Thames Water Utilities Limited operates a complex network of 124 water and 389 wastewater treatment works. Regulatory requirements are driving a massive capital programme of more than ₤2 Billion over 5 years to improve performance of these facilities. Improvements are planned, engineered, and operated by a variety of internal and external groups and individuals. Shareholders are demanding profitability and the Director General is pushing for improvements to customer service. To achieve its objectives, Thames has developed an instrumentation, control and automation (ICA) systems master plan. The plan is based on the utility s water and wastewater functional requirements. The functional approach is applied to the large number of diverse facilities by grouping facilities and processes into classifications. The approach is used throughout the plan. Each process and its associated process control strategy are clearly defined to ensure consistency and the cost-effective implementation of instrumentation and control across Thames. The functional approach was developed for each process control strategy using a series of structured workshops to achieve consensus and company-wide acceptance. Each department of the utility was involved in the workshops (including engineering, operations, maintenance, management systems, research and development, operational science). Top management sponsored the planning effort and committed to making the plan a reality.
The decision of whether to develop a software application in‐house or buy a commercially available software package is a common dilemma faced by information technology (IT) professionals in the water and wastewater industries. The right choice has become even more elusive with recent IT developments such as open‐source software (OSS) and application outsourcing options like pay‐for‐subscription products and direct outsourcing of custom‐built solutions. Application outsourcing has dramatically reduced the overall costs of developing software in recent years, and OSS applications also have substantial advantages that are worth considering. This article explores the software implementation decision process and the effect of OSS and application outsourcing in the water and wastewater industries. There are pros and cons to the various solutions, which is why, more than ever, a hybrid solution that combines features of both “build” and “buy” alternatives may be the best course of action.
In February of 2000, the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant (LPWRP) in Howard County, Maryland initiated a comprehensive update to their facility operations information management systems. At the outset, the LPWRP envisioned separate laboratory information management (LIMS), operations, and process control systems that would require custom integration to share information and perform the statistical analysis and reporting required by plant staff.Through careful planning and evaluation of critical business processes, it was determined that a single laboratory information management system (LIMS) database could accommodate the data derived in all areas of plant operations, including the importation of daily values from the plants Distributed Control System (DCS). This collective system, coupled with an intranet based communications tool would enable all LPWRP staff and management to utilize one repository of data and one reporting vehicle; ensuring everyone was working from the same information. Further, the LIMS would serve to calculate changes in the waste flow rates of the plant and automatically initiate changes in the DCS; altering process "set points" within limits established by operations supervisors.However, the best-laid plans often go astray. During implementation it was discovered that the vendor's LIMS product could not, in acceptable time frames, transfer, process, and store the DCS collected data. The system became overwhelmed by the approximately 10,000 data points and caused multiple iterations of the transfer scheme to be attempted, some taking as long as 47 hours and consuming 100% of the server resources. Ultimately, a second, virtually parallel, database was required to meet the logistical, reporting, and operational needs of the facility. This paper will present a complete case study of the LIMS implementation, its transition to a facility information management system, the bi-directional integration of the Foxboro DCS system, the necessity of an additional archival database, and the plant-wide communication of key information elements and notifications through the electronic "white board."
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