holistic method for monitoring the system's overall health. Visual representations of station statuses enable maintenance personnel to quickly identify any potential issues.

WCWD_SS9

Enhanced Insights Through Tag History Calculations

By utilizing tag history calculations, we improved the depth of insights available. Alarm analysis screens leverage this capability, presenting easily digestible data on alarms across various counties for more informed decision-making.

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