Considering that SCADA systems have been in general use for over 40 years, the capital investments made in this key operational automation tool are abundant throughout the many municipal utilities in the U.S. However, the reliable functional lifespan of the hardware components of these systems will be finite, and after 15- 20 years, the time comes for replacement. The water utility in Huntington CA faced this crossroad recently, then decided to proactively replace 6 RTU’s (Remote Terminal units) that included 1990’s vintage Bristol Babcock DPC 3330’s in the panels inside individual steel enclosures.
With consultation including their system integrator, they cleverly decided to preserve funds and make the most of the existing infrastructure by saving and reusing the cabinets, wiring, radios and ancillary connectors and cables. ASG was selected to create panels that fit the existing footprint of the DPC 3330’s, mount new ControlWave RTU’s and ethernet switches onto them, and bring out wiring from the new RTU to termination blocks that will be the landing point for the existing field wiring. ASG was careful to match the termination locations so that the field wires of pre-determined length were able to reach the new terminal locations.
The field technician had the simple task of lifting out the old RTU, placing the new panel into the same form fit spot, screwing into the existing mount holes, repowering, and landing the old wires to match the terminal locations. Once the hardware was in place and his program code was converted, the new RTU’s now pick up where the old ones left off and carry on their duty for the next 20 years.
