When creating SCADA software specifications, engineering firms must focus on meeting the immediate start-up and operational requirements of the SCADA system. This often means specifying products with which they are familiar. The engineer wants to ensure that the new system meets all start-up requirements at a reasonable price. It is often difficult to look past[…]
Q&A With Clermont County, Ohio Clermont County is one of the fastest growing counties in Ohio, with a population of 197,363. The Clermont County Water Resources Department (WRD) recently recognized the need for a new SCADA system. Bryan Gruber, Maintenance Supervisor for Clermont County WRD, describes their process for choosing and developing a new SCADA[…]
Centralized Backup and Configuration for Remote Plant HMIs As Wastewater Manager for four sewage treatment plants spread across Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Nicole MacDonald* faced the daunting task of ensuring all SCADA systems continued to function seamlessly on a 24/7 basis. Each plant had its own separate monitoring and control system that allowed it to[…]
A Utility’s Fifteen-Year Migration to a Single, Non-Proprietary Monitoring and Control System Most people imagine a SCADA system as single computer interface overseeing a utility’s entire remote infrastructure. The reality more often resembles the system found in Ocala, Florida, which was developed over multiple years by a variety of system integrators. The budget for the[…]
A Profile of J.D. Irving, Limited Doaktown Sawmill in New Brunswick Over the past five years, J.D. Irving, Limited Sawmill Division has invested $70 million in the latest operational equipment as part of their continuous investment in sustainable forest management strategies. In 2015, the company chose VTScada monitoring and control software to replace the aging[…]
SCADA Dreams and Realities Every time a business or utility completes a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, their secret dream is that it will work flawlessly forever. In reality, the average system has an effective lifespan of about ten years. While some software manufacturers support their products well beyond this timeframe, others[…]
The benefits and challenges of water/wastewater monitoring in winter. A Profile of Woodstock, New Brunswick Like many municipal water and wastewater utilities, the Town of Woodstock, New Brunswick, has seen its share of ice and snow. Over 30 years, the town has averaged 107.2 inches (272.20 cm) of snow a year with winter temperatures dropping[…]
Farm-based SCADA systems provide frost protection, maximize crop yield and prevent excess water runoff. Overview Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are common place at municipal utilities and manufacturing facilities. After five years of developing cellular-based systems to monitor agricultural irrigation, integrator KC Enterprises Ltd.* observed that farms are a lot like outdoor factories[…]