Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013 - (Page 65)
Thinking IT Through...
with Sparky Flamedrop
It can also be
fun fighting with
the municipality’s
consulting
engineering firm
over change
orders and the
interpretation
of procurement
specification
wording (i.e.,
what the words
say versus
what they were
intended to
actually mean,
now that the
consultant has
realized that
they messed
up or forgot
something in the
specifications).
Here’s an
example of
exactly what I
mean…
Sparky once
knew a
salesman for a
control system
vendor that specialized in bidding on water/wastewater
projects. He joked that the best strategy was to show
up at the kickoff meeting and start the lawsuit rather
than wasting time bringing the engineering staff along.
Because of the competitive bidding requirement, a
vendor that does a good job has no advantage over
one that did a poor job as long as that other vendor is
allowed to bid on the next project, so why bother? And
don’t get me started on the subject of bonding and bid
bonds and payment retention – trust me, it isn’t pretty.
Remote Terminal
Units vs.
Programmable
Controllers
But I digress. The reason for that prior rambling
tirade was to make the point that the technology most
often seen used in water and wastewater automation
applications has been influenced by those kinds of
forces. Years back, SCADA vendors used to design
www.UtilityHorizons.com
and build their
own RTU
devices. Many a
SCADA vendor
went out of
business trying
to grow and
be profitable
in the water/
wastewater
business. The
result was that
municipalities
often wound up
with proprietary
RTUs – often
from multiple
suppliers – with
no source of
spare parts
or support.
However, the
introduction of
inexpensive
PLCs with
standardized
communication
protocols,
programming
tools from any
number of thirdparty suppliers,
and the backing of major manufacturers that were also
supplying PLCs into other markets caused a major
shift in spec-writing. Suddenly – seemingly over night
– every water/wastewater SCADA project required
that PLCs be provided as the RTUs. Today, PLCs
are pretty much the standard industry approach for
mainstream municipal water/wastewater automation
projects.
With the introduction of COTS (commercial-off-theshelf) PLC hardware, combined with third-party
configuration tools, shrink-wrapped (standardized)
SCADA software and commercial PC and network
hardware and software, it soon became possible for
local system integrators to come into existence and
thrive. Because the price/cost factor is usually the
most important one if you’re an automation supplier
to the water/wastewater market, it can be very difficult
for a major automation vendor based in a distant
city to compete with a local integrator, if for no other
reason than the cost of travel and lodging versus a
local integrator. Moreover, PLC manufacturers were
early adopters of using local integrators to deliver
Q2 - 2013 • UTILITY HORIZONS • 65
http://www.UtilityHorizons.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013
Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013
Publisher’s Message
Contents
The Queue
Automation Rising!
Inside Tracks
Focal Point
Automation and Innovation at Epcor Water Services
BLeading Edge: Advanced Technology Perspectives
Consumer Engagement: The Future Goes Mobile
Demand Response: Why the Future Is in the Cloud
Building Paths to Smarter Water Management
Bullet-Proofing Your Scada System Against the Evil-Doers
Education Matters
Standard Bearings
Regulation De Rigueur
On the Horizon
Purviews
Intersections
Eventualities
Thinking It Through With Sparky Flamedrop
Loose Ends
Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013
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