Wonderware
Wonderware is an industrial software editor, inventor in 1987 of the first Windows-based industrial supervisory system, and delivering nowadays a complete portfolio of open, scalable, easy-to-use, secure and versatile industrial software solutions empowering people to connect, control, understand, and optimise their operations. Wonderware Benelux B.V. is the exclusive distributor and certified training and support centre of Wonderware in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, acting since 1996 with an experienced team of support engineers and a certified network of system integrators. Water production facilities generally suffer from a lack of homogeneity in their automation design and supervision. They are so made complex to manage, maintain and troubleshoot and the management team does not always have total control. The risks of incidents are therefore important and the resolution time of these increased.
In this context, SWDE has defined standards (hardware and software) for its production facilities in its R&D programmes, from the sensor or the equipment to the supervision and integration systems to drastically reduce development costs, error risks of, and to control the entire automation pyramid.
SWDE aims to harmonise its facilities (four dam reservoirs, seven production centers, 1,000-plus production water pumping sites) and to supervise them via a new centralised system installed in two central dispatches. This project is carried out as part of the replacement of facilities whose technology is ageing, or outdated, but also with the aim of reducing maintenance and investment costs while allowing the appropriation of the management and maintenance of these facilities by the operating staff. A methodology and different tools have been developed by SWDE to achieve a high level of control of both hardware and software installations.
In 2010, SWDE launched a European open tendering for the replacement of its global supervision system of its production and transport facilities.
At the end of a rigorous selection marathon which took almost two years, Wonderware was finally selected as the sole and global partner among seven bidders. Wonderware’s references in industrial and infrastructure applications have demonstrated the real capabilities of the solution.
Over the years, Wonderware has become a key partner for SWDE to achieve its goals. SWDE indeed needs an object-oriented system, allowing the implementation of standardisation at all levels. Since investments are made for many years, sustainability, flexibility and scalability are essential. Wonderware does not limit the size of developments and allows to adapt to the organisational vision of SWDE while allowing to link strategic enterprise applications (Wonderware, SAP, GIS, Unilab).
Key benefits are:
• Harmonisation at all levels
• Effective, reliable, resource-efficient application base
• Fast and easy integration and maintenance by SWDE teams
• Architecture integration with other applications
• Cost reduction