Background:

This pilot project is being carried out at American Water’s Innovation Department as part of the company’s strategy of constantly improving and increasing the efficiency of the water and waste disposal systems it operates.

For the pilot, two Environmental Disposal Corporation (EDC) facilities were connected in order to demonstrate RealiteQ system’s capabilities and its compatibility with AW’s needs, to allow the subsequent connection of the various remaining water company facilities to this system. All that resulting in the command and control of the entire corporation’s facilities being managed by a single system.

 

Needs:

EDC features various facilities spread out over a fairly large geographical area, ranging from sewage pumping facilities, through a waste treatment and purification facility, to a system for discharging the treated waste into the river. The vast majorities of these facilities are not equipped with telemetry devices, and are not connected to a comprehensive SCADA array. Therefore, no command and control exists for the various facilities and tracking their function and operation is complicated.
As a result, the customer has defined a need for an advanced system that can connect all the sites to a single command and control array, quickly and at low cost.

Unique capabilities:

A cellular telemetry system and cloud-based integral SCADA, saves the cost of installing any software or applications, while allowing an unlimited number of approved users to connect to the system (subject to their authorization level) from any device (computer, tablet, telephone etc.).
The system can be installed very quickly. Connecting both sites, including splitting measurements using analog and discrete distributors, and wiring them to end units, took the installing integrator, who has never encountered the system before, six hours.
From the moment physical installation was completed, data began to gather in the cloud database, and the system’s functioning could be viewed in real time.
Beyond the display of the facility’s real-time operational data and saving their history, effective dashboards were defined in the cloud management portal.
The operation and maintenance personnel observe a larger amount of data and can, each according to their own authorizations, perform different actions in the system.
The installed system is simple and easy to operate and use.
The system and installation costs are miniscule (CAPEX) and the regular operating costs are extremely low (OPEX).
As the system is managed, there is no need for ongoing maintenance. Maintenance is carried out as part of the service.

Summary and results:

  • The customer receives a working system within hours of its installment with no disruptions to the facilities’ ongoing operation.
  • Screens were defined (management and operation) allowing customers and employees to receive the required information in real time, and to operate the system from off-site in an effective, safe and highly secure manner.
  • Concentration of problems read off the programmed controller, allows the manager and the operational personnel to receive email and text messages when a problem occurs and upon its conclusion.
  • Access via the management interface allows one to view the problems’ occurrence timetable,  their confirmation time by the duty operator (including identification of implementing parties), the problems’ end time and their overall duration.

Supply of drinking water to the city of Carmiel, Israel

by Water & Waste Water

Background:

RealiteQ was asked to provide a monitoring and operating solution for a relatively small corporation, which is only authorized to administer the Carmiel area, dealing primarily with operating and taking responsibility for the drinking water in the city and also taking some responsibility for the sewage stations.  

In order to control, know and handle the regular supply of water, a real-time monitoring system was required, working 24/7, in order to operate as quickly as possible in any event.

Project Description:

This project includes 3 sites, each containing a drinking water supply reservoir for the area around it.

A control panel with solar cellular units (R3.0) was installed at each site, with command and control, level measuring instrumentation and a voltage backup system using batteries.

The system knows how to measure the real water level accurately, thus controlling a suitable filling profile according to consumer demand, and to present data and to warn about any incident.

At each site there was a homeland security system, which only provided a local warning. It has also been connected to the new system, so that it can light up and warn about any incident involving security. 

Unique Capabilities:

The use of a cellular solution solved the communications problems that stemmed from infrastructure limitations and enabled interfacing the dispersed water and sewage systems (including HMS systems as aforementioned ), in an especially short time schedule (within a few days) and at low costs, since there was no need to construct a special immunizations infrastructure for a relatively small system.

Conclusion and Results:

The project became fully operational within a few weeks, and, in view of this, impressive operational streamlining has been achieved:

  • Routine data on the height of the water level in the reservoir. (In the past, the height of the water in each reservoir wasn’t known, and it was necessary to visit each site frequently – this problem has been resolved).
  • Filling the reservoir became an accurate and efficient operation, and avoided the intensive handling that had been necessary in order to service the previous filling valves.
  • In the event of an emergency, closing and emptying a reservoir by a remote rapid action is possible.
  • The warning reception system is organized for the corporation’s mobile devices.
  • Collecting and receiving organized historical reports about the various level conditions throughout the year.
  • The customer is satisfied and the systems are working well, without any need for special maintenance operations.

