Samotics, a condition-monitoring company based in Leiden, the Netherlands, has said that UK utility Southern Water is running a proof of concept that brings asset-health alerts from Samotics into a control-room environment built by Skewb. The trial is designed so that operators in the Southern Water control room can check a pump or motor alert against work history and telemetry in one place.
Bringing alerts into the Southern Water control room
Under the proof of concept, alerts generated by Samotics’ asset-health monitoring are fed into the control-room environment developed by Skewb, a company that works across the water, gas and power sectors. Operators do not have to view an alert in isolation. They can review it alongside the relevant asset’s work history and telemetry.
Pumps and motors are central to moving water and wastewater through a utility’s networks. An alert about their condition usually has to be weighed against other operational information before a decision is made about whether and how to respond. Placing these data sources in the same environment is intended to support that assessment.
Connecting existing tools
Samotics said the project shows an approach that connects existing tools rather than adding another standalone system. The company presented this as relevant to utilities that are trying to bring together data held in separate systems.
The work is at the proof-of-concept stage. Samotics described the announcement as a joint story involving the organisations taking part.
Building on an existing monitoring agreement
The trial builds on an established relationship between Samotics and the utility. H2O Global News has previously reported that Samotics signed a six-year asset monitoring agreement with Southern Water to deploy its SAM4 smart condition monitoring system across sites in the utility’s wastewater and clean water networks.
That agreement concerns the monitoring of equipment. The latest proof of concept looks at what happens once the resulting alerts reach operators, by placing them in the same environment as other operational data.
Data integration in utility operations
Water companies typically run several digital systems for different functions, such as telemetry, maintenance records and condition monitoring. Where these systems sit apart, operators may need to move between applications to build up a full picture of a single asset.
Skewb’s work spans water, gas and power, and control rooms in all of these sectors draw on several operational data sources. For water utilities in particular, the Southern Water trial offers an example of condition-monitoring alerts being integrated into an existing operational environment rather than being handled as a separate stream of information.
Frequently asked questions
What is Southern Water trialling with Samotics and Skewb?
Southern Water is running a proof of concept that brings asset-health alerts from Samotics into a control-room environment built by Skewb.
What can operators do under the proof of concept?
Operators can check a pump or motor alert against work history and telemetry in one place.
Who is Samotics?
Samotics is a condition-monitoring company based in Leiden, the Netherlands.
What does Skewb do?
Skewb built the control-room environment used in the trial. The company works across the water, gas and power sectors.
Why is the approach relevant to other utilities?
Samotics said the project shows an approach that connects existing tools rather than adding another standalone system. The company said this is relevant to utilities trying to bring together data from separate systems.
