HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 08 Approval to Upgrade the SCADA Communication System
City of Ocoee ▪ 1 N. Bluford Avenue ▪ Ocoee, Florida 34761
Phone: (407) 905-3100 ▪ www.ocoee.org
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: June 4, 2024
Item #: 8
Contact Name: Trent Hopper Department Director: Jamie Croteau
Contact Number: Ext. 4306 City Manager: Robert Frank
Subject: Approval to Upgrade the SCADA Communication System at each City of Ocoee Lift
Station. (Utilities Director Croteau)
Background Summary:
The approved City of Ocoee budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 includes funding to upgrade the communication
system used by SCADA to monitor the wastewater lift stations. A dependable communication system is critical
to receiving alarm notification signaling abnormal events. A delayed or missed notification can allow a small
abnormality to turn into a catastrophic failure and result in both increased repair costs and FDEP fines.
Staff contracted CHA to evaluate the existing SCADA system and provide replacement options. CHA
determined that the current SCADA system uses technology that is out-of-date and not compatible with
modern cellular networks, leading to limited repair services and a high volume of communication errors. CHA
recommended installing a new PLC based system that will interface with the City’s network via modern cellular
technology, and they provided a list of system providers and municipalities currently using this system. After
speaking informally with the providers and several municipalities, Staff found that only the SmartComm RTU
provides a redundant system that utilizes multiple cellular networks. During the AT&T tower outage in
February, none of the municipalities using the SmartComm RTU experienced any communication failures.
Process Control Services LLC is the approved Sole Source Vendor for instrumentation & repair of SCADA
Systems, and they provided a quote of $7,099.00 to install the SmartComm RTU at a lift station. This cost
includes the first (6) months of cellular service, which will be billed at $15.00 per subsequent month for each
lift station.
Issue:
Should the Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners approve upgrading the SCADA communication system
at each of the City of Ocoee lift stations with Process Control Services LLC a cost of $7,099.00 per lift
station?
Recommendations:
Staff recommends that the Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners authorize the City Manager to cause
upgrades to the SCADA communication system at each of the City of Ocoee lift stations with Process Control
Services LLC at a cost of $7,099.00 per lift station. In addition, Staff recommends approving the
standardization of the SmartComm RTU at all City of Ocoee lift stations. Staff also recommends that the City
Manager be authorized to approve changes to this contract up to the limit of his purchasing authority for each
change order and up to the budgeted amount for this project for all change orders.
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City of Ocoee ▪ 1 N. Bluford Avenue ▪ Ocoee, Florida 34761
Phone: (407) 905-3100 ▪ www.ocoee.org
Attachments:
1. Ocoee SmartComm RTU Retrofit
2. Ocoee SCADA Memorandum
Financial Impacts:
None as this is a fully funded capital improvement project.
Type of Item: Consent
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Process Control Services LLC
1205 Pinewood Lane
Ocoee FL, 34761
407.252.5033
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SCOPE OF SUPPLY
Date: 4/16/2024
Project: SmartComm RTU
Customer: Trent Hopper
In accordance with the attached Terms and Conditions, Process Control Services
LLC is pleased to offer the following materials/services for the above referenced
project. While our complete offering is detailed in this submission, purchase
orders directly to manufacturers may be required when ordering.
Provide and install SmartComm RTU at lift
stations as described below:
1 ea Smart Comm retrofits for lift stations. Includes 1
Micrologix 1400 PLC with Analog input card 1 cellular
modem w/antenna, 1 Vega level transmitter with stainless
mounting bracket Modification to VT Scada software and
new texting modem for the VT Scada server.
• NOTE This price is good for retrofit only and does not
include a stainless steel RTU box to house the PLC and
equipment.
• First Six months of cellular service to all modems included
in price.
• PCS’s price includes: Engineering Field installation and
termination PLC/HMI programming
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Process Control Services LLC
1205 Pinewood Lane
Ocoee FL, 34761
407.252.5033
Page 2 of 3
PRICE, DELIVERY AND TERMS OF OFFERING
Prices submitted are for equipment/services specifically listed within this Scope
of Supply which constitute our complete offering; Sections may be referenced
for identification and clarification only and does not imply the Section is
offered in its entirety.
PRICE: $7,099.00 TAX if applicable. FOB factory with freight allowed to
jobsite, shipped via standard commercial carrier.
DELIVERY: 1-3 weeks after complete and acceptable approval is received.
SUBMITTAL FOR APPROVAL: after acceptable purchase Agreement is
received.
TERMS OF PAYMENT
Based on initial and continuing credit approval by Process Control Services
LLC., the following payment terms apply:
• Net 30
• NO HOLDBACK (RETAINAGE) provision is offered or allowed
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Process Control Services LLC
1205 Pinewood Lane
Ocoee FL, 34761
407.252.5033
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Thank you for the opportunity to offer this Scope of Supply, questions and/or
comments regarding this offering should be directed to the salesperson whose
name is affixed to the Scope of Supply.
