As Collin County continues to grow and foster great economic and residential growth, lies Murphy, a small town that has clung to its country living atmosphere, encapsulated with vast lots and an old town feel. Ranking 27th in Money Magazine’s “Best Small Towns in America” list of 2011, the city of Murphy has been put on the map as a great place to live, and an up and coming suburb of the DFW metroplex.
One of the challenges of a city facing great residential expansion is the proper management of city resources. One of the departments that was long due for a proper overhaul was Murphy’s wastewater systems. While there was no problem with the actual wastewater system, the facility’s systems were outdated, not cost efficient and were not digitally or centrally monitored. Proving costly to the city and the work quota, the IT and city coordinators noticed these problems and recognized that there was a drastic need for change. As the leading voice for supervisory control applications in the metroplex, Recursion Software’s John McCloud met and city of Murphy IT manager Wendle Medford and fostered a deal to enact SCADA- Aware Mobile operations oversight to the city’s wastewater program.
Murphy’s wastewater processes are not complex as they are carried through a system of pipelines and pumps to a central plant where it is then treated to remove pollutants in order to create a final treated water product. During this process, aerators are used to initially purify the water of toxins. The water is then taken through a clarifier where bacteria is scraped off. The process rounds out with the water traveling through UV fitted sensors and odor/sludge treatment motors to complete the purification of the water. SCADA Aware Mobile’s centralized monitoring of these procedures ensures that the City of Murphy is running a sound operation.
Furthermore, SCADA Aware Mobile solutions help automate systems so workers can focus on other tasks, which in part, lower costs and increases general work productivity. SCADA Aware Mobile allows for operator flexibility and works on a multitude of platforms (iOS and Android) that allows for tractability among City of Murphy wastewater employees. In the past, log sheets were needed to record wastewater data, but with SCADA Aware Mobile, these records are digitally available and are continuously monitored around the clock. This eliminates the need for operators to manually read/record meters. Info is quickly stored and any anomaly in the readings is quickly sent to the users of the system, allowing for effortless troubleshooting. SCADA Aware Mobile can detect and isolated leaks, monitor motors, crashes and flow gates that enhance overall operations.
SCADA Aware Mobile allows for embedded advanced controls, predictive maintenance, and optimization that is second to none. In partnering with the City of Murphy, wastewater is managed at peak efficiency, which is one less department that the city has to worry about. This piece of mind not only helps the underground sewage systems at work, but the city workers, and ultimately, the entire community of Murphy.