Remote supervision & control of irrigation machines, Israel

by Agriculture

Background:

The agricultural company at Kibbutz Mizra in Israel has a large number of linear/pivot irrigation machines, distributed over extensive areas, differing and distant from each other.

The irrigation machines move in a linear or circular manner at slow speeds, and irrigate the terrain they pass over. As they are machines in every sense, they are powered by a diesel engine or an electrical motor, and feature various controls for speed, direction, motor management and securities/protections, both for the motor and for the sprinkling and irrigation systems. Each of these requires appropriate control, and as the machine is in constant motion – it needs to be operated wirelessly.

Project Description:

In 2014, the project began with a single irrigation machine for the customer, and the irrigation machine selected for this purpose was the one located at the greatest distance from the kibbutz.

An R3.0 ICEX unit was installed on the linear irrigation machine, connected to the irrigation machine’s controller, and it sends all of the information both to its operators and directly to the remote units controlling the supply of water and pressure to feed the irrigation machine (multi-directional communications).

Unique Capabilities:

The distinction of RealiteQ’s solution is the cellular communication capability, which enables different irrigation machines to be connected without the need to deploy a radio infrastructure. Another special capability of the system installed is that of its multi-directional communication, which enables the irrigation machine’s controller to communicate directly, and concurrently with the water supply system and with the operators.

Summary and Results:

Immediately after RealiteQ’s installation on the first irrigation machine, it was understood that this was a good way to monitor and control everything taking place in and around the irrigation machine.

As the machine operates and moves independently, it’s very important and relaxing to see from afar, at any given moment, where it is and what its status is. This system in effect precluded the need for any wired connection, which is no longer unnecessary and had caused many problems in the past.

The system enables real-time control over the rate of progress and the amount of water needed, and of course issues an immediate alert regarding any problem or incident.

In light of the success and the customer’s satisfaction, one season later, three additional irrigation machines were upgraded the same way, using a RealiteQ system.

RealiteQ system interface with GE system, Austria

by Industry & OEM

Background:

A local distributor and integrator of GE control systems in Austria was looking for a real-time communications system that would transmit the data of the controllers he provides to Austrian municipal water and sewage authorities.

The challenge in this case was to be able, on one hand, to provide a comprehensive system (communications and UI) where needed, and on the other hand, to provide communications that interface with existing UI systems at the premises of other customers through a Reali OPC server.

In this case, RealiteQ is in effect a technology supplier for the integrator in this country, who receives a solution adapted to the specific needs of various customers, while interfacing with appropriate UI systems and end systems as needed.

Project Description:

In 2009 RealiteQ was asked to provide a solution for three sites in Austria for real-time monitoring and control of water systems controlled by GE controllers.

The systems were provided as part of a local integrator’s need to provide a complementary system of communication and remote control for the controllers he provided, which would be able to interface with existing systems of the municipal water and sewage corporations.

The distinction of RealiteQ’s solution is the versatility of the interface, which enables it to provide a solution in accordance with requirements, from a comprehensive solution including communications and UI, to a communications solution that interfaces with customers’ existing UI systems.

Prominent in this project was RealiteQ’s ability to remotely support an individual integrator and provide a reliable and versatile solution in relatively small quantities.

In light of the project’s success, the collaboration as continued, and there are currently, there are currently a few dozen sites active in Austria for municipal customers who receive real-time data for a variety of different UI systems, to the satisfaction of both the integrator and the customers.

Solar Energy fed cellular communication base station, Cameroon – Africa

by Energy

Background:

In Cameroon, Africa, the base stations for its cellular network are partially fed by solar energy systems, particularly in areas that are difficult to access.

In 2011 RealiteQ provided systems for remote monitoring and control of cellular systems to South African company MTN, which is also active in Cameroon.

Project Description:

The project included 7 stations throughout Cameroon. Each station is divided into a number of solar arrays, each such array being controlled by a separate designated charging controller, with up to 10 controllers per station.

Each of them was connected, for station management technical reasons, each controller defined as being independent on the network, although they were all served by a single ICEX unit. In each ICEX, separate ports and separate drivers were defined for each controller, each ICEX serving five controllers.
The ICEX unit is used not just to coordinate communications, but also as a system gateway, with significant monetary savings in the initial investment.

