Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, announced today that leading power and automation company, ABB, has integrated KEPServerEX with its flagship product, 800xA Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS). Selected as the main automation contractor for the world's first operation focused on converting gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas, ABB utilizes Kepware's highly flexible and reliable communications platform to meet the project's demanding scalability needs.

Widely regarded as a leading innovator of clean and efficient energy solutions, ABB has undertaken this project in an effort to develop more environmentally-friendly fuels. As part of the operation, the company introduces several new wells on a daily basis that have between 50 and 70 data points being scanned on a 30 second cycle time. These requirements necessitate the ability to bring wells on and off line in a highly streamlined and efficient manner.

To ensure ABB could reliably configure these well sites and retrieve the vast amounts of data they produce, the company integrated Kepware's KEPServerEX communications platform. With its library of over 150 PLC, RTU, and device-type drivers, KEPServerEX helps users connect, manage, monitor, and control diverse automation devices and software applications through one user interface. Its robust functionality enabled ABB to scale the project without learning new communications protocols or introducing other applications. Furthermore, with the ability to import and export KEPServerEX configuration information in an easy-to-understand XML format, ABB has a simple, scalable, and reliable method for configuring new wells.

"With KEPServerEX, we were able to automate a traditionally manual process associated with bringing wells online—and with this particular project's expansion speed, we had no time physically to provision wells," said Mike Oakley, Consultant Engineer, ABB Ltd. "KEPServerEX worked seamlessly with our flagship control system so that a single button click would have the potential to bring hundreds of wells on or off line in mere minutes."

Power generation, transmission, and distribution utilities provide critical services to people every day. A proper redundant architecture can prevent failures from leading to loss of control or a disruption of electrical service. In order to ensure the constant operation of applications, industry leaders turn to OPC vendors and products like Matrikon OPC that provide mission critical redundancy.

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Mirion Technologies has contracted with Schneider Electric to use its Wonderware eDNA historian software as the information management system for the Radiation Monitoring System (RMS) upgrade at AEP’s D.C. Cook nuclear power plant. The eDNA RadServ solution interfaces directly with Mirion’s radiation monitors being installed at the plant and is used to notify operators when radiation levels reach predefined thresholds.

As part of the contract, Wonderware eDNA display screens are being created for real-time visualization of data for each radiation monitor and detector at the plant. The screens highlight radiation levels and the status of the monitor and its corresponding detectors -- whether normal, maintenance, or alarm -- in addition to other user-defined variables. The software includes the ability to generate standard radiation monitoring reports that include both real-time and historical data, such as source check, channel checks and system performance audits, in addition to custom reports.

“Wonderware eDNA has been installed at the D.C. Cook plant for more than a decade, and we are excited that this technology continues to be used in this RMS upgrade and for numerous other data-intensive projects in the power industry,” said Rob McGreevy, Vice President of Information, Operations at Schneider Electric.

Wonderware eDNA’s RadServ Radiation Monitoring System is a reliable solution for centralized monitoring and control of radiation field units. Overall, the Wonderware eDNA enterprise historian is equipment agnostic and is used in the power industry to collect, store, display, analyze and report on operational and asset health related information.

I have a 5 MB connection out to my remote sites in the field. For each site, I need to poll for status, alarm, and historical data. If I have one hundred sites, how fast can I poll each data set? How long will it take to send a control signal? Do I need to upgrade the connection? Downgrade?

Ever find yourself asking these questions? If yes, you are officially a SCADA geek—but you are not alone. In Oil & Gas, Water & Wastewater, and Power, remote facilities like wellsites, pump stations, and substations can number in the hundreds or even thousands, and remote monitoring of these assets results in huge efficiency gains to the business.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could run dedicated fiber lines out to each site, and never worry about bandwidth? Of course this isn’t practical, and instead we need to use technologies like radio, cellular, and satellite communications that are lower bandwidth and more costly per byte. As a result, SCADA owners are required to fine tune how and when they collect data from the field.

In this whitepaper, we’ll discuss scheduling needs and how the new Scheduler Plug-In for KEPServerEX addresses them.