The development of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) over the past two decades has changed the face of many industries. Operation Technology (OT) — largely industrial equipment — has become increasingly connected, and the integration of Information Technology (IT) components allows such devices to leverage software that drives data collection and analysis, resulting in enhanced performance and ultimately "smarter" machines.
The unknowns around climate change might curtail proper investment and preparation — unless your resiliency efforts offer more than just resiliency.
I have a confession to make. Although I’m an empathetic person in general, I have found it hard to worry very much about the state of the world once I’m no longer part of it.
A Chicago stormwater diversion tunnel designed to correct a chronic flooding problem that has plagued the city’s Albany Park neighborhood over the past decade has been recognized for its effectiveness and ingenuity.
Often the first notification of a spill comes from a member of the public, hours and sometimes days after the first spill. This can intensify public health and environmental impacts and the cost of clean-up efforts. Following a sewer spill at an environmentally significant site at Midway Point in August 2017, TasWater sought a way to reduce the likelihood and impact of spill events occurring in the future.
From data to knowledge to transformation
Move from complexity to simplicity, from asset and process intelligence to operational intelligence with the PI System. Its highly scalable, open data infrastructure empowers enterprises in real time, transforming operational data into actionable knowledge and business transformation.
ABB uses digital solutions to drive outcomes. Engaging customers to demonstrate tangible results that scale.
The new generation of ABB’s total plant automation: DCS and SCADA for the power and water industries.
Reduced operational costs and downtime through seamless distributed control system integration.
Real-time control of a 360km water distribution system through an advanced distributed control system.
Improved water reliability and lifecycle costs through total control of a one hundred mile transfer system.
100% available water in the driest of deserts through highly efficient desalination.
Plant visibility and control with no downtime through a unified control system.
Businesses rely on process units meeting or exceeding their operational plans. To ensure that operational plans are achieved, it is important that equipment operates as designed (i.e., delivers the required performance) and continues to operate in an optimum manner (i.e., remains reliable, in a good condition). The most common causes of missing operational plan targets are equipment failure, which results in unplanned downtime, and low quality or yields from production processes.
The prime reason most industrial plants still have internal, on-site maintenance staffs is to reduce repair times and unplanned downtime, which negatively impact revenue, customer satisfaction, cost, and other key business metrics. In most plants today, contracting with the equipment manufacturer for maintenance usually results in unacceptably long periods of downtime for critical equipment while waiting for a technician to arrive – particularly with the typical two passes required for inspection and repair.
At ARC Advisory Group’s 20th Annual Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida, Shawn Anderson, Senior Research Specialist for Fisher Valves, a division of Emerson Process Management, gave a presentation on how the company is leveraging the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to help end users reduce valve-related unplanned downtime.
Wastewater service charges vary considerably across EPA regions and States. That’s one of the key findings from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (NACWA) Cost of Clean Water Index. If you live in Montana, Wyoming or the Dakotas (EPA Region 8), your average service charge of $261 a year is considerably less than the $884 your fellow Americans up in New England (EPA Region 1) are paying. As you can imagine, much of the difference is to do with population size and geography.
Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a published Contingency Plan in anticipation of the current government shutdown? I guess in hindsight, you would have expected it for an agency with 134 facilities dotted across the country. And in fact, it’s required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Circular A-11, Section 124 that all government agencies have plans for an orderly shutdown “in the event of an absence of appropriations.”
IIASA researchers have led work to develop new pathways showing how the world can develop water and energy infrastructure consistent with both the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Sewage treatment — an unglamorous backbone of urban living — could offer a cost-effective way to combat climate change by flushing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Few regions around the country have as much at stake during prolonged droughts than Arizona. After months of negotiating, the state now has an approved framework for a drought contingency plan (DCP), though it faces some obstacles.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has confirmed it will integrate the widely used ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards into its forthcoming Common Regulatory Framework on Cybersecurity (CRF). The CRF will serve as an official UN policy position statement for Europe.
The £16M Greatham South Flood Alleviation scheme has been completed. The BAM Nuttall Mott MacDonald joint venture (JV) was commissioned by the Environment Agency in 2017 to design and build the second and final phase of the management scheme which addresses flooding concerns in Port Clarence and Greatham South area in the north of England.
The climate is changing, Earth’s population is growing and more people are living in cities. That means urban areas — particularly those in arid or semiarid regions — need to update their water supply systems.
What would happen to water service in Seattle if an earthquake were to hit the city? A new report examines that question.
Woolpert has been contracted by Dewberry Engineers Inc. to collect high-resolution lidar data over approximately 10,000 square miles across the peninsula of Florida, from St. Johns County to Palm Beach County, as well as six inland counties in support of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP).
Pump manufacturer Grundfos is launching an innovative solution in Malaysia to help meet its growing flood management needs, which has cost the country catastrophic damages over the years.
Sir John Armitt recently welcomed a new survey showing strong public support for investment in infrastructure – and recognition of its benefits to the wider UK economy.
