Cybersecurity certification achieved.

The PcVue platform from ARC Informatique has successfully achieved IEC 62443-4-2 SL2 certification, a key milestone in our cybersecurity strategy. Following their IEC 62443-4-1 certification, this new achievement confirms our commitment to secure our product. It places PcVue among a select group of solutions that meet the cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure.

Already certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001, ARC Informatique continues to strengthen its governance model by integrating cybersecurity at every level.

While IEC 62443-4-1 focuses on secure development practices, IEC 62443-4-2 ensures that the components of the PcVue platform meet strict security requirements, addressing risks directly at the product level

For PcVue users and partners, this certification provides greater confidence by delivering a platform that is not only high performing, but also secure, trusted and resilient against evolving cyber threats.

"We remain committed to supporting operations with reliable and cyber-resilient solutions," said a statement from the company.

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Cybersecurity standard achieved.

ARC Informatique has successfully achieved ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 certification, a globally recognised cybersecurity standard for secure product development in industrial automation and control systems.

Already certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001, ARC Informatique now elevates its governance model by reinforcing cybersecurity directly into its product development lifecycle.

While ISO 27001 ensures the protection of organisational information and processes, ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 specifically addresses secure product development requirements for critical infrastructure.

This certification marks a strategic evolution: embedding cybersecurity not only at the organisational level, but at the very core of PcVue platform engineering.

For PcVue users and partners, ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 certification delivers operational confidence by reducing cybersecurity risks. It accelerates system qualification and deployment while ensuring continuous protection through structured vulnerability management and timely security updates.The result is a platform built not only to perform, but to remain secure, trusted and cyber-resilient.

“Achieving IEC 62443-4-1 certification is an important milestone in the PcVue compliance strategy roadmap” said Mostapha ELANSALI, Head of quality and performances at ARC Informatique.

“It reflects our long-term commitment to supporting customers operating in critical and highly regulated environments, while continuously strengthening the security, reliability, and cyber-resilience of the PcVue platform.”

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Location awareness and safety in SCADA.

ARC Informatique core product, PcVue®, has been contributing to the evolution of the automation industry for 30 years. The PcVue Solutions range provides a flexible solution for supervising industrial processes, utilities and infrastructure.

Ubiquicom is an award-winning technology company specialized in the design and development of products and solutions for the positioning and tracking of people and assets in unconventional contexts and using unconventional technologies.

These two companies at the forefront of technological innovations, are collaborating to combine their skills to offer a unique mobility solution. This partnership manifests a joint effort to instill mobility at the heart of supervisory systems. A deliberate move from ARC Informatique in order to step into the field of Internet of Things (IoT) by interfacing with established networks such as LoRa, Sigfox, etc.

New features for Indoor & Outdoor Positioning Services
Based on the real-time monitoring of biometric and environmental parameters, Ubiquicom adds an upper layer application to the PcVue Geo Map Control with its Locator Suite.

Easy to configure and performed via Web services, these new features allow the detection and tracking of people and assets directly displayed as PcVue markers (which can be symbols) in a geographical map. This detection and tracking is efficient whether indoors and outdoors regardless of the network´s type and available communications (GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, BLE).

Through this collaboration, ARC Informatique reaffirms its ambition to provide an innovative mobile offering for SCADA.

Innovative features for monitoring and controlling distributed assets and IP networks.

PcVue 11.1 is the latest release of PcVue SCADA solution created by ARC Informatique. It now features the monitoring of geographically distributed assets and IP network devices. The innovative design improves operator effectiveness with powerful data analysis tools and developer productivity with advanced automation of configuration.

GEO Map Control, a built-in component for GIS decision making, provides live interactive maps from popular mapping services such as Google and Microsoft. Maps are interactive and dynamic; supporting both off-line and on-line maps access. PcVue graphical objects (Symbols) may be used as markers including animations and display of real-time asset status and alarms. No scripting or programming is required to configure the Map Control.

PcVue’s communication driver pack, CIMWay, has been expanded to support SNMP for monitoring and controlling devices on IP networks. This native capability not only allows PcVue applications to monitor the health of the network, but provides access to an ever increasing number of IED’s and other equipment with IP interfaces. Designed for optimization of large IP networks in mind, the PcVue SNMP solution capability supports the growing Internet of Industrial Things (IoIT).

