Automation — The Future Of The Industry?

Some of the biggest challenges that municipalities are facing are an aging infrastructure and an aging workforce. Tom Schaefer, Industry Manager, and Christa Bankay, Global Marketing Lead, at Rockwell Automation, joined Water Online Radio for an interview to share some of their companies’ solutions.

One technology that Rockwell Automation has come up with is the PlantPAx system. The PAx model predictive control involves dynamically and actively controlled pressure where all variables in the systems are taken into account, instead of reactive currents.

Shaeffer tells us that the company takes a thorough look at pump optimization, and tries to build a system that lowers the overall energy cost, which ultimately means a customer can pump water for less money.

This results in fewer pipe breaks for municipalities, energy reduction because the amount of pumping and pressurizing is decreased, and non-revenue water is reduced because pressure on the pipes is reduced. Many larger municipalities have already adopted automation technology, and are reaping the benefits all the time. However, automation really pays off in the smaller municipalities because they often don’t have the right people to work on the equipment, have the smallest budget and least amount of staff. But, ultimately they are probably the ones that could use automation the most.

To hear more about Rockwell Automation, and the technologies they have to offer, click the radio player below.