What is a Reservoir?
A reservoir is a body of water collected and stored for community use. A reservoir can be a natural lake or an artificial lake.

Why Do We Need Reservoirs?
The vast majority of Americans rely on centralized water systems for potable water. Centralized water systems typically include:

• Watershed – A Water Source
• Collection Point – Such as a lake, river, aquifer
• Treatment – Purification and Water Treatment Facilities
• Storage – Reservoirs, Storage Tanks, Water Towers, Standpipes
• Distribution – Network of Pipes and Pump Stations

 What is a Reservoir Monitor?
Centralized water systems consist of hydrologic and hydraulic elements including a Reservoir Monitor. A Reservoir Monitor is a device used to transmit water level information from a Reservoir to a Pump Station.

Why is Reservoir Monitoring Important?
Monitoring the level of water in a reservoir is very important to the general population because it influences decisions ranging from water appropriation to agriculture to hydropower generation. In addition, during times of heavy rainfall, water level information is crucial to planning and flood avoidance.

This growing need for optimizing the use and management water can be met by MultiTrode’s Remote Reservoir Monitor (MTRRM), which gathers water level and I/O data from a Reservoir to be used in a Pump Station at a different location.

MultiTrode’s Remote Reservoir Monitor (MTRRM)
MultiTrode’s Remote Reservoir Monitor (MTRRM) has two analog inputs, one analogue output, six digital inputs, three digital outputs and an input for monitoring the DC supply voltage. The MTRRM can link to a Pump Station via a SCADA system, or in a stand-alone configuration.

In a SCADA network, the CMF (Central Monitoring Facility) typically makes the decisions on activation of pumps. However, when the CMF is not operational for any reason, the MTRRM and remote Pump Station sense this and transmit in a peer-to-peer configuration, increasing water supply reliability. (When the MTRRM detects that the SCADA system is running again, it will revert back to normal operation via the CMF).

The MTRRM can also be used as a forwarding site for messages from SCADA to other units. This is useful for getting information to sites that cannot communicate directly with the SCADA system. Read more…

General News MTRRM, pump station, Remote Reservoir Monitor, Reservoir Monitor, Reservoir Monitoring, SCADA, SCADA System

MultiTrode’s MultiSmart Pump Station Manager is the next generation of technology for water and wastewater pump stations – combining the best of PLCs, RTUs and pump controllers into a comprehensive and intuitive package.

MultiSmart has the capability of calculating efficiency based on 3 measured variables:

1. Supply Voltage
2. Current
3. Flow

Knowing these 3 variables enables the Operator to calculate gallons per kilowatt Hr (gal/kWhr).

MultiSmart Firmware Version 2.3.0 includes a groundbreaking advancement, Alternation by Efficiency, the ingenious derivative of MultiSmart’s gal/kWhr ability!

In order to save energy costs, this mode is especially useful where an old pump, scheduled for replacement, is coupled with a new pump.

The Old Way:

Create an N to 1 ratio based on the most efficient pump, allowing the most efficient pump to run N (N is user adjustable) times more than the least efficient pump.

The Problem:

1. Although pump efficiencies begin to equalize, the alternation mode is continues to favor one pump over the other because N to 1 is an absolute comparison.
2. When implemented, some stations experience a high number of starts per day on the most efficient pump which adversely affects the efficiency of new pumps.
3. Not all systems are set up the same. Therefore, there’s a need for indication of the currently active alternation scheme.

MultiTrode’s Solution:

MultiTrode is committed to R&D, continually working on product improvement and new product developments, responding to ideas and feedback from customers.

Our team of highly qualified R&D engineers set their sights on addressing these shortcomings, focused on making O&M jobs easier and elating our Customers.  There is we did:

1. MultiTrode created an Efficiency Deadband (%). This allows for a standard alternation scheme to occur whenever the efficiency of the pumps fall into the Efficiency Deadband. If the difference in efficiency exceeds the Efficiency Deadband, the station will resume the N to 1 ratio favoring the most efficient pump.
2. MultiTrode recommends setting the Station Optimization feature of Max Starts per Hour on each pump.
3. For ease of reference, a database tag was created to indicate when the regular alternation scheme is active in the Pump Alternation Efficiency Mode.

