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NETWORK MONITORINGNetwork MoNitoriNg
NETWORK MONITORING PRV Remote Control Automatic Optimisation Pump Network Monitoring Logger Only RemoteControl AutomaticOptimisation
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NETWORK MONITORINGCoNteNtS
Page
1. Introduction 2-3 2. Network Structure 4 3. Data Collection 5 4. Data Visualisation 6 5. Dashboard 7 6. Alarm Management 8-9 7. Geospatial Representation 10-11 8. Data Management 129. Asset Management and Control 13
10. Software Platform 14-15
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NETWORK MONITORING1. iNtroDUCtioN
i2O Water have worked with many water
utilities around the world on pressure
management initiatives designed to
optimise the performance of water
distribution networks.
This document provides an overview of the functional capabilities of i2O Water’s Network Monitoring solution. i2O’s Smart Pressure Management solutions provide visibility and intelligence into network performance as a foundational capability for the remote control and automatic optimisation of pressures.
i2O’s Network Monitoring solution provides these capabilities as a stand-alone solution designed to meet the operational requirements of day-to-day network management, as well as a closely integrated component of the Remote Control and Automatic Optimisation solutions.
Network Monitoring can be used as a stand-alone tool for network management or as a complimentary solution to existing back-end systems designed for network data consolidation and reporting. One of the primary challenges for network engineers and managers is the lack of visibility to relevant information on network performance. Network data is either absent, or requires extensive manual manipulation. The systems that consolidate network data have often been designed primarily for management and regulatory reporting. Their inherent flexibility as reporting and analysis tools makes them complex and difficult to use as applications that support every day network management activities.
That lack of usability for network engineers slows the ability to identify opportunities and diagnose issues on the network. Consequently, service levels can be compromised and optimisation investments are not optimally targeted. i2O’s Network Monitoring has been designed as a proactive tool for network engineers to perform everyday network management activities such as leakage management, network optimisation, network integrity and operability monitoring, service level management and problem diagnosis. Using a cost-effective software as a service (SaaS) delivery model, the solution enables the rapid deployment of the intelligence needed for network management. It compliments existing investments in SCADA and regulatory reporting tools by integrating fully with them, and is easily upgradeable to i2O’s Remote Control and Automatic Optimisation solutions.
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NETWORK MONITORING2. Network StrUCtUre
3. DAtA CoLLeCtioN
Network Monitoring is organised around a hierarchical network structure that enables both the management structure and the hydraulic structure of the network to be represented.
When one DMA feeds another, the outlet of the initial DMA is the inlet to the next DMA. The software allows users to set up this type of hydraulic logic, allowing for better understanding of network relationships and improved intelligence around data. The locations and areas can then be set against a management structure allowing users to view areas on which they are working. The defined areas, locations and relationship structure is managed through an intuitive “tree” representation with easy to use tools for maintaining the structure to reflect the ever-changing network environment.
By representing the management and hydraulic hierarchy structure in the software, it enables advanced data aggregation and consolidation at every level of the network. Alarms and data can be aggregated providing valuable tools to the operators, both for monitoring performance and for rapid and effective response to network events.
The i2O Network Monitoring solution can gather data against the network structure from a number of sources. These include the highly accurate and smart i2O Loggers as well as automated integration of data from third party loggers and other corporate systems. Customers thereby gain maximum benefit from current corporate systems and their existing installed logger base.
Users can also manually upload data, such as pressures and flows, to network locations within Network Monitoring. This enables ad-hoc import of historical data for an existing logging location.
To support continuous data transfer the i2O system provides an Application Programming Interface (API) to the i2O Data Management Platform. The API can be used to interface with a variety of 3rd party data sources – either directly interfacing to software provided by data logger suppliers, or to corporate telemetry and SCADA systems.
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NETWORK MONITORING4. DAtA ViSUALiSAtioN
5. DASHBoArD
The dashboard provides an interface displaying aggregated statistical and graphical representation of areas and locations relevant to a selected position in the network hierarchy. The performance of sub areas and locations is summarised with consolidated active alarms, spark lines of network performance and key statistical network performance data.
