Scada and reporting standards for large water supplier

September 2003 SCADA/HMI Access Control & Identity Management

Suppliers (on behalf of the City of Johannesburg) of clean water and sanitation services to Johannesburg's commercial and residential customer-base, have appointed Opus Knowledge Dynamics, the consulting and project management of local reporting and business analysis software developers Opus Technologies. The order ensures the development of scada standards across the organisation with the objective of providing significant cost benefit, and increased efficiency and speed in the transfer of information between personnel inside the organisation and with contractors and suppliers.

As a multisite operation, the large water supplier had been plagued by a lack of standards and consistency vis-à-vis its reporting and scada systems. Graphics for valves, motors and other process management equipment, for example, were displayed differently at the organisation's numerous locations creating inconsistencies in the system.

These inefficiencies were particularly notable with regard to tender quotes and contact with suppliers that varied from site to site and furthered the inconsistencies with the introduction of their respective methodologies. The new standards promise increased speed and efficiencies in the transfer of data and information and with it improved savings for the organisation as well as for its customers. Dave Wibberley, CEO of Opus Technologies comments, "We estimate that the organisation will save 30% on scada costs going forward."

Opus Knowledge Dynamics has developed wizard standards for use across the operation. These wizards in CD format, along with a standards document, will go out with all tenders in the future to ensure consistency and fairness in the organisation's decision-making process.

The new principles include standards on the naming of PCs and scada tags, and PLC standards with regards to how these tie in with scada packages. The new standards also comprise a prescribed method of reporting in terms of organising data.

This consulting process took place at a number of workshops between the water supplier and Opus Knowledge Dynamics, and incorporates existing best practices, plus the cumulative expertise of Opus Knowledge Dynamics and sister scada company Adroit Technologies. It is believed that benchmark logging strategy and many of the other standard reporting and scada policies make the organisation's new standards amongst the best globally.

Quentin Slabbert, project manager for Opus comments, "This project has been advantageous for both our client and ourselves. Built on our technological expertise, the standards have been a collaborative effort and we hope that the partnership will extend into the future." The picture shows a mimic using representations that are standardised across the enterprise.

For more information contact Opus Technologies, 011 781 3665, www.opusoft.com

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