Above-Net accepted the challenge of modernizing the remote monitoring of water treatment and distribution plants for a large state-owned sanitation company in Brazil, which sought solutions that could simplify the industrial park's old communication system.
With an outdated system, where communication between equipment and PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) was done through cables connected to the main stations, there were many problems such as, for example, data transmission failure and great complexity in maintaining and expanding this network.
Above-Net presented the Bridgemeter solution, composed of a parameterizable telemetry system and modern industrial IoT (Internet of Things) devices capable of connecting with sensors, equipment or controllers, enabling the monitoring, collection and programming of intelligent rules for problem prediction and data analysis from remote locations.
With Bridgemeter , all communication between devices, previously carried out via cables, is now carried out over the 3G/4G network in real time. With the solution, managers can create alarms that trigger notifications on dashboards, via email, or via the app. In some situations, it's possible to program remote activation to open or close valves.
The solution monitors water flow and level at the intake points, phase and electrical current failures in pumps, pump status, and controls valve opening and closing.
Bridgemeter intelligently and automatically interprets non-standard operating conditions, notifying responsible groups according to the predefined criteria. This allows for the anticipation of important maintenance without interrupting operations. Bridgemeter's operational advantages enable the achievement of over 95% SLA (Service Level Agreement) compliance.
In sanitation industries, where there is an operational supervisory system such as SCADA, Bridgemeter also connects to the system transparently at remote points, managing the remote connection to legacy systems and actively generating alarms for the field team, transmitting information from equipment and sensors in real time to the platform, and enabling the expansion of measurements without the need to acquire new PLCs.
Data convergence
With the privatization of this public sanitation company, the distribution of drinking water was divided between three private companies, while water collection and sewage treatment operations remained with the public operator.
However, all operational data from the four companies needed to be transmitted to the same control center. The challenge was to enable different technologies to read the data and share it with each company's SCADA system.
Above-Net developed and made available an architecture that makes Bridgemeter a reading bus, overcoming the PLC limitation that only allows the connection of a single supervisory device for data access.
"Instead of using two systems to read data at the PLC end, a layer was created where Above-Net takes a single reading of the data, and through Bridgemeter, multiple readings are allowed by supervisory systems from each of the utilities. This eliminates the limitation of the PLC, which only allows one reading," commented Rafael Pougy, project manager at Above-Net.
The Bridgemeter solution can be contracted using the SaaS model (monthly payment), thus reducing capital expenditure, or CAPEX.
Application
Want to learn more about how Bridgemeter can revolutionize your company's sanitation operations?
Download our free brochure “Smart Sanitation Operational Management” now and discover how our Industrial IoT technology can optimize your processes, reduce costs, and increase operational efficiency.
Transform your sanitation infrastructure with cutting-edge solutions from Above-Net. Don't miss this opportunity to take your operation to the next level!
