S URCE
Volume 25 • Number 3
Summer 2011
S.C.A.D.A.–
Supervisory Control
and Data Acquisition
Issues, Solutions & the Future
Many Are Honored at 2011
Spring Conference Awards
CA-NV Section Volunteers
Receive 2011 Publications
Awards from AWWA
CA-NV Section AWWA Descends
on Washington, D.C.
C A L I F O R N I A • N E VA D A S E C T I O N A W W A
Taking Your SCADA System
to the Next Level
By Philip Gaberdiel, Westin Engineering
S
upervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA) Systems have
become common elements of a
utility’s technology infrastructure. Many
utilities implemented their first systems in
the 1980’s when the availability of low-cost
federal loans and grants aligned with the
emerging maturity of computer technology
to make the implementation of a SCADA
system a responsible investment for
public water/wastewater utilities. The early
systems replaced hard-wired circuits and
relay logic with digital components. These
first generation systems were typically
comprised of specialized hardware and
custom software. Although rudimentary
by today’s standards, these early systems
(when they worked) provided operational
efficiencies by allowing a plant operator
in a central control room to monitor and
control process equipment. When applied
to geographically distributed applications,
such as water distribution and wastewater
collection, these efficiencies were often
quite substantial.
Evolution of SCADA
The manner in which utilities use their
SCADA systems has also evolved over
the years. Automatic control algorithms,
which make process adjustments based on
parameters measured by field instrumentation, are commonplace. These control strategies sequence pump starts/stops, control
the speed of variable speed drives, adjust
chemical dosages and blower speeds, and
perform scores of other process adjustments that had previously been performed
manually by plant staff. Automation of these
processes not only ensures more consistent
procedures but also helps to lower overall
chemical usage and to reduce energy
consumption. Implementing automation
can also relieve plant staff from performing
routine process adjustments, allowing
them to focus more on overall optimization, responding to abnormal operating
conditions, and ensuring proper equipment
operation.
In addition to process automation, utilities
are now beginning to utilize the power
of their SCADA system to support more
advanced applications. For instance,
system-wide optimization strategies can
enable utilities to dramatically reduce the
energy costs associated with the distribution of treated water. By integrating their
SCADA system with their computerized
maintenance management system (CMMS),
Utilities can adopt predictive maintenance
practices to reduce the costs and improve
Continued on next page
Over the years, as computer technology has
evolved and service areas have expanded,
most utilities have upgraded or replaced
their SCADA systems a number of times.
It is not unusual for a utility to be on their
third or fourth generation SCADA system.
The power and sophistication of today’s
SCADA systems are much greater than
previous generation systems while at the
same time overall system costs have gone
down. Today’s SCADA systems are built
on open system components utilizing
many of the same hardware and software
components found in the other technology
systems being used by the utility.
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25
Next Level, Continued
the effectiveness of their maintenance
program. By utilizing an Operational Data
Management System (ODMS), utilities
can leverage historical operational data to
plan for system expansion and upgrades
and can provide utility management with
dashboards that present Key Performance
Indicators in a real-time fashion.
Why Can’t My SCADA System Do That?
As the utility industry has begun to fully
appreciate the importance and value of
SCADA systems, many utilities are frustrated because their existing systems will
not allow them to take advantage of these
advanced applications. Many systems have
evolved in a piece-meal fashion with little
standardization of components or implementation techniques. Low bid procurement methods can sometimes force implementers to cut corners by reducing training,
documentation, and using substandard
components.
SCADA Warning Signs
In addition, without an effective SCADA
Governance program, a utility can allow
a solid SCADA System implementation
to become difficult to support and virtually impossible to expand or enhance.
Without regular upgrades and patches,
software applications become outdated and
unsupportable. Without consistent change
management, maintenance staff is unsure
of the most current program version making
software modifications risky.
Developing a SCADA Master Plan
If you find that your current SCADA System
is not providing the full value expected,
engaging an outside consultant to develop a
SCADA Master Plan should be the first step
in addressing the issue. By taking a proactive approach, you can set a vision for the
upgrades and improvements needed and
then set in motion a process for achieving
that vision.
The process of developing a SCADA Master
Plan is comprised of five straightforward
steps, shown graphically on page 25.