Data Analysis for operator decision-making support is an increasing requirement in a modern SCADA application. PcVue 11.1 provides powerful analysis, with a few clicks operators may move from real-time to analysis mode and back. The resulting visualization may be with dashboard KPI displays or the powerful new X-Y charting control for correlation and statistical analysis.

Enhancements to BACnet® Scheduling and new SMART Generators for BACnet® and TwinCAT® - Beckhoff for automated configuration are some of the many additional new features and improvements to PcVue Solutions with PcVue 11.1.

Other additions are worth to be noted: the implement of a new license utility, a unique tool for license management, and improved client drivers for Energy management such as DNP3, our DNV Kema certified IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104, etc.

To preserve the SCADA investment and ensure its longevity, PcVue has been maintaining backward compatibility for 20 years. This new version is compatible with the latest technologies (Windows 8.1, Microsoft SQL Server 2014, etc.) including virtual environments.

SCADA modernisation of the industrial aqueduct of Lake Como.

Lake Como, in northern Italy, is served by nearly 40 miles (60 KM) of aqueducts. The aqueduct draws its water directly from the lake and pumps it to storage tanks. The water flows from the tanks via aqueducts serving businesses around the lake. The waterworks reliability is paramount as water disruption leads to lost production for manufacturers of Como. After 30 years of service, the SCADA system was in need of modernisation.

Energy costs in the region have risen significantly during the last 30 years. The geography of the lake set in mountainous terrain, is particularly challenging to water management. The modernisation created the opportunity to not only take advantage of technology advances, but also to review concepts of water management and to introduce the concept of energy profile management.

Pumping, of course, is the greatest percentage of energy consumed. Energy profile management involves analysing daily consumption and comparing to lake levels which allows projection of storage required. The set-points for the pumps are managed such that the tanks are filled at night when electricity is less expensive. Operating the pumps during the day is possible, but minimised to reduce costs.

The SCADA collects other relevant operational data of the system including continuous recording of pressure, level, flow rates and volumetric meter readings. In the future, further optimisation of energy costs may be possible.

Telecommunications was evaluated in the early phases of the project. The decision was made to move to an Ethernet based network. Existing telephone land-lines interconnect the PLCs and the SCADA host. HDSL provides the Ethernet network over the telephone system.

The Ethernet-based network provides multiple advantages to a field bus architecture including the potential for future revenue sources. For example, other Lake Como utilities may lease bandwidth for their own industrial protocols or other applications such as surveillance and telephony may be hosted. The design also made the telecommunications independent of PLC and SCADA vendors for the project.

Two critical aspects of the communication reliability had to be addressed were network security and availability. Standard IT practices for security are used. Firewalls and VPN’s ensure that the appropriate policy is deployed, allowing only access to recognised users of the system. Secondly, cellular modems are connected to each PLC. In the case of a failure of the land-line network, system operators can reach the PLC directly using mobile devices.

A client-server architecture was chosen for the SCADA. The simplified design is based on commercially available hardware with a modular open architecture for maintainability.

PcVue, from ARC Informatique, was chosen for versatility and ease of maintenance. The graphics provides a very lean display, thanks to modern symbols for visualisation and animation. The variables (tags) in PcVue, using a branching structure, minimise the number of screens to be developed. The client stations deployment is essentially automatic. Clients are enabled by simply sharing the project file. Any modification for the project can be made on the server and copied to the clients.

The system has about a thousand alarms, which are divided into priority levels. All of the alarms are stored and are available in both textual forms and with graphic animations. When alarms are raised, the SCADA uses contextual logic to determine the appropriate course of action. For high priority alarms, SMS text messages are sent to the operator based on the concept that the operator can connect to the network and acknowledge the alarm. If the operator does not respond within a designated time, the system will resend the SMS message until the alarm is acknowledged.

Even the choice of the contractor was strategic. Only qualified system integrators capable of design and implementation of the entire system with full autonomy on the project were considered.