Written By:
Jimmy Hidalgo
MultiTrode Applications Engineer
May 14, 2010 Read more…

General News Efficiency Deadband, most efficient pump, MultiSmart, PLCs, Pump Alternation Efficiency, pump controllers, pump efficiency, Pump Station Manager, RTUs, Station Optimization, wastewater pump stations

The MultiTrode DuoProbe is built on the concept of combining MultiTrode’s ultra reliable 10 Sensor Probe with the high resolution of a pressure transducer.

The DuoProbe has 10 metallic sensors, just like MultiTrode’s standard Probe, with the addition of a built-in pressure transducer integrated to the end of Probe. After initial configuration, the DuoProbe will appear to operate exactly like MultiTrode’s standard Probe. After just a few level cycles, the unit will “Auto-Calibrate” and go into High Resolution mode using its built-in pressure transducer.

MultiTrode’s innovative Pump Station Manager – the MultiSmart – will periodically recalibrate the DuoProbe thus ensuring accuracy. In the unlikely event the pressure transducer fails, the MultiSmart will automatically switch over to operate off the 10 Sensor Probe. The DuoProbe will only function with the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager.

Innovative features include:

• High Resolution Level reading can be very useful in VFD systems or any system where monitoring small changes in level is desirable.
• Ability to monitor liquid after it has exceeded the top of the Probe.
• Level can be monitored all the way to top of well even if the DuoProbe is at bottom of well enabling Operators to know the exact well level (especially significant in emergency conditions).
• Particular useful to sites with a SCADA connection because Operators can determine which well(s) are at their highest levels and dispatch emergency generator equipment accordingly.

 Tim Agrillo
May 12, 2010 Read more…

General News DuoProbe, pressure transducer, probe, SCADA, VFD

Using the compact flash port of your MultiSmart unit and a CF card is the easiest way to upgrade the firmware.

Simply:

• Download the firmware to your computer and unzip the file.
• Look for the file named update.img.
• Use a flash card reader/writer to copy the file to the flash card. (You can purchase a USB compact flash reader/writer from MultiTrode or other sources.)
• Insert the compact flash card into the MultiSmart unit and restart (press Settings->More->More->Restart).
• The unit will use the upgrade image to save the latest firmware automatically
• Press the yellow “Save CF Data” button on your MultiSmart unit before ejecting the CF card. Failure to do so may result in data corruption and/or damage to the CF card.
• We recommend that you erase the update.img file from the CF card after upgrading all units that you need to upgrade. 

Read more…

General News Firmware, MultiSmart, MultiTrode, updgrade firmware

What exactly is a ball float anyhow?

The ball float method is a direct reading liquid level mechanism.  The most practical design for the ball float is a hollow metal ball or sphere.  However, there are no restrictions to the size, shape or material used.  The operation of the ball float is simple; the ball floats sit on top of the liquid in a tank or well.  If the liquid level changes, the float will follow with the liquid level change.  The downside with using ball floats is they also can get tangled up or weighed down with grease or foam or when grease hardens the float may sit on top of the hardened grease thus creating a false reading.  You also have to take into account that there may be some costly maintenance involve with using a ball float system.

On the other hand, the probe or sometimes referred to as a “stick” is considered a primary level sensing device in any municipal or industrial application. It works by using the conductive properties of the water.

All you do is, hang the probe on its own cable into your wet well, using brackets we supply.  It has no electronics and no moving parts, which means there is nothing to that gets tangled, break or fail.  It’s mounted near the inflow (which we highly recommend doing), allowing the turbulence to keep it clean, so there is virtually very little maintenance required.  Even if a build-up does occur it has a squeegy you just pull it through “simple as pie,” it’s usually conductive and keeps right on working.  That’s why it has a 10 year warranty!

Request a trial today: http://www.multitrode.com/landing/reliable-liquid-level-sensor Read more…

General News Ball Float, ball float system, ball floats, Level Sensing, liquid level mechanism, primary level sensing devise, probe

DNP is an acronym for Distributed Network Protocol, an open protocol used by components in process automation systems.

A protocol defines the rules by which devices talk to each other. DNP3 is a protocol for transmitting data from Point A to Point B via serial and IP communications. Although DNP is most commonly used by electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities, it can be used anywhere a SCADA system is exists.

Why Do Devices Need to Talk to Each Other?
Utility providers commonly have lots of operations they need to monitor. Typically, there is a central operations center plus remote equipment in the field.  The central operations center houses their main computer.  Installations/substations house remote equipment in the field.  DNP is used to facilitate communication between the main computer and remote equipment, enabling the main computer to remotely open/close circuit breakers, measure line voltages, start/stop motors, open/close valves, check for errors, etc.

