Pump station manager
A Pump Station Manager is an autonomous equipment that controls, monitors and maintains the operation of a pump station, also known as a lift station, both locally and remotely. A Pump Station Manager combines an operator interface with pump controller functionality that contains RTU and PLC capabilities. A pump station manager is essentially a real-time industrial computer. A Pump Station Manager is GeneRally configured rather than programmed – this is the biggest difference from a PLC/RTU. A pre-packaged user interface designed around the commissioning of a pump station allows non-technical staff to commission a new station, e.g., a setup wizard, menu options for set points, pump alternation schemes, supply protection, motor protection and flow configuration. If required, the PLC capability in the unit allows more advanced technical staff to add new functionality while working with the IEC61131-3 standard.
Features
A Pump Station Manager can receive or send Digital and Analog signals. In the local environment of the pump station - or lift station - a Pump Station Manager monitors large quantities of data: level in the well, control panel components (e.g. thermal overloads, circuit breakers, contactors, starters, exc.), pump seal and thermistor sensors, 3-phase supply voltage, 3-phase motor currents, flow rates, volumes, pressures, and other general purpose I/O (e.g. 4-20mA analog signals) as required. The pumps are controlled by these parameters based on their configuration within the Pump Station Manager. High level algorithms integrated in the pump station manager provide predictive maintenance data – or condition-based monitoring.
By merging all of these capabilities, a Pump Station Manager may be used to predict pump failures, sewage spills, and preventive maintenance schedules. Pump Station Managers internally store and capture data in order to track fault events, and fault types. Pump Station Managers are able to enact performance tests and compare data sets. Through the operator interface, a Pump Station Manager can perform set point adjustments, view data sets, and make “real time” programming changes.
In the remote environment, i.e. as part of a SCADA or telemetry system, a Pump Station Manager communicates data via open protocols (Modbus and DNP3) and receives supervisory/over-ride commands from the central monitoring facility of the SCADA/telemetry system. The high level of integration in a Pump Station Manager enables a large amount of vital data, such as energy usage per pump and pump efficiency to be used by the SCADA system.
Benefits
Green House Gas Reduction.
Reliable Preventive Maintenance.
Secure Communications Network.
History
Many older pump stations in the US use relay logic for control. Most pump stations that upgraded their control systems went in one of two directions: - a PLC or a dedicated pump controller. Both of these solutions had inherent problems for water /wastewater authorities. The dedicated pump controllers had the benefit of integrating standard control panel components and the Operator Interface Terminal. Pump control was established by a limited number of set parameters rather than robust programming. Unfortunately, many limitations existed for pump controllers. Pump controllers were limited to control a certain number of pumps. Pump controllers had very limited user-defined logic capability. The pump controllers that did contain customizable logic functionality normally did not conform to the IEC61131-3 standard that is understood and used by most System Integrators. Communications capabilities of pump controllers were limited. For multiple pump control and communication readiness, RTU’s were incorporated. Modern telemetry protocols like Modbus and DNP3 were integrated into RTU’s. Without the use of a RTU, pump controller integration with SCADA networks was difficult, time consuming and financially unreasonable for Wastewater authorities. Numerous Wastewater facilities decided to use PLC’s to match the need for advanced communication features and programming functionality. However, PLC’s contained numerous disadvantages as well. The drawback of PLC’s for water/wastewater authorities was they frequently lacked the in-house expertise for programming. External software development, commissioning and maintenance costs were high.. PLC’s lacked pump station specific inputs and outputs. Onsite programming adjustments were not possible without the use of an Operator Interface Terminal. For remote monitoring applications, additional components were needed. Additional components decreased the space available inside of the control panel and increased the cost of system integration. All of these drawbacks led to the development of Pump Station Managers. Pump Station Managers combined the capabilities of advanced pump controllers with the robust programmability of a PLC.