Challenge
Lincoln Water, located in Maine, was in need of upgrading their legacy National Instruments data collection system and were looking for a modern platform to sustain their systems for the future.
Solution
The complete solution was built on the FrameworX platform interfacing via Modbus to Sixnet I/O Modules through Sixnet cell routers to multiple pump stations, twin standpipe tanks, additional booster pumps and an underground reservoir.
Results
The residents of Lincoln, ME and the Lincoln Water District now have a future proof, scalable SCADA platform to carry them for several decades. As they grow and need to add more pumping stations and tanks, they know FrameworX will deliver.
FrameworX and Water Management
Accurate monitoring of the storage, transmission, and distribution of water for municipalities can involve massive networks of piping, monitors, remote stations, and pumps linked to a central control room.
When the Lincoln Water District needed to expand their operations, they realized their old system was not going to be stable enough to meet new requirements. They reviewed several software packages including Citect SCADA and FrameworX. After comparing options, they selected FrameworX due to its inherent stability and reliability to monitor and control the existing equipment as well as new infrastructure required for expansion.
The new system uses a FrameworX server and rich client, providing monitoring and control to four pumping stations in four separate buildings, twin 500,000-gallon steel standpipe tanks, and an underground reservoir. The embedded FrameworX Modbus driver communicates with Sixnet Ethertrak2 I/O modules over multiple Sixnet cell routers. Although FrameworX includes built-in features such as alarm notification and reporting, Lincoln Water District deployed TopView alarm notification software, which receives alarms from FrameworX and dispatches them to the appropriate personnel.
The System Integrator for the new modern and future-proof SCADA platform is Mike Rioux of Mobius Automation in Minot, ME. When asked why he selected the FrameworX engineering environment, he replied: “Three clicks to everything.”
Mike explained that any part of the engineering environment is only three clicks away, and all modules are designed with the same consistent look and feel. Whether connecting to a device, configuring a script, or defining a tag, the FrameworX engineering interface makes learning and implementation straightforward.
“We found FrameworX to be a very easy and intuitive platform.
The scalability from a small to enterprise system, wide range of features and connectivity made FrameworX an easy choice.”
— Mike Rioux, Mobius Automation
Why FrameworX
FrameworX is a powerful .NET-to-the-core, source-independent, application-based development platform delivering real-time information through a complete set of fully-integrated tools in a unified and intuitive engineering interface. The platform is extremely flexible, adapting to any Water or Wastewater project.
Capabilities include:
• Monitoring & control of all equipment in facilities and substations
• Remote connectivity
• Manual, automatic, or scheduled response to changing conditions
• Real-time and historical data monitoring
• Robust WITS “Telemetry” I/O driver and built-in reporting
• Alarm and event notification
• State-of-the-art user interface and graphic editor
FrameworX includes standard modules for:
• Real-time tags and asset database
• User templates
• Alarms and events
• Historian
• SQL tables and queries
• Recipes
• XML, CSV, XPS, and PDF reports
• Built-in embedded SQL database engine and web server
• Scripting
• OPC server and client
• Embedded native communication protocols
• Graphical designer
• Native runtime environments for .NET, Web, iOS, Android, Windows CE, Linux, and Raspberry Pi