Flowdicator monitoring system is based on Viimatech Digital technology. It is designed for monitoring pumps and pumping stations with a tank. Lumijoen Vesi Oy has had the system in use since autumn 2019.
Lumijoen Vesi Oy has over 800 water connections. The total water supply network is about 150 kilometres. Six of the company’s pumping stations have a Flowdicator tracking system in place.
“We acquired Flowdicator especially because many of our pumping stations are quite old and therefore the alarm systems are no longer very reliable. Before new system the alarms were only received when the device had already been broken. Now the Flowdicator system provides us with continuous information on the operation of the pumping plant, so we can react to changes in the operation of the equipment faster,” says Ari Korkala, Municipal Engineer at the Municipality of Lumijoki. Korkala also acts as the CEO of Lumijoen Vesi Oy alongside his municipal position.
Reasonable commissioning costs
Lumijoki is a small but vibrant municipality south of Oulu on the shores of the Gulf of Liminka. The municipality has approximately 2,000 inhabitants, so the water plant, which is mainly owned by the municipality, is therefore quite small. The municipality currently receive supply from one groundwater well. When handling wastewater, the nearby municipalities cooperate, so the wastewater of the residents of Lumijoki also ends up 25 km away at lakeuden Keskuspuhdistamo Oy’s treatment plant.
“The idea of testing Flowdicator system experiment came from Flowplus. We discussed the supervision of pumping stations with Rauno Tuppurainen and he told us that they would have a new and modern system for it. The cost of introducing the system was very reasonable, so we decided to use it for testing in one of the transmission lines at first,” says Korkala.
Alarms faster and more reliably
Previously, only light or beeps were received from pumping stations at the water plant if there was something wrong with the equipment. This usually meant that the emergency was great then and some device had already been broken.
“From our point of view, the greatest benefits of the Flowdicator system come from getting alerts quickly and without delay. The hassles at the pumping stations can thus be taken over and repaired more quickly. A few times it has happened that Flowdicator has been able to warn us about problems that are already coming beforehand,” Korkala points out.
Information available everywhere
Lumijoen Vesi Oy has no employees on its payroll. However, three people from the municipality work mainly on water plant matters. External partners, including Flowplus Oy, are used in maintenance and installation tasks.
“One good feature of the Flowdicator system is its operation online. Now, even during corona isolation, I can see continuously here at my home office what condition the pumping companies connected to the system are in. So, we don’t need any control rooms, but our own laptop is good enough,” Korkala says.