A critical aspect was coming on-line with minimal disruption. It was not easy to manually operate the system and only possible for short times during emergencies. To replace the SCADA, a total halt of the waterworks was required. Well organised and coordinated teams worked simultaneously on all sites, such that installation and commissioning was minimised.

The selected system integrator, T.S.A., provided a careful analysis of the state of the art in existing similar systems. T.S.A, formed a partnership with Borghi, who had previously been responsible for the design and installation of new electrical switchgear and control. The synergy between the two partners (TSA-Borghi) allowed for a competitive proposal with a substantial savings in cost. More importantly, the team had all the necessary areas of expertise to be able to execute all stages from design to commissioning without depending on third party subcontractors.

Supervision software!

ARC Informatique has introduced its latest SCADA solution, PcVue 11. Released in late 2013, PcVue® 11 integrates new tools that simplify application development, maintenance and enhance data viewing and processing.

A simpler way for development and maintenance

PcVue® 11's new libraries, templating and configuration environments will significantly reduce application development time. Application developers now have access to several thousand new images and animated objects (motors, valves, pipes, conveyor belts, displays, etc.) as well as many predefined, instantiable, templates that natively integrate the behaviour of the objects they represent (variables, alarm pop-ups, symbols, processing operations, thresholds, etc.).

PcVue® 11 also features sets of libraries for specific fields such as BMS (heat exchangers, air handling systems, heating systems, lighting, etc.) and electrical distribution systems (circuit breakers, fault detectors, dynamic coloring, etc.).

PcVue® 11 integrates three configuration tools to reduce application configuration times – Application Architect (templating), Application Explorer (configuration and diagnostics) and Smart Generator (automatic application generation). In version 11, Application Explorer enhances diagnostics operations by displaying data flows within PcVue® as well as between PcVue® and external components. Smart Generator imports data from external sources (PLC programs, CAD software, etc.) so that applications can be generated automatically. Configuration data are synchronized and configuration errors are reduced in a single step.

Enhanced viewing and processing of data
PcVue ® 11 provides operators with tools that facilitate the monitoring and controlling of their processes.

Its Web-based schedule manager features a more intuitive and user-friendly interface.
The new, fully integrated, DataExport module statistically analyses data (min./max., average, duration and recurrence of faults, energy metering) and presents this data in an Excel spreadsheet.
Lastly, the TouchVue® solution enables programming-free access, through a smartphone or a tablet computer, to the process information in any PcVue® application and notifies users when alarms are triggered.

Along with WebVue®, a Web client that allows programming-free Web-based control of PcVue® applications, this module rounds out the PcVue Solutions® mobility offering.

PcVue® 11 – open and interoperable
PcVue® 11 supports more than 150 protocols. In the case of energy-management applications, PcVue® 11 conforms to the IEC 61850 standard, and its driver is DNV KEMA certified. IEC 60870-5-104 and DNP3 are also available.

PcVue® supports the BACnet® and LON® communications protocols for building automation and control networks. It also supports all standard IT technologies such as OPC Client/Server, SNMP, SQL Server, Windows Server and virtualization (VmWare® and Hyper-V®). PcVue® 11 is an ideal solution for a host of applications, including building management systems, energy management systems, electricity production and distribution, renewable energies, industry, infrastructure, transport, and water treatment and distribution.

Supervising fermentation in champagne tanks!

Veuve Clicquot is a French champagne house known the world over. Founded in 1772, this prestigious house is now a subsidiary of LVMH. Its reputation is no accident. The house does not compromise on quality and its motto is 'Only one quality – the finest'. In order to ensure that it always makes the finest champagne, it also needs to be able to closely supervise its production systems.

Champagne producer Veuve Clicquot chooses PcVue to supervise its tanks

That is why, in late 2012, Veuve Clicquot revamped its fermentation cellar supervision system. The fermentation cellars are where the house makes its wine from harvested and pressed grapes. Supervising the tanks in which alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place is crucial. However, the software being used by Veuve Clicquot was at the end of its life and the producer was no longer supporting it. It was therefore necessary that the house replace its 10-year-old supervision system by a more recent and better performing solution.