The dashboard layout can be configured to enable users to organise the data that they wish to view. For example, active alarm indicators can be grouped by severity category to provide a quick visual sense check of priority requirements. The design and layout of the dashboard provides rapid navigation to the area of interest.
With data aggregated and consolidated across the network hierarchy, information can be presented at each level providing valuable insight into the performance of the network. This information is presented through dashboards, graphing and intelligent alarm interfaces. At the lowest level a user can visualise asset condition data, such as GSM signal strength and battery voltages.
At the location level, individual pressure, flow and temperature channels relevant to that location are shown. At area levels, network data is aggregated into useful information such as net flows, total daily flow, night-line, and statistical graphing of network characteristics. This provides a detailed understanding and continuous monitoring of the water network.
The Net Flow graphing enables operators of complex areas with multiple inlets and outlets to correctly monitor the net flow supplied to an area (demand and leakage) over time. Using the Night-Line and Total Daily Flow graphing and the associated statistical analysis capability within the software, operators can track individual meter area leakage performance.
By utilising the aggregated statistics available within the dashboard, operators are able to prioritise their activities – for example:
• Combating low pressures at critical points where they regularly drop below
acceptable levels
• Identifying unnecessarily high network pressures that increase leakage and strain the network
• Statistical analysis of the variability in critical point pressures indicating flow related headloss, poor control of PRV or other network issues
• Detecting natural rate of rise of leakage through the statistical analysis of night-line and total daily flow
• Long term trend analysis of aggregated total daily flow for capacity planning
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NETWORK MONITORING6. ALArM MANAgeMeNt
Comprehensive alarm configuration and alarm management interfaces provide the tools necessary to enable operators to respond quickly and effectively to network events. Alarm management interfaces enable the operators to see consolidated alarms throughout the network hierarchy. Operators can use the solution to ensure priority is given only to active and critical alarm conditions and avoid becoming overwhelmed by minor or inactive events. Alarms and events can be managed with operators able to comment on and acknowledge the alarm.
Comments and actions associated with the alarms can be viewed across the organisation, so that all roles can have visibility of the actions taken in response to the alarm (for example customer services team). This also informs at a glance which alarms have not yet been addressed. Some key features of this functionality are:
• A sparkline shows the relevant data for the condition that triggered the alarm
• Alarms displayed can be filtered to see only active as well as historical alarm data
• Alarms can also be categorised according to their severity
• Alarms can be sent via email and SMS from the platform
• Alarms for aggregate flow calculations, which include Total Daily Flow and Nightline, at an area level (e.g. Supply Zone, DMA) can be set with minimum and maximum tolerances
Alarm dashboard
Alarm configuration dashboard
Intuitive alarm configuration tools enable operators to see all the associated alarm configurations within an area, with historical data graphically represented. This helps operators to ensure that alarm thresholds are appropriately set, by viewing the historical data in context, to minimise false or unnecessary alarms. This enables alarms to be changed remotely, quickly and accurately to meet the needs to the water network.
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NETWORK MONITORING7. geoSPAtiAL rePreSeNtAtioN
Using Google’s ‘Street View’, users can view the streets at or around assets, allowing them to assess the need for traffic management at locations and parking requirements. This also allows for easy navigation to sites and route planning.
Locations within the network tree are represented geospatially as markers, utilising Google Maps. GIS area data (boundary files) can be imported and are overlaid on the map. This provides a clear presentation of area boundaries and locations through the mapping feature.
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NETWORK MONITORING8. DAtA MANAgeMeNt
9. ASSet MANAgeMeNt AND CoNtroL
The i2O Data Management Platform natively supports the portfolio of existing i2O hardware devices. Existing devices includes loggers for measuring pressure, flow and temperature, and controllers for remotely controlling and optimising pumps and PRVs.