Wade Mathis
407-252-5033
Wademathis@gmail.com
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Memorandum
To: Trent Hopper, Facility Supervisor – City of Ocoee
From: Pete Hoanshelt, PE – EMI
Jeff Grant, PE – CHA
Date: February 16, 2024
Re: SCADA System Rehab Alternatives Evaluation
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
The City of Ocoee has sixty-eight (68) wastewater lift stations, owned, and maintained by the City, one (1)
Wastewater Treatment Facility, and two (2) Water Treatment Plants. Many of these facilities are equipped
with a Sci-Text™ remote monitoring and control system that acts as a two-way alarm/monitoring system
and communicates via text messaging service from local cellular providers. The lift stations are primarily
duplex type with a few that are triplex type, and some utilizing variable frequency drives or reduced
voltage starters.
The graphical interface used by the City is VTScada manufactured by Trihedral. The lift station main polling
site is located at the wastewater facility with cellular service provided by AT&T.
The objective of this evaluation is to provide the City with a recommendation related to a replacement of
the SCADA system for all existing and future City lift stations.
Existing SCADA System
The existing SCADA system utilizes the Sci-Text ™controller for alarm callouts and two-way
communications with an LCD type graphical interface. The devices are programmable and can send
commands, alarms, and status via text messaging that is available on most cell phones. The operator
interface is located at the wastewater facility where it is possible to configure the system to specific sites,
i.e., IP addressing, names, phone numbers, etc. The controller communicates with the base system via a
cellular modem as manufactured by Multitech™. The current support hub for this line of products is
Barney Pumps in Lakeland, Florida. The writer was unable to locate any other support organizations for
this equipment other than Barneys Pumps.
The delay in polling is an inherent problem related to the texting type network. Those familiar with this
type of connection have shared with the consultant that the delay causes a large amount of data required
to retrieve communications and that the polling from a failed connection is continuous, especially if the
communication failure is over a large area.
The Sci-text™ system is not used extensively in the utility sector as compared to other platforms and most
users have become dissatisfied with the product and are implementing a replacement program.
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Refer to Figure 1 is the main SCADA interface panel located at the Wastewater Plant. Users can request
real-time data, acknowledge alarms, and control outputs from a cellular phone. This system was
developed by Sanders Company, which was recently acquired by Barney’s Pumps.
The original SCADA system was an auto dialer (Microtel) utilizing conventional copper wire phone lines
from a local provider to communicate to the City the lag pump running and high-level status only.
Figure 1: Sci-Text Controller at Wastewater Plant
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Figure 2: Sci-Text Controller at LS-47
Refer to Figure 2 for an illustration of the typical lift station panel known as Lift Station #46. The red box
in the above photo is the Sci-Text panel interface unit.
The typical status and alarms events that the SCADA systems monitors are as follows:
· Pump 1 in Auto
· Pump 2 in Auto
· Lag Float Active
· Low Voltage
· Power Fail
· High Level Active
· Pump 1 Running
· Pump 2 Running
A typical graphic as it appears on a VTScada screen is shown in Figure 3.
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Figure 3: Typical HMI Screen for Lift Station
The graphic provides the City personal remote indication of the pump run status, high level alarm,
runtimes and lead and lag float elevations and a google map site location. The graphics are very good and
is typically called a level 3 graphic in the industry.
The City would like to explore alternatives to the existing Sci-Text™ control network to identify potential
non- proprietary systems, systems that allow open-access to the program or control set points, and/or
systems that are more easily maintained by multiple providers/integrators. For this project, CHA will
subcontract with EMI Consulting Specialties, Inc. (EMI) to evaluate the existing systems and develop a list
of alternatives.
During various missions, the consultant has obtained impressions of the status of the SCADA systems in
the City of Ocoee. It was observed that when the City had an issue with a Sci-Text™ controller, a technician
from Sanders was required to diagnose/troubleshoot the system and make repairs to the controller or
modifications to the programming. Over time, the responsiveness of cell service has lagged, which makes
the City’s control system difficult to operate and maintain. In addition, cellular communication is poor.
For example, on one alarm event page we observed 52 percent of the events were communication
failures. Given the proprietary nature of the control system, options are limited to use other repair
services.
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Alternatives Evaluation
The SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system concept has been developed to be a
universal means to communicate and have remote access and control to multiple sites over great
distances verses a distributed control systems used on a particular industrial site. The SCADA networking
systems utilized for this task have evolved over the years of many types, 1. Master-slave, 2. Distributed,
3. Networked SCADA and the latest is the IoT (Internet of things). However, recently, they have become
hybrids of each type so the distinct differences between the two are becoming indistinguishable.