"We needed to replace it by a lasting solution that would be supported for many years to come," says Franck Berruyer, sales engineer at Arc Informatique, the company behind the PcVue supervision system installed at Veuve Clicquot.

"In addition to various technical factors, we chose the PcVue 10 software suite because of the relationship of trust we have maintained with Arc Informatique and because the cost of the licences is economically suited to Veuve Clicquot's needs," says Stéphane Fournier, manager of SF2I, the company that developed and integrated the supervision software. Another advantage of PcVue is that it has the same HMI as the previous software, meaning that the operators were able to use PcVue immediately. Furthermore, Guy Jendryka, manager of the electricity, automation and industrial computing department at Veuve Clicquot, stresses that one of PcVue's strengths is that it is easy to adjust and program. "With the previous system, you really had to be an IT specialist to be able to upgrade the software. PcVue is much easier to modify as needed."

The development architecture is based on PcVue objects and greatly facilitated the supervision software's design. Because Veuve Clicquot's fermentation cellars contain 400 tanks of various types and volumes (50 hl to 725 hl), the developers had to be able to use models so as to reduce programming, and hence maintenance times. Depending on their type, the tanks are fitted with up to three temperature-control sensors and manual or automatic valves. The application manages some 40 variables per tank for a total of 16,000! "The object development architecture saves time and simplifies operations. Once the model was made for the dozen existing tank models, it was simply a matter of instantiating the objects and automatically generating the communication variables," says Mr Fournier.

With its virtual architecture, PcVue runs on a server that is installed in a secure, air-conditioned and filtered room protected from the damp. The application's maintainability and portability on new physical machines is thus simplified. The fact that, in such a virtualised environment, the software is decoupled from the hardware means that reinstallation and commissioning times in the event of failure are considerably reduced.

The operators control the PcVue supervision
software via a 42" touch screen installed at the
entrance to the fermentation cellars.

Five web-based clients allow the cellar managers to view the supervision system and select its setpoints via their PC. Operators can also monitor and control the software via a 42" touch screen that is installed in the lobby and within view of all visitors. The software communicates with the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) over a Modbus TCP/IP network while a VPN (virtual private network) link is used to collect information from the tanks in the house's other fermentation cellars. Fourteen fermentation modules are housed in the main cellar in Reims and four others are located in various towns across the Champagne vineyard at distances of 30 to 200 km from the main cellar! The VPN saves a tremendous amount of time. "Being able to supervise all our fermentation cellars from one place eliminates the need to drive to each cellar. The supervision system issues an alert if a serious temperature control issue crops up," says Stéphane Fournier.

Mr Jendryka can now monitor all his tanks from his desktop PC. "PcVue supervisor has made our fermentation cellars smart. We can monitor every aspect of temperature control from just one place."

Encouraged by this positive experience, Veuve Clicquot's technical teams quickly realised how PcVue could be used elsewhere. Not only does it supervise the fermentation of wine in the tanks, it also monitors the production of cold during cold stabilisation after final blending.

PcVue does not control these operations; it is used simply to view their settings and archive, log and track temperatures, faults and other data. It is also used for effluent monitoring purposes at the two treatment plants – it manages acid and sodium-hydroxide levels, tracks pH and flow-rate values (weekly dashboard report for Dreal, the regional directorate for the environment, land-use planning and housing) – and to e-mail resupply alerts to the managers when levels become low.

And that's not all! PcVue is being deployed to other areas of Veuve Clicquot's operations. By the end of the year it will be running on the wrapping line (placement of foil capsules and labels on bottles prior to shipment). "We are going to use it in particular to retrieve production orders from SAP and provide the laser ID to be affixed onto the glass and back-label," says Mr Jendryka.

100 tunnels under control in Italy!

One of the most impressive things about Italy is the engineering skill employed in the design of its motorway system especially in the mountanous regions. Due to its mountainous topography, the country is a country rich in road tunnels. In the Lombardy region, a new supervision and remote control system has been designed and implemented by Gemmo S.p.A. Based on the PcVue SCADA system from ARC Informatique, it ensures the comfort and safety of users along over 140km of tunnels.

