As the process industries experience increasingly volatile, uncertain and complex operating environments, control engineers must address competing market forces and technology challenges. These include pressure from management to reduce costs and improve efficiency, tougher regulations, workforce evolution and shortages, and increasing product lifecycle variants.
Schneider Electric is addressing those challenges with its open, software-driven automation solution, EcoStruxure Automation Expert (EAE), and displayed its capabilities on Sept. 10-12 at its Innovation Center in Houston. The event featured discussions about the future of open automation, and a look at how users, such as the City of Conroe, Texas, are utilizing EAE’s capabilities to address operational and efficiency goals.
One of those industries is water and wastewater treatment, and a highlight of the event was a look inside the open, software-defined automation systems used by Conroe at its Little Egypt water plant, about an hour north of Houston. Conroe has invested in scalable, intelligent systems to meet increasing water demand and ensure long-term resilience. It deploys EAE at 19 water and wastewater facilities, while leveraging advanced automation to accelerate infrastructure delivery, improve service reliability and support sustainable development.
“Collaborating with Schneider Electric to implement EcoStruxure Automation Expert has been a valuable step in strengthening Conroe’s water systems,” said Daniel Robert, water superintendent for Conroe. “This initiative is helping us accelerate deployment, improve efficiency, while also supporting our broader goals around transparency and quality of life for residents.”
The deployment is a significant shift for the treatment facility toward modular, software-defined automation that enables faster commissioning, reduced engineering complexity and secure remote operations. Built-in cybersecurity and disaster-recovery capabilities also bolster emergency response in a region still mindful of Hurricane Harvey’s impact.
“Water is vital to our communities and economy, yet cities face growing challenges with supply shortages, aging infrastructure and climate uncertainties,” said Sophie Borgne, president of water and environment for Schneider Electric. “Conroe’s forward-thinking approach demonstrates how open, software-defined automation can secure a city’s water future, while enabling scalable, efficient operations.”
The project includes a $50 million infrastructure upgrade focused on resilience, efficiency and transparency. In addition, officials at Conroe expect accelerated site-development time because EAE’s modular, software-defined architecture reduces the time and complexity of bringing new plants online. They also expect reduced water loss and optimized operations, contributing to lower operations costs. Meanwhile, the secure-by-operations architecture strengthens resilience against cyber-threats.
Open, software-defined automation is a vendor-neutral approach that separates control logic from hardware by using software to manage, orchestrate and monitor industrial processes. It enables greater flexibility, scalability and interoperability across multiple vendor environments. As open automation continues to gain traction in plants and facilities worldwide, implementation faces challenges, particularly when it comes to standards.
To be successful, the open, software-defined approach relies on open standards for interoperable and scalable solutions. Schneider Electric’s works with:
- Margo’s open standard for edge-computing interoperability,
- The Open Process Automation Forum’s (OPAF) Open Process Automation Standard (O-PAS) that defines a vendor-neutral reference architecture for secure process automation systems,
- OPC Foundation’s platform for independent, service-oriented communication architecture, and
- NAMUR’s Open Architecture (NOA) that aims to enhance integration of field devices and control systems with IT systems.
Among the benefits of open, software-defined automation are faster time to market, 40% fewer errors in the development phase, 30% lower design and engineering costs, and reduced operating costs, according to Fouda.
“This isn’t just about better automation. It’s about building a smarter, faster and more competitive enterprise,” he said.
