Potable water is treated before being distributed in pipes across an entire city. The process runs 24/7 to enable fresh, safe access to water. The automation level in the water industry needs to improve to cope with the increasing demand for fresh and clean water. This is the message from technology leader ABB during Water Week, which was held from 20 to 26 March. The national campaign aimed to educate the public about its responsibility in water conservation initiatives, raising awareness around the need to protect and conserve the country’s water resources.
The Department of Water and Sanitation celebrated Water Week by urging everyone to use water sparingly, to ensure water for all. In light of this theme, ABB offers solutions for water and wastewater treatment to preserve and protect this precious resource. “The water industry needs to automate its processes to increase plant efficiency and productivity, and reduce plant maintenance costs. This will bring a more reliable service and preserve the water we have. With continuous investment in this area, we can ensure the responsible use of water,” says Joyce Moganedi, local division sales manager at ABB. She explains that the water industry can use affordable scada and PLC solutions. ABB offers automation at all levels of complexity, including DCS, and as an enabler for future developments. “We believe these types of solutions are the catalyst needed for the successful implementation of industrial IoT and agile navigation to Industry 4.0,” she continues.
Scada systems offer the flexibility to monitor, control and automatically manage specific plant processes. These range from visual awareness of operations to real-time information to act on any abnormalities in the plant, and increased plant availability; having accessibility to remote operations in the plant anywhere at any time; and increased efficiency and productivity. Such reliable systems are necessary for continuous future improvements.
Beyond the traditional automation boundaries, ABB’s digital offering continues to grow. It ensures improved monitoring and reporting of a safe and reliable service, and solutions for predictive maintenance combined with process optimisation. For these types of solutions to work properly, they need reliable systems data to operate. This new level of intelligence speaks directly to assisting water boards achieve their key performance targets (KPIs). “The lack of progress in the water industry towards refurbishing and developing new infrastructure is linked to the lack of funding. It has paralysed the water sector to some extent and has delayed the implementation of significant projects,” concludes Moganedi.
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