Drives & Controls October 2022

42 n WATER INDUSTRY October 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com How an Italian utility is achieving la dolce vita I taly’s CAFC water utility serves 122 municipalities over an area extending north-south from the mountains on the Austrian border down to the Adriatic Sea, and east-west from Slovenia to the border with Veneto. “To cover all our water plants across this vast territory,”says CAFC maintenance manager, Tomaso Larice,“we have about 150 technical employees who perform periodic checks and maintenance interventions when failures occur.” To cut the number of maintenance personnel, and to optimise their activities, the utility is standardising the equipment it uses, and opting for digitised products.“Digitalisation brings specific benefits, offering us the ability to visualise the process and equipment status remotely,”Larice explains.“This has helped us to transition our maintenance practices. We can now performmaintenance based on the actual condition rather than on a set time schedule.” For example, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, CAFC is using ABB’s Ability powertrain condition-monitoring technology on its water capture, potability, distribution, sewerage and water treatment processes. Using the data that this generates, CAFC has optimised its maintenance planning and costs, thus improving the management of its plants. Larice explains that the decision to use condition monitoring is part of the company’s efforts to maximise reliability and plant availability, and minimise the need for maintenance.“To do this, we aim to use technology and solutions that can deliver continuous improvement to reduce energy consumption, while optimising the processes and maximising maintenance effectiveness. “Intervening only when necessary and having visibility about the system’s true condition offers us great advantages in both planning maintenance actions, as well as purchasing services and spare parts at optimal prices,”says Larice.“It is both cost- and labour- efficient.” Before installing dedicated water and wastewater drives and the condition monitoring system, CAFC worked with ABB on a pilot project to digitise its powertrains. A centralised system allows the company's technicians to make better decisions about their assets. They can spot any anomalies which, in the case of motors, could be temperatures, vibrations or too-frequent starts. For drives, the parameters monitored include voltages, currents, torques, overloads, over- temperatures, component wear, and condenser or fan degradation. From his desk in Udine, Larice can monitor equipment at the Mount Lussari ski area which, at 2,000m above sea level, is not accessible during winter. The waterworks serve the area’s restaurants and other high-altitude operations. “Being able to remotely see the condition of assets and to schedule any interventions in the summer is an invaluable advantage,”Larice points out. In another pilot project, CAFC digitised drives at its Rivignano sewage treatment plant. Initially, it used ABB’s Neta-21 condition- monitoring tool via a dedicated Internet connection. In the end, the team decided to use an ABB drive connectivity panel, which is easy to install and commission and gives immediate access to cloud services. The panel can be configured at the same time as a drive is being commissioned. An NB- IoT modem, SIM card, and antenna connect automatically to the network that offers the best signal. “We installed this solution in our largest waterworks in Artegna, where phone coverage is poor,”Larice reports.“Nevertheless, it works fine with data being sent regularly.” The condition-monitoring capabilities show the situation in real time. The sampling rate can be set to once every 10 minutes or once an hour. The main benefit of using VSDs for sewage- handling operations is cutting energy consumption. The drives make it possible to adjust the speed of the compressors and pumps to match real-time demand. Another important aspect is starting, says Larice. The drives provide a ramp-up function, reducing the power peaks to comply with electrical supply contracts, and reducing stress on the electrical system. Today, CAFC needs just one electrician and mechanic to perform once-a-year maintenance on all of its motors and pumps. In the future, Larice expects to perform site maintenance with even longer intervals. “The mechanic will continue to physically intervene for tasks that need to be done on-site – such as lubrication – but the electrician's physical presence is potentially not necessary since the new digital technologies allow us to monitor parameters remotely,”Larice says. n An Italian water utility has implemented smart, plug-and-play condition-monitoring technologies for its pump powertrains, resulting in high efficiencies, lower costs and reduced downtime. The water treatment plant in Udine, one of many sites that CAFC operates across a broad swathe of Italy Image: CAFC