View Previous Blog Series on DNP3:

DNP3 Part 1 – Date/Time Stamping

DNP3 Part 2 – Communications Options

DNP3 Part 3 – Security

DNP3 Part 4 – Reliability

DNP3 Part 5 – Compliance Read more…

General News Cellular Communication, distributed network protocol, DNP3, dnp3 security, reliability, security

On behalf of the entire MultiTrode Team – we invite you to attend our new educational webinar series.

Current class offerings include:

• Latest Advances in Pump Station Management
• Introduction to the MultiSmart: the World’s 1st Pump Station Manager
• Introduction to Backup Controllers for Lift Stations
• Customized classes also available

Hurry – Space is filling fast!

To take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity, contact Sandy Santiago at 561-994-8090 or sandys@multitrode.com.

After making your reservation, you will receive an email Webinar Invitation with simply to follow instructions. Then sit back in the comfort of your own office while the MultiTrode Team entertain you with tales of technological advancements and features that will make every day in the field seem like a walk in the park! Read more…

General News backup controller, Level Sensing, lift station, MultiSmart, probe, Pump Controller, pump efficiency, pump station, Pump Station Management, Pump Station Optimization, Technical, webinar

We believe MultiTrode’s Engineers are the Best! When others echo our sentiments, we can’t help but shout it from the roof top!

MultiTrode had the opportunity to work with the Town of Greenwich, CT, on a telemetry upgrade to their sanitary sewer collection system pump stations, a project that required extraordinary preliminary planning.

Recently, the Town of Greenwich’s Wastewater Division Manager, Richard Feminella, took time out of his busy day to write Aaron Parkinson, President of MultiTrode, to share his praises of both MultiTrode and our Engineering Services Manager, Nick Claudio.

About MultiTrode, Mr. Feminella wrote that Greenwich has “been extremely satisfied with the MultiTrode system and installation.” 

As an organization, our longstanding goal is to be the very best we can be – to meet every challenge head on, to solve every issue to the utmost of our ability, overcoming the foreseeable and unforeseeable, to ensure each and every MultiTrode customer walks away satisfied.

Mr. Feminella goes on to write that “Nick was responsive, courteous, polite, knowledgeable and performed each and every task correctly and without any delay”.

We couldn’t agree more!  Nick is that rare combination of knowledge, professionalism and readiness that makes every project easier, and every client happier. 

 Thank you, Mr. Feminella, for your kind words.
& Thank you, Nick, for yet another job well done! Read more…

General News efficiency, greenwich, Pump Station Management, sanitary sewer collection, telemetry

There is nothing more refreshing than a cool tall glass of water on a hot summer’s day. This is such a small thing; it’s easy to take it for granted. After all, who doesn’t have clean water? If you ask UNICEF, the answer is – 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe water. Below is a list of charities that aim to lower that number. Together we can make a difference.

Water for People

“Water For People assists people in developing countries to improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and hygiene education programs.” www.waterforpeople.org

 Water Aid

“WaterAid enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water and sanitation. Together with improved hygiene, these basic human rights underpin health, education and livelihoods, forming the first essential step in overcoming poverty. We work with local partners, who understand local issues, and provide them with the skills and support to help communities set up and manage practical and sustainable projects that meet their real needs.” www.wateraid.org

 Water 1^st

“Water 1st’s mission is to serve families in the poorest communities in the world as they implement community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education. We envision a world free of extreme poverty. Providing people with safe water systems, latrines, and hygiene education is the 1st step to ending the cycle of poverty and death.”  water1st.org

El Porvenir

“El Porvenir supports self–help, community–initiated water, sanitation and reforestation projects. Mission: To improve the standard of living of poor people in Nicaragua through sustainable self-help water, sanitation and reforestation projects.” www.elporvenir.org

Charity Water

“Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. Charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.” www.charitywater.org

Water.org

Water.org is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries. Our goals are to draw attention to the world’s number one health problem, unsafe and inadequate water supplies, and to raise funds to help fight this immense problem – one community at a time.” www.water.org

WaterLife

“WaterLife is a non-profit organization that exists to implement and support community-based, community-owned water and sanitation programs that offer dignity and opportunity to disadvantaged people worldwide.” www.waterlife.org

