SE3 offers Paessler PRTG as a solution to monitor wastewater treatment

The challenge

As part of its strategy to offer a full range of services, SE3 has included PRTG Network Monitor by Paessler in its portfolio of solutions for remote monitoring, viewing and alerts of programmable control systems and operating components located in wastewater treatment plants. In this case, the company is collaborating on a project with the Potable Water and Sewerage Board of Yucatán (JAPAY), which is the operating agency responsible for potable water, sewerage, and sanitation systems in the city of Mérida and the suburbs, and for providing technical support to the municipalities of Yucatán.

As water and sanitation are one of the main drivers of public health, JAPAY aims to expand the supply of potable water and ensure a sustainable service by protecting supply sources. Therefore, with the support of the government of Yucatán, all municipalities have drinking water systems to provide an efficient and quality home supply service at appropriate rates to contribute to the health of the population and the development of production activities.

Wastewater treatment or “sanitation” consists of a series of physical, chemical and biological processes that have the purpose of removing contaminants from wastewater and reaching the maximum limits established by regulations. The wastewater treatment solution is carried out in specific plants where contaminant separation processes are conducted for suitable water disposal or reuse.

Miguel Ángel López Ávila, General Manager of SE3 (Sistemas Eléctricos y Electrónicos Especializados), explains that one of JAPAY’s tasks is to ensure that the inhabitants of Yucatán can have access to water. Therefore, JAPAY and SE3 are working together in a pilot project that is currently running successfully.

The solution

"We have known PRTG for many years. We have selected this solution because it integrates natively into the industrial operational technology environments that we offer to our customers in the region. With JAPAY, we have managed to successfully provide monitoring and viewing services in record time and according to the needs of our customers," Ávila adds.

This project, focused on JAPAY, is to address wastewater treatment systems. There is usually a treatment unit for every one or two neighborhoods in the capital city of Yucatán which injects the treated water into the subsoil. Thus, the responsibility lies not only in a successful purification process but also in the quality of the drinking water that is supplied and distributed to the population of Mérida and the surrounding areas. JAPAY has four water treatment plants in operation: Mérida I, Mérida II, Mérida III and Mérida IV, as well as seven pumps and over 100 independent systems. JAPAY has also water chlorination processes and telemetry systems.

By monitoring Operation Technology (OT) and information technology (IT) devices from a single console, it was possible to overview together the critical variables of all the plants. According to López, the PRTG solution was very well received by customers.

Advantages

In a complex world of connected data and devices, Paessler is the best option to successfully converge IT and OT. SE3 has incorporated monitoring systems through PRTG in order to help companies from different types of business verticals to be more proactive. As each water treatment plant has its own independent technology platform that creates partial information and this prevents to see the complete picture of operation and availability, the goal is to provide an exclusive comprehensive visibility of the operating aspects of water treatment plants.

López explains that the use of monitoring technologies is not very common in the water sector of the region. Therefore, customers are surprised to see that, with PRTG, they can connect, integrate and communicate with their different technologies, brands, modules, without hidden or extra expenses, quickly and without maintenance problems.

The company from Mérida successfully helps plant managers to view all the critical measurement values of process stages on their mobile phones. As several devices that were not available before are now connected, they can easily monitor engine speeds, valve status (open or closed), water levels in tanks and key indicators in water treatment process in order to ensure that everything is working properly.