The main concern that we have inferred from the City is that the support for any digital based system of
this type is poor. Therefore, to minimize this concern we offer the following observations:
· Select a control and communication system that has a greater market share so that multiple
support organizations are available, and obsolescence is less likely.
· Select a control and communication system that is supported by businesses that are independent
of products typically used by the utility sector.
· The trained experiences of the City’s maintenance/operational staff should be enhanced to
gradually transition to internal configuration, repair, and troubleshooting, rather than relying on
outside vendors where possible.
· Include a simple backup system in the design of the RTU consisting of a single float or high/low
level floats or radar level transmitter to control the pumps if the RTU processor or other panel
components fail.
· Develop complete as-built documentation of each RTU and have access to retrievable data files
needed to configure the RTU.
The system alternatives to be evaluated will be systems that are commonly used in the State of Florida as
follows:
1. SCADA system using a programmable RTU with a radio system owned by the City including all
related FCC communication licensing, antenna towers with base computers and HMI software.
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2. SCADA system using a programmable PLC based RTU with cellular communication with base
computers and HMI software.
3. SCADA system as a prepacked system using cellular communications and utilizing cloud
computing and recently IoT technology.
Type 1 is common to large communities where the utility desires full control of the SCADA systems with
no dependency on third party communication systems. This system incorporates programmable RTUs,
radio or fiber systems with antenna arrays at varying heights to allow each lift station to communicate
with the central host. This type is the most expensive but most secure. There are many vendors that can
design, install, and support the City if properly specified. Examples are the City of Orlando, Brevard
County, and the City of Clermont to name a few.
Average Cost: $20,000 per station.
Type 2 is common for medium to large size communities where the utility is not interested in servicing a
large communication array. They are limited in budget and are willing to allow for communication with
the lift stations by a local cellular provider. This system has significantly less cost than type 1. However,
the cost, security and reliability are dependent on the cellular provider. Examples are Seminole County,
the City of Lake Mary, and the City of Haines City.
Average Cost: $11,500 per station
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Type 3 is common for medium to small size communities where the utility has a very limited budget, no
self-performing capabilities, or staff to maintain the system. They are using cloud-based systems for web
access and normally running the IoT protocols or other protocols but require robust security measures.
Most of these systems are new to our industry. Example products of this type are Mission
Communications, Omega and RACO Alarm Agent, Multismart, Hydrolink, and many others. These types
of products are used in the City of Maitland, the City of Haines City, and the City of Winter Park.
Average Cost: $8,500 per station
Recommendations
The consultant has become familiar with the City’s SCADA system and has visited some lift stations to
determine the best system to recommend. Therefore, we recommend type 2 SCADA system. This system
is the most cost effective and readily configured to the existing lift stations and City networks. A few
providers for this type systems would be:
1. TLS Automation
2. Rocha Controls
3. Revere Controls
4. Commerce Controls
The new system would be PLC based with an interface to the cities’ networks via cellular technology. The
existing system uses cellular, so we are confident that it is available to all sites. The advantages of utilizing
cellular data networks are lower capital costs since coverage provided by the existing cellular
infrastructure may reduce or altogether eliminate the need to erect large telecommunication towers. The
disadvantage of cellular data networks may be no coverage available as well as ongoing costs, and packet-
based billing may limit the amount of data that can be economically transferred. Monthly Packet data
cost is charged to the nearest Kilobyte transferred. Cellular providers have different plans (which could
range from a set minimum to an “unlimited” maximum); each consisting of a minimum block of Kilobytes.
If the monthly Kilobytes transferred figure is exceeded, the balance is billed as extra charges. Site costs
typically range from $20-$80 per month (including the Kilobyte transfer).
A typical station would include the installation of a PLC based RTU, conduit and wire, testing, startup, and
training. The enclosed Table and P&ID would be a typical scope for a duplex pump station. Triplex pump
station would be similar.
The P&ID reflects a typical duplex pump station and recommended new equipment and hardware. The
additional radar senser in each wetwell can be utilized as a backup level control and measuring device.
The SCADA system can be used to calculate the station flows over time which will allow the City to make
informed decisions.
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Conclusion
The existing SCADA system is not working to its potential. The are too many communication errors and
the repair service is limited to only those few vendors that are familiar with the Sci-Text hardware. The
Sci-Text messaging methodology is not conducive to modern cellular networks. The VTSCADA software
used as the graphical interface has become widely used in the water and wastewater sectors and should
remain.
We believe the City would be better served with a new SCADA communication system and RTUs.
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INSTRUMENT IDENTIFICATION LETTERS TABLEPage 84 of 162
WETWELLPage 85 of 162