Manila Water Company provides water services to the eastern side of Manila, capital of the Philippines.
It covers 23 cities and municipalities, providing service to more than seven million people. Manila Water provides water treatment, distribution, sewer, and sanitation services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
Manila Water recently integrated remote local control systems of water-supply and used-water facilities, in various locations, into a centralized supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for remote data gathering, operations monitoring, and enterprise integration. The new SCADA system is connected to 93 sites, and provides real-time data, data-rich maps, dashboards, better reporting, alarming, and more. It’s all part of a three-year master plan.
For help with the project, Manila Water brought in system integrator Controtek Solutions. For the SCADA platform, Manila Water and Controtek chose Ignition by Inductive Automation®. Ignition is an industrial application platform with numerous tools for building solutions in SCADA, human-machine interface (HMI), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
“Embracing the concept of the industrial internet of things, we designed an Ignition system that securely collects data from different sources such as PLCs, data loggers, telemetry devices, and other operational systems,” said Alvin Rolda, managing director of Controtek Solutions. “This gives Manila Water fully automated gathering, collating, and managing of data from multiple facilities; real-time operations data and analytics; and a centralized SCADA system for water management.”
Maps, Dashboards Save Time
“We’re simplifying our data management to better serve the needs of our water and wastewater management,” said Dexter M. Quibuyen, head of operations monitoring and control in the Corporate Operations Group of Manila Water. “That includes automating the processes in data collection, reports generation, and having a real-time data-management tool so we can anticipate potential issues that may arise.”
“The map views are helpful, in that users can see a summary of what’s happening at all sites by just looking at one screen,” said Albert Bartolome, lead software engineer for Controtek. “By clicking on points on the map, users can quickly see more details.” The maps are based on a third-party Ignition module created by Kymera Systems, a system integrator based in Leduc, Alberta, Canada.
“Maps have been a big part of Manila Water,” said Quibuyen. “We have a full group focusing on different mapping technologies. In this case, having this data plotted in a map, infused with some level of logic, really simplifies the understanding of how a plant is performing. And it allows us to have facilities on a single view, which is very helpful.”
Dashboards developed by Controtek have also proved to be valuable. “The dashboards are helpful, and it captures what we had in mind,” said Quibuyen. “The charts and graphs are custom-made to fit the variety of users — from our management down to the operators.”
Centralized SCADA, More Data
“As an asset manager, I’m easily able to monitor and analyze data for our operations in wastewater,” said
Janet F. Pastores, asset planning manager for the Wastewater Division at Manila Water. “With the centralized SCADA, we’re able to have a bird’s eye view of the status of the equipment of all the facilities. Before, manual onsite checking was done to view status of the equipment. I’m excited to see this more efficient way of operating our wastewater facility.”
Previously, there was no centralized monitoring for status and plant performance at remote locations. And manual calculations were needed for operations analysis and reporting. Manila Water also had difficulty coordinating the manual acquisition of information from different plant sites.
With Ignition, online access to data is provided via desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. The system now has one data repository. And with Ignition’s capabilities for reports, alarm notification, visualization, and history, Controtek was able to meet Manila Water’s requirements — and exceed its expectations.
Controtek’s Bartolome likes the fast development time and other benefits he sees with the new system. “Ignition’s flexibility is one reason it stands out from other SCADA systems,” he said. “And since it’s modular, we’re able to incorporate only what we need, or what a specific system requires. This platform allows us to expand our horizons in innovation and creativity.”
Editor's Note: Scranton Gillette Communications and the SGC Water Group are not liable for the accuracy, efficacy and validity of the claims made in this piece. The views expressed in this content do not reflect the position of the editorial teams of Water & Wastes Digest, Water Quality Products and Storm Water Solutions.
