Maintworld Magazine 3/2021

A
PARTNER ARTICLE
Realized Real-Time Benefits
Through an Upgraded System
Lake Cities Municipal Utility Authority
immediately realized benefits through
an upgraded system with ICONICS
solutions. The facility obtained a new
HMI/SCADA system that met their
needs for quality and maintenance
within their water and wastewater system
without any of the issues or data
discrepancies they had experienced with
their previous system. With ICONICS
GENESIS64, they achieved improved
secure visualization of water and sewer
levels, as well as improved monitoring
and control of potable water and wastewater,
elevation, PSI, intrusion pumps,
pump monitors/controls, pump failure
status, and temperature. Moreover, as
many of the organization’s operators
utilize iPads in the field, ICONICS’
WebHMI and MobileHMI software
enabled LCMUA’s teams to monitor
and control connected systems through
“Any Glass” - a user interface that delivers
2D and 3D real-time operational
visualization and intelligent dashboards.
The authority now considers their
visualization to be “top notch”, their
alarming to be “solid”, and their data
mobility to have an “impressively fast
response time”, all of which were vast
improvements compared to their previous
system.
Fast forward a couple of years and
in addition to new graphic displays and
trends brought about through the software,
the authority sought to further increase
their team’s efficiency and
collaboration with the new alarms
and notifications provided through
WANT YOUR OPERATION
TO BE MORE EFFICIENT,
SUSTAINABLE, AND
COMPETITIVE?
LEARN MORE ABOUT how your
facility can benefit from available
software. Register for ICONICS
Connect 2021 virtual event to
discover the latest in digital and
automation technology and what’s
in store for the future. Visit
https://iconics.com/Connect2021 for
complimentary, on-demand access.
ICONICS CFSWorX, including voice and
text alerts. That’s where system integrator
Impact Automation and Controls came in,
performing the complete system upgrade
along with configuration and testing of
the new CFSWorX deployment. LCMUA
considers that the new ICONICS automation
software has made its employees’ lives
and work easier and better as there are
fewer calls asking if the alarms being sent
are real or false. Now managers can spend
their time more wisely, managing team
resources according to real-time data and
thereby optimizing efficiency, improving
response times, and reducing downtime.
Essentially, this new technology
allows them to be more efficient, while
maintaining a leaner workforce. As a
message comes in on their personnel’s
smartphones, with their devices in their
hands, they can quickly switch over to
the mobile app and see what's going on,
acknowledge alarms, send out a truck,
or whatever they need to do to get the
problem solved. And they can make that
decision very quickly. They also appreciate
having a system that allows them to
share the workload. For example, water
alarms are sent to the water department,
and wastewater alarms are sent to the
wastewater department. Rather than
everyone getting the same alarms all
the time, the team can decide who gets
what alarm when, which is extremely
important as operators are not always on
shift. This new software also addresses
the problems of new hires or retiring
operators. With the improved ability
to control and manage the facility, it is
easier to transfer knowledge from the retiring
personnel and attract new talent.
Simply put, the team is better equipped
to maintain the expertise needed to run
the facility efficiently.
Concluding Thoughts
Now that Lake Cities Municipal Utility
Authority has experienced what ICONICS
automation software can do, they anticipate
expanding their remote worker
support to further increase efficiency
with more advanced capabilities such as
worker location, push notifications, and
priority calling. Rather than continuing
to maintain a disparate, obsolete
system, LCMUA made an investment in
technology to improve operational efficiency
and pave a path to better serve the
Tri-Cities areas. Other companies in the
water and wastewater industry can take
LCMUA’s lead to get a handle on their
own challenges moving towards more
sustainable and efficient operations. And
technology is key.
12 maintworld 3/2021