Project Initiation: To initiate the project, the
utility should establish a Core Team. The
Core Team should consist of three to five staff
members who: (1) have detailed knowledge
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SOURCE summer 2011
Without regular
upgrades and
patches, software
applications become
outdated and
unsupportable.
of the existing SCADA System components;
(2) can collectively represent the interests of
the utility in defining the requirements for
upgrades and improvements to the existing
SCADA System; and (3) can dedicate the
necessary time to actively participate in the
master planning activities. Ideally, the Core
Team will continue to participate in the
planning and execution of the follow-on
projects identified by the Master Plan.
In addition to the Core Team, the utility
should designate an Executive Steering
Committee to provide management oversight and direction to the master planning
process. This Committee should include
the key utility managers who will help to
ensure that the overall goals of the Master
Plan are aligned with the Strategic Business
Plans of the organization.
Current State: It is important to fully
understand the current state of the existing
SCADA System before developing plans for
improvement. This process should begin
with a review of design documentation
for the existing system. These documents
typically include System Block Diagrams,
Network Block Diagrams, Communication
System Block Diagrams, Record (As-Built)
Drawings, Operations and Maintenance
(O&M) Manuals, SCADA and I&C Standards, Process Control Narratives, etc.
Alternatives Analysis: This step consists
of conducting a detailed analysis of functional alternatives for meeting the system
requirements addressed by the longer-term
projects. These projects can be relatively
large in scope, complexity, and cost, and
a detailed review of functional alterna-
tives is warranted. For some aspects of the
planned system improvements, little to no
additional analysis will be required since
the utility has already established standards, either formal or de facto. There will
be other areas that will require additional
analysis. For these items, a set of functional
alternatives to be analyzed along with a set
of criteria for evaluating the merits of each
functional alternative should be developed. These criteria will typically include
functionality, implementation and support
costs, implementation approach, maintainability, expandability, etc. An analysis
should be developed for each selected
alternative using the evaluation criteria,
and a recommended alternative for each
area of consideration selected.
SCADA Master Plan: The next step is
developing the SCADA system master
plan itself. The master plan will provide
a background section that summarizes
the requirements definition and alternative analysis processes. The document
will then outline a set of projects that
implement the recommended SCADA
system improvements. For each project,
a conceptual scope of work, implementation schedule, and budgetary cost opinion
should be provided. In order to be adopted
and fully implemented, it is important that
the master plan define a long-term vision
for the utility’s SCADA system, not just
the next system upgrade. In addition, the
plan must consist of pragmatic, practical
steps that provide measurable operational
benefit to the utility not a collection of
esoteric initiatives, which are not likely to
be feasible.
A SCADA master plan typically contains
the following sections:
• Executive Overview;
• Overview of Current State;
• Summary of Functional Requirements;
• Recommended Alternatives;
• Description of Short-term Projects; and
• Description of Longer-term Projects.
Conclusion
Progressive utilities recognize their
SCADA system as a critical component of
their system infrastructure. In addition to
the mission-critical role of process control,
SCADA systems are beginning to be used
to for higher-level applications such as
predictive maintenance, system-wide
optimization schemes, and the long-term
planning of capital investments. But some
organizations have SCADA systems that
will not currently support these types of
advanced applications. Proprietary and/
or obsolete components complicate the
task of system upgrades or expansion.
Inaccurate and incomplete documentation makes system maintenance costly
and time-consuming. Utility staff is so
busy trying to keep the existing system
running, it is difficult to make plans for
system improvements. By developing a
SCADA system master plan, a utility can
set the groundwork for a phased approach
for migrating to a SCADA system based on
industry best practices. Over the span of
the SCADA system improvement program,
the utility will begin to reap the benefits
For some aspects of
the planned system
improvements, little to
no additional analysis
will be required since
the utility has already
established standards,
either formal or de facto
SCADA System in an evergreen state,
which will continue to meet their needs
for many years to come. S
Philip Gaberdiel has more than 30 years of engineering experience in the planning and design
and implementation of control systems for
municipal water and wastewater facilities. His
experience includes developing SCADA master
plans, managing control system design projects,
and performing technical duties including
evaluation, design, specification, construction
management, commissioning, startup of new and
replacement systems, and analysis of existing
control systems. Philip is National SCADA
Practice Director for Westin Engineering, Inc.
He can be reached by email at phil.gaberdiel@
we-inc.com.
of their investment in technology. And,
by reviewing and updating the plan on
a regular basis, the utility can keep their
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