The platform provides simple and easy to use asset management tools that are used to track deployed and un-deployed hardware assets in the network. Un-deployed assets are stored in a virtual ‘Warehouse’ and organised by asset type. From the Warehouse assets can be simply deployed to the physical locations in the hierarchical network.
The hardware configuration can be tailored remotely through the Network Monitoring software. Dial up times can be configured at specific times, or dial up at set intervals for periods of the day. Flow calibration can be remotely changed if the sizes of pulses from meters are changed. Hardware alarms can also be set remotely to give real time information on network issues such as low pressures or increased flows due to leakage.
i2O hardware devices managed through the asset management tools automatically inherit the configuration such as dial-up frequency, alarm and control settings, for the given location were the asset is deployed. This capability enables hot-swap (plug & play) functionality for i2O hardware devices.
Customers with existing corporate systems can integrate both the logged data collected in the i2O Data Management Platform and the aggregated data and intelligent alarms generated by the Network Monitoring solution through the data export API.
This enables customers to benefit from the intelligent data processing available from the i2O Network Monitoring solution within their existing systems.
Data can also be manually downloaded by users at given locations and areas to allow for manipulation in other tools.
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NETWORK MONITORING10. SoFtwAre PLAtForM
i2O’s software has been built on an innovative, robust and secure platform. The diagram below illustrates the architecture of i2O’s Smart Pressure Management solutions, including Network Monitoring and the underlying Data Management Platform.
The i2O Data Management Platform provides the secure data storage, business rules and logic to manage and provide data to the services requested and surfaced by the Network Monitoring solution.
The platform utilises state of the art standards in both Web and Enterprise software to provide the ability to dynamically expand in scale and functionality to respond to the changing needs of our customers and innovation opportunities. The i2O portfoilio of Smart Pressure Management solutions can best be thought of as a journey.
The foundation for this journey is logged data. By utilising i2O’s Network Monitoring solution that data can be turned in to real intelligence to aid engineers in understanding and monitoring their networks. The next step in the journey is to give engineers remote control of the network to start managing pressures. Finally, the automatic optimisation of pressures will deliver the most precise control of pressures and deliver the most cost effective service to the customer. Deploying Network Monitoring helps ensure that remote control and pressure optimisation can be targeted into areas that will receive the most benefit.
There will be different levels of requirement for different parts of each network, which will change and evolve over time. The i2O Smart Pressure Management solutions are designed to provide the market leading solution for each step of the journey and every level of control. The ability to deploy any level of control from within one solution provides the maximum level of flexibility and agility in managing pressures across complex, ever changing networks.
11. SUMMArY
i2O’s Network Monitoring solution provides
the visibility and intelligence needed for
effective network management.
It replaces slow, manually-intensive processes for interpreting network data with easily understood dashboards, graphing, reports and alarms. By providing network engineers with relevant information they need to manage the network on a day-to-day basis, the efficiency of decision-making is improved. Issues can be rapidly identified and diagnosed more accurately, therefore improving the speed of problem resolution.
Operational resources can be focused on the immediate highest priorities, for example in areas such as targeted maintenance and repair. Over the longer term, investments in improving network performance, such as the remote control of PRVs or automatic optimisation of pressure, can be prioritised and targeted where they will deliver the largest benefits.
www.i2owAter.CoM
Email:
info@i2Owater.com
OuR HEadquaRTERs - sOuTHaMPTON, uK
i2O Water Ltd 4 Benham Road
University of Southampton Science Park Southampton SO16 7QJ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 2380 111 420 Fax: +44 (0) 2380 111 421 MalaysIa
i2O Water Malaysia SDN BHD E-18-G, Jalan Multimedia 7/AG CityPark. I-City 40000
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: +60 3 5521 8618
sPaIN
i2O Water Spain SLU Avenida de Europa 14
Parque Empresarial La Moraleja Alcobendas, 28108, Madrid, Spain
COlOMbIa
i2O Water Latinoamerica SAS Centro Empresarial Dorado Plaza, Av. Calle 26 No. 85D-55 Local 27 Exterior Bogotá
Colombia
