Clifton Park Water Authority Case Study
Legacy SCADA replacement for drinking water treatment with zero-downtime cutover and mobile client access
Industry: Water & Wastewater
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Customer | Water Authority for the Town of Clifton Park, NY |
| Location | Saratoga County, New York |
| Tags | ~1,500 total, ~1,200 communication points |
| Development | ~1 week + 3 days onsite setup |
| PLCs | Sixnet RTUs, Modicon PLCs, Rockwell PLCs |
| Network | Cellular router-based VPN |
| Integrator | Teamwork Solutions, Inc. |
The Challenge
Challenge: Replace legacy SCADA system with intermittent communications and trend archiving problems that posed data integrity risks to the highly regulated drinking water treatment process.
Specific pain points:
- Legacy software had intermittent communications issues
- Trend archiving problems made complete historical view difficult
- Data integrity concerns affecting process and reputation
- Multiple wells scattered across wide geographic area
- Highly regulated drinking water industry requires accurate real-time information
- Need for proper process functioning across all stations
Impact: Data integrity issues in a highly regulated drinking water environment posed risks to both process reliability and organizational reputation.
The Solution
Architecture
| Tier | Component | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Field | Sixnet RTUs, Modicon PLCs, Rockwell PLCs | Remote well stations |
| Network | Cellular router-based VPN | Remote station communication |
| Central | FrameworX Server | Monitoring, trending, alarming |
| Clients | PC, Phone, Tablet | Flexible access options |
| Future | Remote VPN Clients | Secure remote connections |
Scale
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Tags | ~1,500 |
| Communication Points | ~1,200 |
| Engineering Time | ~1 week |
| Onsite Setup | 3 days |
Process Areas
- Multiple drinking water wells (wide geographic area)
- Storage tanks
- Valves
- Water treatment
Key Technical Features
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Fine-Tuned Polling Rates | Tailored to each remote station's connection speed |
| Cellular VPN | Reliable communication with remote stations |
| Multi-Client Support | PC, phone, and tablet access |
| Custom Trending | Track and predict system operations |
| .NET Platform | Current and future Windows compatibility |
Key Enablers
FrameworX capabilities that made this solution possible:
| Capability | Application |
|---|---|
| Modern Interface | Comprehensive development and runtime features |
| Flexible Clients | Phone, tablet, and traditional PC support |
| .NET Technology | Future-proof Windows compatibility |
| Custom Poll Rates | Individual device polling tailored to connection speed |
| Multi-PLC Support | Sixnet RTUs, Modicon, Rockwell native drivers |
| Custom Trending | Tailored trend pages for operational tracking |
The Results
Zero-Downtime Cutover — Migration from legacy SCADA completed without downtime, exceeding expectations
Performance Improvement — System performance exceeds previous SCADA system
Cost-Comparable Migration — Transition cost comparable to upgrading outdated software
Lower Total Cost of Ownership — Price structure provides ongoing cost benefits
Increased Security — .NET environment ensures current and future Windows compatibility
Field Access — Agents can access information from the field via phone/tablet
Custom Trending — Operators create trend pages with exactly the information needed
Future-Ready — Underlying technology capable of meeting future needs
Customer Testimonials:
"We were very skeptical that we could shut down our old SCADA system and startup FactoryStudio without downtime. The change over process exceeded our expectations and FactoryStudio has been running smoothly ever since."
— Ron Marshall, Water Authority Superintendent
"The trending display tools in FactoryStudio allowed us to create a custom trend page that provides exactly the information I need to see to be able to track and predict system operations."
— Nate Clark, Assistant Water Plant Operator
"The FactoryStudio migration went very smoothly, and the system performance exceeds the performance of our previous SCADA system."
— Corey Golden, Chief Water Plant Operator
Resources
Download case study: CaseStudy_MunicipalAuhority.pdf
This case demonstrates legacy SCADA replacement for municipal water treatment with zero-downtime cutover and mobile client access.
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