Nalco Embraces DATOMS Automation Solution for Remote Monitoring of Flowmeter, Pumps & River Level Data.
Customer Profile
NALCO (National Aluminium Corporation) is a leading PSU in the field of aluminium production. It is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium-Power Complex in the Country.
Problem Statement
For the day-to-day operation of its plant, NALCO CPP (NALCO Captive Power Plant) takes water from a river that is close to 25 km from the power plant. Although there is a water meter (flow meter) installed at the water intake point for the measurement of water intake by the plant, the plant was issued a directive to install an online monitoring system that will measure the water intake and give a daily report. Additionally, due to the large distance (~ 25 km) between the power plant and the water intake point, there is a very high risk of water theft between the water intake point and the water reservoir of the plant. To address the above-mentioned problems, NALCO CPP wanted to adopt a remote monitoring system that will log the flow rate, totalized flow of the flow meters, and the motor current to know the pump status of the pumps installed.
Business Requirement
Remote monitoring of flowmeter (rate of flow & totalised), pumps and river level data through the web browser.
The Solution
To address the challenges, we proposed to the client our IoT-based wireless monitoring system. DATOMS is our state-of-the-art IoT platform that integrates the devices, software, services to give the client complete system management in real-time.
Through our RTU based remote monitoring system for flow meters and motors, the client could do the following:-
- Log the real-time flow rate and totalised flow data of the flow meters installed at the river end, raw water reservoir and CLPH end.
- Log the motor current and ON/OFF status of the pumps installed at the river end, raw water reservoir and CLPH end.
- Log the real-time data of the level sensor deployed at the river end.
- Download the report for all the parameters being monitored.
- Receive daily reports and alerts emails when the flow rate and motor current crosses the threshold values.
Results/Outcomes
With our smart flow meter and motor monitoring IoT Solution, NALCO CPP now has:
- A solution that fulfils the statutory requirement of real-time flow monitoring.
- A system that will monitor the water intake and losses in water volume from the intake pump house to the raw water reservoir of the captive power plant.
- An email alert-based system to monitor motor/pump overload to reduce unscheduled downtime.
- One-point access to real-time dashboard representing highly precise, accurate and reliable data in a user interactive manner.
- Data Storage and customised reporting with various analysis for better decision making and internal audits.
- Controlled access of data for different levels of management.
The challenges faced by NALCO CPP is a very common challenge for medium and large size industries where the intake pump house is usually far away from the plant and is not easily accessible. Having data on fingertips using our IoT based flow and motor monitoring solution will help industries not only meet the statutory requirements but also reduce the losses incurred due to water theft, unscheduled downtime and physical manpower deployment for monitoring purposes.