The wide alpine arc that surrounds and contains Italian territory is crossed by roads which include many tunnels. The tunnels are of variable vintage and the plant used inside them is inconsistent, due to differing implementation dates and technologies adopted. Thanks to a new wide-ranging project, the tunnel system of the road network is now managed by a new supervision and control system that is unique due to its size and complexity.

The supervision and telecontrol system, designed and implemented by Gemmo S.p.A. and based on PcVue  SCADA  from ARC Informatique

€140 million Project Financing
The application falls within a project concerning the technological requalification and safety management of approximately 100 tunnels on state roads managed by ANAS S.p.A in Lombardy. The wide scope includes the technological requalification of the tunnels and standardization or renovation of power, lighting, ventilation, video-safety and data transmission plants. The single or dual ‘pipe’ tunnels have lengths ranging from 250m to 5km.

The estimated value of the work is approximately 140 million euros, 50% financed by ANAS and 50% by the private sector. Tunnel Gest (a company whose majority shareholding is held by Gemmo S.p.A.) will be responsible for the management of the realized project for the next 17 years, starting in June 2013 when the 3-year construction and requalification period will be complete. This time frame, which was defined in the financial plan at the start of the project, will allow the company make a return through the provision of services such as plant maintenance. The road management will remain ANAS’s responsibility.

View of the ANAS operations centre,
located in Bellano (Lecco)

“The first stage, nearing completion, scheduled the technological requalification of the tunnels according to ANAS guidelines, which adopt the main European standards in terms of tunnel safety,” says Ing. Ciro Ascione, Systems Business Unit Manager at Gemmo S.p.A. “Depending on their length, the tunnels are provided with plant of different complexity: from simple lighting, to equipment for ventilation, pollution analysis, heat detection, video-surveillance and image analysis, SOS management, audio for emergency situations, variable-message display panels and radio communication to support rescue organizations”. Each tunnel is provided with its own PLC-based automation system and is connected for supervision and control to the ANAS operations centre, located in Bellano (Lecco), through a communication network (WAN) using both fibre optic and microwave technology. For the integration of local systems with the WAN the Modbus TCP/IP protocol has been widely used because it allows direct and reliable control of peripherals and relevant data.

Supervision and remote control
The supervision and remote control system configured by Gemmo S.p.A., a certified OEM partner of ARC Informatique, is based on a customized application of PcVue SCADA. Approximately 50,000 data points, 800 network nodes and over 500 graphical pages are managed.

From the main page which offers a system overview, it is possible to access the various tunnel subpages listed on the display. When a subpage is accessed an information window opens which aids navigation within the subpage. At the same time, when a particular system is selected (the lighting system for instance) it is possible to visualize its status in any or all of the tunnels. Finally, by opening the information window of a particular piece of equipment it is possible to visualize several aspects of its operational status, set alarm limits, visualize alarm notifications and by-pass the local control logic to remotely control the equipment.

In fact all represented objects can operate in either automated or remote manual mode. In the case of a problem (like fire risk or high pollution) the relevant automated procedures take over, but the operator can manually intervene for better management of the situation. For instance, when an alarm procedure due to an excessive pollution in a tunnel is started automatically, the operator can watch the situation through the video system (composed of approx. 1500 cameras) and perhaps override fan settings and variable-message display panels to facilitate the outflow of the vehicles from the tunnel before the tunnel access is inhibited.

The hardware includes two servers in a hot backup configuration with a further server devoted to database management, two clients for ANAS, two clients for Tunnel Gest and one client for the Traffic Police. Two maintenance clients are used by the Gemmo team.

Each workstation at the control centre has two 42” monitors side-by-side which can be used independently. This allows, for instance, management of the SOS system in a tunnel and simultaneous monitoring of the complete system.

“We centralized all the tunnel plant monitoring at the ANAS operating centre of Bellano,” Ing. Ascione explains. “The SCADA shows the operator a series of video graphic maps that supply the status of all equipment in real time.”

Thanks to the network connection, it is possible to connect through the web to the individual controllers. Locally, using a portable PC, it is also possible to connect as a PcVue client and query a controller, or to navigate with a browser to the network server.

