August 26, 2010

FEATURE | Waste & Wastewater

ECO:LOGIC ENGINEERING

A new application for the iPad and iPhone allows those in the field to check schematics.

ECO:LOGIC Engineering designs iPad construction software

PETER KENTER

correspondent

A new application designed to digitize the plans and operations of wastewater plants is now accessible on Apple iPad mobile digital devices.

The Interactive Operations Manual application was developed by ECO:LOGIC Engineering, a Rocklin, Calif. firm specializing in water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

“When we saw the iPad, we immediately knew there was a way to use it to streamline operations and maintenance and preserve valuable historical knowledge that is otherwise lost when experienced staff retire,” says Dave Bennett, president of ECO:LOGIC. “You touch the picture or schematic with your finger and drill down further and further to retrieve the level of detail you need.”

The application is not, however, an off-the shelf software title.

“We actually need to write the operations manual for the plant, and simultaneously translate that information to electronic form,” says Dennis Gregory, a program manager with the company. “We can also take an existing manual and convert it to electronic form. We format the content in such a way as to put it on a server and make it available online through the Internet. The iPad is just one way of accessing that information.”

Gregory says getting the information correct up-front is critical, requiring consultation with engineers and contractors who design and build the plant. The software can incorporate all plans and construction drawings in PDF format for future reference.

Once the electronic manual is complete, the collected information can help to diagnose problems with the system, and provide critical information to those who repair or upgrade the plants.

“If I’m looking at a pumping station, I can zoom in and get the whole schematic, then click on the ‘in’ and ‘out’ lines to go upstream or downstream to the next process elements,” he says.

The software can also accept detailed notes by operators, recording pH levels or sensor values for future comparison.

The level of detail recorded by the application depends on the needs of the clients. For a recent client, the software recorded tag numbers for each element of the system, identifying every component from valves to filters.

“For contractors working on that system, they could just do a keyword search on ‘flow meters’ and find a list of every flow meter in the system, including model numbers and manufacturers,” says Gregory. “You could even access the suppliers’ contact information.”

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