Unique Capabilities:

The distinction of the RealiteQ solution is that it provides maintenance personnel with remote access to systems in out-of-the-way locations that are difficult to access physically. Each ICEX unit has the ability to serve a number of controllers, and the ICEX units serve both as a communications coordinators and as gateways. They work at high temperatures. Data is shared between network operators and the solar energy systems’ maintenance companies. In addition to remote monitoring, the interface was also used for calibrating the system and changing parameters.

Summary and Results:

The system operated under extreme climate and physical conditions, at very distant sites that require complex technological capabilities, all with relatively low investment (CAPEX) and off-site service (SaaS – Software as a service) that completely relieved the cellular company of the issue of maintenance.

OEM – Virtual power plants, Germany

by Energy

Background:

The German company TBS is a virtual provider of energy that connects various generators throughout Germany to local power grids on the basis of designated contracts.

In order to operate these systems, the company needed real-time monitoring and control systems that enable it to send accurate data at predefined times (every minute, during the first ten seconds of the minute) to the purchasing electric company.

In the initial stage, Exor purchased the hardware from RealiteQ and supplied it to the customer, while TSB purchasing the service and software directly from RealiteQ.

Project Description:

In 2007 RealiteQ was asked to provide a solution to TSB, which at that time was entering the field of virtual power plants, and sought an advanced system for real-time monitoring and control.

The hardware was installed on the various generators and the software interfaced with the generator’s IO models, as well as through the RealiteQ portal and using Reali OPC software (OPC Server program) to their management software, which is connected to the power companies’ centers to which the electricity was provided from the generators.

Unique Capabilities:

The distinction of RealiteQ’s solution was its interface with the generator systems via concurrent local and IO communications, connection to external management software via the OPC interface.

This project showcased RealiteQ’s ability to broadcast data in real time, reliably, consistently and with high determination and precision (always in the first 10 seconds of each operating minute) – from a number of different sites at the same time, and through various cellular providers.

Summary and Results:

The system has been operating successfully for a decade, and at its height handled dozens of sites at the same time, depending on how many contracts and active generators TBS had

Pumping station & WWTP American Water, New Jersey – USA

by Water & Waste Water

Background:

This pilot project is being carried out at American Water’s Innovation Department as part of the company’s strategy of constantly improving and increasing the efficiency of the water and waste disposal systems it operates.

For the pilot, two Environmental Disposal Corporation (EDC) facilities were connected in order to demonstrate RealiteQ system’s capabilities and its compatibility with AW’s needs, to allow the subsequent connection of the various remaining water company facilities to this system. All that resulting in the command and control of the entire corporation’s facilities being managed by a single system.

 

Needs:

EDC features various facilities spread out over a fairly large geographical area, ranging from sewage pumping facilities, through a waste treatment and purification facility, to a system for discharging the treated waste into the river. The vast majorities of these facilities are not equipped with telemetry devices, and are not connected to a comprehensive SCADA array. Therefore, no command and control exists for the various facilities and tracking their function and operation is complicated.
As a result, the customer has defined a need for an advanced system that can connect all the sites to a single command and control array, quickly and at low cost.

Unique capabilities:

A cellular telemetry system and cloud-based integral SCADA, saves the cost of installing any software or applications, while allowing an unlimited number of approved users to connect to the system (subject to their authorization level) from any device (computer, tablet, telephone etc.).
The system can be installed very quickly. Connecting both sites, including splitting measurements using analog and discrete distributors, and wiring them to end units, took the installing integrator, who has never encountered the system before, six hours.
From the moment physical installation was completed, data began to gather in the cloud database, and the system’s functioning could be viewed in real time.
Beyond the display of the facility’s real-time operational data and saving their history, effective dashboards were defined in the cloud management portal.
The operation and maintenance personnel observe a larger amount of data and can, each according to their own authorizations, perform different actions in the system.
The installed system is simple and easy to operate and use.
The system and installation costs are miniscule (CAPEX) and the regular operating costs are extremely low (OPEX).
As the system is managed, there is no need for ongoing maintenance. Maintenance is carried out as part of the service.

Summary and results:

  • The customer receives a working system within hours of its installment with no disruptions to the facilities’ ongoing operation.
  • Screens were defined (management and operation) allowing customers and employees to receive the required information in real time, and to operate the system from off-site in an effective, safe and highly secure manner.
  • Concentration of problems read off the programmed controller, allows the manager and the operational personnel to receive email and text messages when a problem occurs and upon its conclusion.
  • Access via the management interface allows one to view the problems’ occurrence timetable,  their confirmation time by the duty operator (including identification of implementing parties), the problems’ end time and their overall duration.