Water Charity

“The mission of Water Charity is to implement practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation, and meaningful health education to those in need.” www.WaterCharity.org

Play Pumps International

“The mission of PlayPumps International – U.S. (PPI) is to help improve the lives of children and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water, enhancing public health, and offering play equipment to millions across Africa.” http://blog.playpumps.org/home

 H2O Africa

“H2O Africa is the clean water initiative that is part of the “Running the Sahara” expedition and film project, now chronicled on a special DVD release. Co-founded by Matt Damon, H2O Africa is creating widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa and gathering support for clean water programs in critical areas, including communities along the Running the Sahara route.” www.h2oafrica.org Read more…

General News clean water, drinking water, pumps, wastewater, water, water charity

MultiTrode is headed to Orlando, Florida. We will be exhibiting at the FSAWWA Florida Section Fall Conference from November 29th through December 2nd. Please stop by booth #525 to visit with sales team members. 

There, you will have the opportunity to check out the latest versions of MultiSmart and the new SafeSmart Backup Controllers, Safe-FS and Safe-TL.

The featured Safe-FS,  SafeSmart’s failsafe level alarm relay, is the next generation of ultra-reliable high level alarming for lift and pump stations. While the Safe-TL, provides an independent backup control system for level device fails. Read more…

General News backup controllers, FSAWWA, lift station, MulitSmart, pump station

I traveled to New Zealand recently to give Applied Instruments a hand with a large trade show. Applied Instruments are the sole distributor in New Zealand for Multitrode. The expression of interest received for the MultiSmart this year was massive compared to that of last year.

We were able to take over 140 quality feedbacks over the 2 ½ days of the conference. Of those 75 were directly aimed at the MultiSmart and other MultiTrode products. Last year we received only 28 enquiries and I considered only 22 to be “quality” enquiries.

The full sized demonstration pump station cabinet drew the most interest followed by the MultiSmart controlled waste water neutralization system. In the neutralization system the MultiSmart controls the switching of the sump pumps according to level and performs several custom functionalities.

The MultiSmart also accepts the 4-20mA pH signals from 2 pH meters, controls Pre treatment and then post CO2 dosing. The unit’s 4-20mA output is used to control a modulating valve that controls the discharge rate of the CO2 injection. The MultiSmart records the treated volume of water via flow meter and controls a divert valve, should the water not be adequately treated.

Most people were interested in the easiness in reconfiguration of the MultiSmart unit on the fly without needing to pull the unit out of the panel. Read more…

General News

Wayne Patterson, the Chief Executive Officer of MultiTrode, is selected as the Chairman of Australian Institute of Management Queensland and Northern Territory for the period 2009-2010 after its Annual General Meeting in May 2009.

The AIM Qld & NT, founded in 1950, is a not for profit entity promoting the advancement of education and learning in the areas of management and leadership for commerce, industry and government. AIM provides training and conducts seminars on the latest industry trends in corporate management and helps professionals in developing their leadership qualities.

The AIM Qld & NT Board of Directors are chosen by the Professional Members of the Institute, once every two years. By electing Mr Patterson as the new Chairman, the AIM members recognised his more than 20 years experience in building successful businesses.

Mr Patterson, previously the Deputy Chairman of AIM, said

 There is no better time for leaders to partner with an innovative business like AIM. My responsibility as Chairman is to make sure we continue to position the Institute as a respected voice for leadership and management excellence.

Read more…

General News

MultiTrode has recently released the firmware version 2.2.1 for the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager. This update includes enhancements for achieving higher efficiencies and support for extra security.

Major highlights of this release are,

1) Easy interfacing of selected ABB drives, in just a few button presses
2) Support for Dallas iButton security key
3) Improvised well mixer functionality
4) New Pump Alternation Modes
5) Simplicity in interfacing Rain-gauges
6) Extended pump efficiency calculations and alarming
7) DNP Object 0 support (helps in remote identification of device details and DNP profiles)
8) Improvised VFD configuration menu
9) Enhancements for flow calculations and flow statistics

These new features and enhancements further extend the capabilities of the MultiSmart to continue providing a unique and one stop solution for Pump Station Management. Registered members can download the firmware from the MultiTrode website www.multitrode.com. If you do not have a login, please navigate to http://www.multitrode.com/member-registration.php for applying a free registration. Read more…

General News, Industry, SCADA & Telemetry

Pump Station performance optimization has become an important feature  for pump stations throughout the world. A well optimized pump station can increase the lifetime of the pumps as well as decrease the cost involved in running the station. Station optimization can also help in reducing the hardware, software and maintenance costs significantly.

