Industrial Automation Services (IAS) developed a pumping station configurator for the Schieland and Krimpenerwaard Water Board (HHSK). With this configurator, employees of HHSK can programme and configure water authority objects such as pumping stations, weirs and measuring points themselves. The project was implemented with a System 800xA and Panel 800 from ABB.
The Schieland and Krimpenerwaard Water Board (HHSK) ensures the quality of the surface water, the water table and the flood defences in the region between Rotterdam, Schoonhoven and Zoetermeer. HHSK also manages a number of roads in Krimpenerwaard. HHSK came about out of a merger between the Schieland Water Board and the Krimpenerwaard Water Board. “After the merger in 2005, the Water Systems department had to contend with various control systems on the objects,” says Johan van Rijswijk, a specialist in process automation in the Water Systems department at the Water Board. “One of the goals of HHSK is for all systems to be standardised in the future. A large number of projects are flowing from this. One of these involved the implementation of a water quantity measurement network. This is a system for monitoring and recording water levels across the territory managed by HHSK.” The “Meetnet” project was launched in 2009 for delivery in 2011.
The project primarily consisted of two parts:
- The replacement of the existing central control system of the works of the Water Board (68 objects).
- The installation of a digital measuring network (180 measuring points) that can be accessed via the same central control system.
As part of the restart, HHSK also started looking for another automation partner. “Talks with contractors came up with the name of IAS from Zundert,” says Van Rijswijk. “Having spoken to the people at IAS, it quickly became clear to HHSK that the company would be the right partner. The fact that they listened to the objectives provided an immediate confidence boost. The conclusion was that we would be working with an experienced and knowledgeable party.”
New start
The Meetnet project finally got going again in September 2013 under the direction of Johan van Rijswijk and Freek de Boer from HHSK and Robert Elst from IAS. A preliminary study was launched first. The findings of this study revealed five design options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. “The designs were independently assessed by us internally,” says Van Rijswijk. “When discussing the designs, HHSK expressed a preference for the development of a modular system. Each function required is implemented in a module that can be delivered as a ‘Plug and Play’ package. Plugging in this package immediately creates the right relationships with other modules. The risk with this was that this theoretical concept had not been developed earlier. It was therefore initially developed in the form of a pilot project.”
The concept performed well in the pilot phase and also underwent considerable further development afterwards. The project was structured in so-called modules with a fixed and configurable parts. This ultimately resulted in a broadly usable pumping station configurator that allows employees to personally build and configure a water authority object, such as a pumping station, weir or measuring point. “The big advantage of this way of working is that our own technical specialists are in a position to build new objects from the library themselves and to do this entirely without the intervention of external offices,” explains Van Rijswijk. “At the same time, costs can be reduced for the Water Board. In addition, this approach allows a good standard to be achieved which can be properly managed.”
Van Rijswijk is extremely positive about the collaboration with IAS and would certainly recommend the company to others. “The collaboration with IAS was a really good experience. IAS works in a structured way that keeps the client in mind. The employees are very committed and it’s great to be able to work with them!”
Apart from the developed pumping station configurator, we also carried out lots of other tasks for the Water Board:
- Management and maintenance of the ABB SattLine control installation
- Management and maintenance of the ABB System 800xA control installation
- Renewal of the control systems for the pumping stations and weirs
- Provision of a 24/7 service for the ABB SattLine and System 800xA installation
- Upgrade to SattLine 2.4 and renewal of SattLine workstations