Monthly Bulletin

Upcoming Tradeshows
ICOLD 2013, August 12- 16, Seattle
WA, USA
http://www.icold2013.org/
Monthly Bulletin
March 2013
Dear Roctest Partners,
We are extremely excited to introduce the newest member to our sales force, Mrs. Polly
Brown, who joins Roctest in the capacity of Business Development Eastern USA. Polly is a
hydrogeologist with degrees from UC Berkeley and Boston University. She gained experience in well head protection and groundwater modeling during her employment with the
Massachusetts DEP. Her expertise in customer service and sales stems from 8 years of
owning a small business in Ohio. We welcome Polly to the team and look forward to working
together to continue growing business on the East Coast USA.
ISSMGE 2013 - International Conference on Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical,
Sept 3-8, Paris, France
http://www.issmge2013.org/EN/
events.phpIDManif=561&IDModule=71&
IDRub=79
Canadian Dam Association Annual
Conference, October 5-10, Montreal Qc,
CDN
http://www.imis100ca1.ca/cda/CDA/
Events_Pages/Conference%20Home%
20Page.aspx
Upcoming Events
Geotechnical Instrumentation Course,
April 7-9, Cocoa Beach FL, USA
http://conferences.dce.ufl.edu/geotech/
René DeBlois
Sales Manager
Garvey Reservoir Data Collection System Upgrade
Roctest installed a Geomation OutDAQTM Field Data Acquisition System at Garvey Reservoir in Monterey Park, California during the
winter of 2011 & 2012. The project was implemented by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) to replace an
older Geomation System 2300 that had been installed in about 1990. The System 2300 had become obsolete and no longer supportable due to electronic component and software technology obsolescence. Furthermore, new demands were imposed by advancing
computer technology and the associated IT security policies required for critical infrastructure and utility organizations.
The automated instrumentation at Garvey Reservoir consists of 39 piezometers, 2 underdrain flow
transducers, 6 liner drain flow signals, and an independent total liner drain flow signal. All the sensors
and transducers were pre-existing and not part of the automation system upgrade project. The objective of the instrumentation automation is to maintain a historical database of performance of the dam
under differing operating conditions, and continuous surveillance of any potential for deteriorating conditions that may lead to abnormal seepage. Pursuant to the surveillance objective, the system automatically monitors for user-adjustable alarm criteria that are reported to the Safety of Dams Team at
MWD Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. In addition, alarm conditions related to the Liner Drains
are monitored with output signals transmitted to a District SCADA terminal located at Garvey Reservoir.
Instrument data is recorded at periodic user-adjustable intervals in a Microsoft SQL Server database
installed on the host computer at the Garvey Reservoir Head House. This database is queried by
MWD personnel at the Headquarters offices, using standard Microsoft software tools. Data is also
conveyed from MWD Headquarters to the City of Monterey Park, in compliance with an ongoing
agreement.
The OutDAQ system architecture employs important industry standards that benefit users in providing
the ability to choose from among a variety of host software packages. This protects against hardware
obsolescence associated with proprietary product platforms and ensures compatibility with rapidly
evolving computer system and communication technology. These industry standards are the (1) Modbus Serial and Modbus/TCP communication protocols used between the Host Computer and the Field Data Terminals (FDTs), (2) the
OPC (Open Process Control) interoperability data interchange standard between the host data acquisition client software and the
Geomation OPC Data Access Server that communicates with FDT, (3) and the SQL Server data store. These standards are supported worldwide for technology interoperation, system control and communication.
I-14 Integrated Input Assembly feeds 420 mA data to FDT4 via Model GEOMA1443 I/OXBUS 900 MHz radio.
The low-power Geomation OutDAQ system allows a tiered wired and wireless array of sensor inputs
providing total coverage over and around this hilltop ring reservoir while avoiding the high installation
costs associated with fully wired systems. A combination of license-free GEOMA-1444-V 150 MHz VHF
MURs wireless radio and wired Ethernet links connect five remote terminal units (Geomation Model GEOMA-3410 Field Data Loggers (FDL)) to the host computer and systems. Sensor inputs to the FDLs are
through input modules specific to the input type. In this case all inputs were 4-20 mA and used GEOMA1201 4-20 mA input modules. Input modules were connected to the FDLs either directly on the same
DIN rail using the RS485 bus or remotely with wireless Model GEOMA-1443 900 MHz spread-spectrum
radio links.
Roctest was able to keep installation costs down by providing fully integrated assemblies from the factory
virtually eliminating hardware store part searches during installation. We also reused existing mountings,
power supplies, etc. wherever possible. The use of wireless links and solar power eliminated most construction activities associated with the installation of fully wired systems and still provided for full coverage around the reservoir. The Geomation OutDAQ data collection system at Garvey Reservoir provides
FDT4 Garvey Reservoir in foreground and
a cost effective and reliable system for monitoring the safety and reliability of this critical infrastructure
mountains in background. Top Sector
well into the future.
Panel collects data from multiple remote i/
For additional information please contact Etienne Constable, Western US Business Development
Manager, Roctest, Inc.
[email protected]
(831) 393-1992.
o’s over the crest via GEOMA-1443 I/
OXBUS 900 MHz radios. Bottom Yagi
antenna is for Modbus link to host using
GEOMA-1444-V 150 MHz VHF MURs
radios.