However it has been seen that many a times the pump stations (or lift stations) are not designed or maintained close to the best possible solution. Design changes after the Pump Station commissioning for including optimizations features are commonly seen these days.

Majority of the reasons behind this are; inability to identify all the optimization parameters during the design and commissioning phase;  huge costs and time constraints involved with the software reprogramming (PLC programming and SCADA changes) which are quite often seen requiring vast changes; incapability to see the relevant historical data required for achieving optimization; inability to trial different combinations of optimization features; and changing demands to the station  due to geographical & environmental changes, increase in population leading to varying optimization design requirements.

The MultiSmart Pump Station Manager is designed to eliminate these optimization issues. With the help of the easy to configure parameters through the LCD faceplate the user can configure different optimization settings and combinations. Having more than 500 tags for a standard two pump controller MultiSmart configuration the station’s functioning, with the relevant data, can be easily trended and observed over a period of time for fine tuning. The trending can be viewed from a SCADA system, as well as using the built-in Data Logging feature of the MultiSmart. The license free TrendReporter software, available for download at the MultiTrode website (www.multitrode.com), can be used to view the trends from the data logged within the MultiSmart unit.

Tags with the relevant data can be added for local or remote data logging, or deleted when not required, by browsing through the tag list in the LCD faceplate and selecting a few options. The tag database in the unit has about 3000 entries which covers all of the station optimization and pump control data available.

The MultiSmart unit comes with a lot Optimization features built into the software. The users can enable or disable particular features and setup & change the parameters according to the requirements with a few button presses. Therefore these features can easily be trialed after the station commissioning or whenever new changes are required and the best solution can thus be identified and implemented.

Available ready to use optimization features are as follows,

• Odor reduction (Max Off Time)
• Max Run Time
• Station Max Pumps to Run
• Minimize Fat Buildup
• Well Clean Out
• Minimize Excessive Starts
• High Inflow
• Well Washer
• Well Mixer
• Blocked Pump Detection
• Pump Max Starts Per Hour

The most common settings are found in the main station optimization screen.  New custom configurations can also be created easily without needing any hardware or firmware changes. The pump controller functionality has a whole range of advanced pump station parameters and can support multiple wells, multiple groups of pumps and multiple profiles.

A variety of standard pump alternation schemes are also present in the MultiSmart which are listed below.

• Alternation (std)
• Fixed (std)
• Alternation Special
• Fixed Strict
• Hours Run
• Pump Starts
• Efficiency
• N to 1
• First On First Off

Alternation by efficiency is one of the popular features utilized by the MultiSmart customers.

We have seen that the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager can improve the performance of a station immensely with the help of the standard and configurable optimization features. We can look at each of these features and how the customers are benefiting from them in the coming posts.

Read more…

General News, Industry, Technical Notes Lift Station Optimization, Pump Controller Optimization, Pump Station Optimization

Cellular communications has made huge progress in the last few years, and many people would say is a viable solution for water & wastewater telemetry.

The first area that cellular comms started getting attention was for water supply and wastewater collection systems – as a backup to radio.

The requirements would state that radio was the primary communications and cellular GPRS was the backup on more important stations.

We also saw a few utilities who requested cellular as their primary communications method, either because they had had a lot of problems with radio in the past, or because their geography meant that building a radio network was clearly a lot more expensive than using cellular.

Let’s look at the thinking behind the backup first of all.

Historically, in water and wastewater, radio has the been the main method of RTU communications, with PSTN (phone lines) coming a long way behind in second place. One of the main benefits of radio was the fact that the utility owned the infrastructure and therefore “felt” some level of control over it.

In theory, if you own the infrastructure then you are able to run an operation which ensures an uptime that you are happy with, i.e., that meets the organizational requirements. If communications to one site goes down then you have a problem – but one that you can theoretically fix. If a repeater goes down, it’s the same situation.

Contrast that with cellular comms where if a cell tower goes down, or for some reason there are other comms problems in the backbone or to one area, you have to wait for the cellular operator to fix it.

