Nalco Embraces DATOMS Automation Solution for Remote Monitoring of Flowmeter, Pumps & River Level Data.

Remote monitoring of flowmeter, pump motor and river level is critical for reliable plant operations and statutory compliance. This NALCO case study shows how an IoT‑based remote monitoring system solved those challenges along a 25 km water conveyance line.

Customer Profile

NALCO (National Aluminium Corporation) is a leading PSU in aluminium production. It operates one of the largest integrated Bauxite–Alumina–Aluminium–Power complexes in the country.

Problem Statement

For day‑to‑day operation, NALCO CPP (NALCO Captive Power Plant) draws water from a river located nearly 25 km away from the power plant. Although a water meter (flowmeter) was installed at the intake point to measure water withdrawal, the plant received a directive to install an online monitoring system that would measure water intake and generate a daily report.

Additionally, the large distance between the water intake point and the plant reservoir created a very high risk of water theft along the 25 km stretch. This gap made it difficult to track where water losses were happening and how much volume was actually reaching the plant.

Therefore, NALCO CPP wanted to adopt an IoT‑based remote monitoring system that could log flow rate, totalized flow from the flowmeters, and motor current to track pump status at critical points. As a result, the plant needed reliable visibility into both hydraulic performance and pump health.

Business Requirement

NALCO CPP defined a clear requirement for remote monitoring of:

Flowmeter data (rate of flow and totalised flow).
Pumps (motor current and ON/OFF status).
River level information.

All of this information had to be accessible securely through a web browser so that different stakeholders could review the data in real time.

The Solution

To address these challenges, DATOMS proposed an IoT‑based wireless monitoring system tailored for remote assets. DATOMS is a state‑of‑the‑art IoT platform that integrates devices, software and services to give customers complete system management in real time.

NALCO RTU‑based remote monitoring system

DATOMS deployed an RTU‑based remote monitoring system for flowmeters and motors so that NALCO CPP could perform the following actions:

First, log the real‑time flow rate and totalised flow of the flowmeters installed at the river end, raw water reservoir and CLPH end.
Next, log the motor current and ON/OFF status of the pumps installed at the river end, raw water reservoir and CLPH end. This helped the team continuously track pump behaviour.
Furthermore, log the real‑time data from the level sensor deployed at the river end to understand river level variations.
In addition, download detailed reports for all monitored parameters for analysis and record‑keeping.
Finally, receive daily reports and email alerts whenever flow rate or motor current crossed predefined threshold values. This enabled prompt action in abnormal situations.

By combining RTU hardware with the DATOMS platform, NALCO CPP obtained an end‑to‑end IoT solution for remote monitoring of flowmeters, pumps and river level.

Results/Outcomes

With the smart flowmeter and motor monitoring IoT solution from DATOMS, NALCO CPP now has:

A solution that fulfils the statutory requirement of continuous, real‑time flow monitoring.
A system that tracks water intake and water losses from the intake pump house to the raw water reservoir of the captive power plant.
An email alert‑based mechanism to monitor motor/pump overload, helping to reduce unscheduled downtime.
One‑point access to a real‑time dashboard with precise, accurate and reliable data presented in a user‑friendly interface.
Data storage and customised reporting with analysis options that support better decision‑making and internal audits.
Controlled access to data for different levels of management, ensuring the right information reaches the right people.

Consequently, the plant operations team has clear, timely insight into both water flow and pump health across the 25 km corridor. At the same time, the compliance team has the documentation required for statutory reporting.

Why this matters for similar industries

The challenges faced by NALCO CPP are very common among medium and large industries where intake pump houses are located far from the main plant and are not easily accessible. In such cases, manual monitoring often leads to blind spots, delayed insights and higher operating costs.

By having data at their fingertips through an IoT‑based flow and motor monitoring solution, industries can meet statutory requirements more easily and transparently. Moreover, they can reduce losses due to water theft, unscheduled downtime and physical manpower deployment for monitoring purposes. Ultimately, this kind of NALCO‑style IoT remote monitoring for flowmeters, pumps and river level builds both operational resilience and regulatory confidence.