The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) is in the early stages of its procurement process to replace its existing water and wastewater process data collection system. In early 2010, OCWA initiated a project to define the needs of the agency’s operations division for a new process data collection system.
OCWA provides a comprehensive range of reliable, cost-effective and environmentally responsible water and wastewater services to its clients, including Ontario municipalities and private sector entities. Their core business is operations and maintenance. They operate facilities ranging from small well systems and lagoons, to large water and wastewater systems serving millions. OCWA delivers these water and wastewater services through full-service contracts in which OCWA supplies labour and management, incurs the operational and maintenance expenses, and ensures cost efficiency, product quality and regulatory compliance.
OCWA desired a replacement system that would be both flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the water and wastewater industries of Ontario. Their preference is to pursue an off-the-shelf client-server packaged software solution that requires minimal customization. In August 2010, OCWA’s senior management decided to run a pilot of KISTERS North America’s WISKI 7 product as a potential replacement for OCWA’s PDC system.
OCWA’s current PDC system provides a standard, systematic and reliable way of collecting, storing and retrieving operational data for each of the facilities they operate. Data is captured through various sources of manual data entry and electronic submissions. These key data transfers/integrations include:
- Electronic lab data transfer
- SCADA integration
- Handheld technology integration
OCWA currently operates over 600 water and wastewater treatment facilities, pumping stations and other associated infrastructure in Ontario. As a crown corporation, OCWA operates approximately 75% of Ontario’s outsourced O&M services for water and wastewater treatment, predominantly under contract with municipal clients. In addition to municipal clients, they provide operations and maintenance services to First Nations, and industrial, commercial and institutional organizations.
After all the reviews of potential replacements and looking at product functionality, use and ease of transition from PDC, OCWA’s senior management decided to run a pilot of KISTERS North America’s WISKI 7 product as a potential replacement for OCWA’s PDC system.