But apart from those whose lifeblood is radio communications, this can also present a major disadvantage of radio communications. A lot of utilities don’t have the expertise to troubleshoot and fix radio systems, or to replace radio repeaters in the middle of a storm. Even if they do, there’s the question over response time. In later posts we will look at possible benefits of cellular, but for now, the radio “ownership” problem and the low cost of cellular comms raised the possibility of using cellular as a backup. Read more…

General News Cellular Communication, telemetry

MultiSmart Pump Station Manager, with firmware version 2.2.0 onwards, now includes support for easy interfacing of the ABB ACS550 and ACS800 series VFDs. After a study in the US and UK, it was found that the ABB VFD’s are widely used in Pump Station Controls.

ABB - ACS800 Drive

Having support for the MODBUS RTU capability MultiSmart can be interfaced to any VFD’s with MODBUS support for bringing the data in and to send controls to the drives, and these data can be easily brought to a SCADA system. This process is fairly easy and straight forward with the help of the buttons on the MultiSmart faceplate. The only time consuming part is adding the MODBUS points by going through the VFD data sheet.

However, after identifying the customer demands, this integration process is further simplified for selected ABB VFD’s in MultiSmart firmware version 2.2.0, which requires only a few button press. With this feature MultiSmart can now use the currents read from the VFD, instead of current read from the MultiSmart Motor Protection module, for generating the fault alarms.

Even though MultiSmart has the capability to stop the pumps based on faults, these faults are configured only to alarm due to the fact that the VFD will holdout the pumps from running. The relevant motor protection faults, when interfaced to these VFDs, are set to Auto Reset within MultSmart to avoid the need for two resets when the fault is cleared, thereby simplifying the steps involved with the operations.

The MODBUS communication can be either setup over a RS232 or over ethernet. A RS232 to 485 converter is required if the RS232 option is selected. Ethernet communication can be setup using a cross over cable or using a straight through ethernet cable with the help of an ethernet switch.

Read more…

General News, Technical Notes ABB, ACS550, ACS800, MultiSmart

The Blue Ocean Strategy is a great book by Kim and Mauborgne (Harvard Press) that looks at how exciting new  products can be created at the development stage by focusing on uncontested market space.

In the book the authors argue that instead of companies trying to be better than the competitors and fighting over market share they should instead focus on making the competition irrelevant by creating uncontested Blue Ocean market places where new demands of customers are satisfied.  Rather than trying to beat the competition at their own game businesses looking for uncontested space should answer four questions:

• Which of the factors that our industry takes for granted should be eliminated?
• Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard?
• Which factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard?
• Which factors should be created that the industry never offered?

I found the book a good read and like anyone who learns about a new model or concept I wanted to try it out on one of our products at home.  I knew that no-one here had read the book before designing the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager over five years ago so it would be a good test. I am now sitting down and will do my best to answer the four questions:

• What did we eliminate that the industry took for granted?
That is easy. We took away the need to bring in a third party expert to set up, commission or make changes to the configuration of pump control in a lift station. It was all made so easy to use that any operator could be given simple training to do it and save themselves big dollars!

• What factor did we reduce below the industry standard? 
After thinking about that for a while it occurs to me that the MultiSmart reduces the number of moving parts found in any panel or station control box. The standard control panel is full of gear. A MultiSmart takes a lot of that away – up to 14 different devices are eliminated from one panel, maybe more. Again – big savings.

• Which factors did the MultiSmart raise well above the industry standard?
One of the biggest issues for the industry is getting enough data from lift stations and pump station. On average the industry is used to controllers providing less than 50 tags. We saw that as being the big picture for customers. The more information you have to hand the better your decision making. Asset managers are becoming more focused on network management, efficiency, energy and operating costs. Information and lots of it was going to be the key. We upped the ante with the MultiSmart and brought back 500 tags of data (and growing).  This allows greater level of control and monitoring than ever offered before in a controller.

• Which factor did we create that had not been offered before? 
Going back to the book for examples the authors showed how Cirque Du Soleil had solved this by being the first to offer a high level of theatre to their industry (Circus entertainment). That leads me to say that the MultiSmart was the first to offer an out-of –the-box solution for full pump station management. All the hard work has been done for you.  All the smarts come with the unit and we provide free upgrades as we develop them.

You might agree with me on those answers or you might not. My view is that they stand up to some scrutiny but I would love to hear if anyone has a different view. Read more…

General News, Industry MultiSmart, Pump Controller, Pump Station Management

This station is one of the four major stations in Greenwich, CT USA.  It pumps directly into the force main and sees an inflow of about 500 GPM into its very small well. If you would like to see video of the inflow into the well send me an email. If the station were to go down there will almost certainly be an overflow because they have only 20 minutes to respond. The station is equipped with a 2 VFD’s , backup generator,  mixer and a grinder.

The PLC operating the station used PID to keep a constant level in the well but the alternation feature did not work so someone would visit the station everyday to alternate the lead pump via the touch panel. The station used to have a an indicator panel separate from the PLC display that indicated what alarms were present. All three components (PLC, touch panel, indicator) were removed and only a MSU3MP took their place. One of the main reasons the town wanted to undertake the replacement of the PLC’s is the maintenance cost of the PLC programming. Most municipalities outsource the PLC programming. The MultiSmart has enabled them to get rid of the maintenance cost while adding the many features of the MultiSmart into the station.

Greenwich South Panel before installing MultiSmart

It took 4 hours to get the station running on the Colacino Demo unit and 4 days to complete the retrofit. This relatively small demo unit is used by Colacino for retrofits and for MultiSmart demos. It has 30 ft cables coming out of it that were temporarily wired into the panel to keep the station running while the work was performed.

Greenwich South Panel: removed components

Colacino demo unit

Greenwich South Water panel after installing MultiSmart

General News colacino, greenwich, MultiSmart

When someone talks about the capital infrastructure of a water or waste water utility or authority they are referring to things like the pipe networks, the lift stations, water mains and treatment plants a utility owns and is responsible for. These are usually very large and costly investments by any standard and that is why most times the owner of the assets must levy fees in the form of taxes when other government funds cannot be found.

Asset management is the term used to describe the management of this infrastructure in a way that minimizes total costs. These costs are made up of the cost of investment, operating costs, maintenance costs and the eventual cost of replacing the assets at the end of their life cycle.

Asset management for our customers is all about the analysis of information in order to make informed decisions about their capital investments. The better the information – the better the decision they can make. There is a big incentive to use that information on decisions that will minimize costs.

All utilities and authorities are limited in their spending to how much they collect in water and wastewater rates. Therefore a critical goal for the city is to manage their assets in such a way that they can achieve the level of service desired by customers AND meet the legal requirements of the regulators WITHOUT going over the amount of money they are allocated to spend each year.

So asset management is all about the analysis of information to make better decisions about investments. The more data you have and the more of that data you get in real time – the better you are able to manage your assets.

According to the Water Investment Newsletter the application of information technologies to the water industry is destined to become a high-growth opportunity. As if we did not know that!

Combining a modern SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system with the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager provides a sophisticated solution to asset management. This ensures not only continuous monitoring and control but a high level of predictive intelligence at the site where the assets are. Our enabling technology creates operational efficienies, and reduces maintenance and energy costs. This in turn helps the customer delay or reduces rate increases, helps bridge their funding gaps and optimizes their assets performance and reliability.

In the US much of the water infrastructure is approaching the end of its asset life cycle. This makes it a healthy candidate to get federal funding for capital renewal. We have already identified around $5billion in “shovel ready” projects that are eligible under the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Multitrode designs its products with the needs of the customer in mind. In fact one of our core values is that the customer is “Boss”. Our view is that the MultiSmart is the best solution to a customer looking for a better way to manage assets.

Some examples of how the MultiSmart delivers better Asset Management

Capital Costs: The MultiSmart is great value for money. It allows for lower cost panels. in many cases it can pay for itself in the first 12 months. The one unit replaces up to 14 other devices.

Maintenance Costs: The MultiSmart provides large amounts of data from the remote site back to a central site to be analysed. It also has on site predictive intelligence that can tell when a pump will need servicing.

Operating Costs: We know that any network where MultiSmarts are fitted will reduce after hours call outs by up to 80%. That reduces emergency response costs and “on call” costs. We also know that energy costs can be reduced by up to 15%.

Recycling: The MultiSmart has a 5 Year warranty. The case is made of recyclable plastics and the boards can be returned and disposed of in the appropriate way.

Read more…

General News

v2.1 of MultiSmart firmware is now on the website. Take a look at the recent post to find out what is included in this release.

The firmware can be downloaded if you have been given access to the firmware area. Create a login on the main site and request MultiSmart firmware (one of the checkboxes). If you already have a login, click on “Edit my details” in the top right of the main site. Read more…

General News dnp3 security, MultiSmart, PID