Starting from the graphical pages displayed by the supervision system the operator can instantly know where an alarm was triggered or if a user is calling from inside a tunnel.

Maximum safety
The whole system is characterized by several safety levels. In every tunnel there is a redundant LAN connected to the general WAN, to which all automation peripherals and subsystems refer. The automation system of every tunnel is independent of the centre and therefore all the subsystems interact through the tunnel LAN.

“When an SOS is triggered from any tunnel, a general alarm procedure is activated,” says Ascione. “From the main page, with a maximum of two steps, the operator is always guided to the point indicated by the alarm.”

The historical data is stored for approximately two months, depending on the number of recorded alarm events.

In case of over-pollution the ventilation is activated with an intensity that is a function of the detected pollution level, increasing until the potential closure of the tunnel. At the same time, user warnings are shown on the variable message display panels and possibly the audio system is activated, inviting the users to abandon vehicles. All this information is monitored by the SCADA system, giving the operator the opportunity of overriding the automatic system to directly interact with the involved systems by remote control. Tunnels have mainly axial ventilation, but some of them also have cross- or half-cross ventilation. Substantially, they have a ventilation central unit with ducts.

In the SCADA main page the most important information is collected: the ventilation level, the status of the sign system and the pollution with different settable thresholds. Moreover, the status of every object is shown. In the simulation mode it is possible to change the alarm thresholds. Special algorithms are incorporated. For instance, in the ventilation system, algorithms prevent oscillations by taking into account the dilution power of the air. Moreover, it is possible to cycle fan operation so that all fans simultaneously reach the number of hours scheduled for the programmed maintenance, minimising normally invasive interventions (the tunnel must be closed).

In case of fire detection, the ventilation system is driven not only by opacity and CO sensors, but also by the image analysis and thermometric system. The operations centre can intervene with messages that directly reach drivers through the FM radio system. The fire-fighting system is based on one or more pumping and pressurization units that guarantee the water supply. The storage tanks provide flow rates from 600 l/m for tunnels with length greater than 1000m, or a flow rate of 300 l/m for tunnels with length between 100 and 500m; special fire hoses are located in SOS containers arranged every 150m within the tunnels. The containers are also provided with VOIP phone communication equipment that is integrated within the network.

A fully open system
“We selected ARC Informatique’s PcVue because we appreciated that the system is really open,” says Ing. Ascione. “The openness is fundamental in our work as system integrators, because we can get inside the product to customize it and better use its capabilities, while exploiting the 50 years of experience that we acquired in the road industry. On PcVue we combined our specific know-how with the most advanced SCADA technology to reach a double target: on one hand, to be able to constantly monitor all the plant by presenting an interface that is relatively user-friendly while providing all the relevant information; on the other hand, to be able to collect the details that the technicians require to keep the plant efficient.” Gemmo S.p.A. has therefore used a single tool, but with two completely different purposes. A manager needs to use the graphical pages tool to better monitor the events on the road. On the other hand, the technician uses the tool with such detail that he/she can make a diagnosis and therefore prevent a malfunction. “This is the purpose of the concessionary company,” Ing. Ascione emphasizes. “By keeping the plant operating efficiently through adequate remote control, we are able to prevent faults and to guarantee ANAS that they can perform their job, with the ultimate target of improved safety for the users.”

Further benefits of PcVue for the system integrator include online modification and the possibility of editing the graphic pages in text format to perform a high volume of modifications in a short time: in fact, in applications of this size, the capability of parallel working on multiple pages speeds up the construction.

“We understood the graphical editor of PcVue, because it was also used by FactoryLink®, a product that we knew in depth. This was another plus of the ARC Informatique solution and another reason why we selected it. We have been able to carry on to this platform all the know-how and the solutions that we developed with FactoryLink®.”

Future developments
“Our application based on PcVue is therefore an efficient management tool at ANAS’s disposal,” concludes Ing. Ascione. A future expansion of the system will concern the energy management system. This will allow ANAS to monitor consumption and to save energy by switching the lights off when the traffic in a tunnel is moderate and by regulating the fans as a function of the pollution level reached inside a tunnel.

Monitoring & control in water plant

The global water industry leader Veolia selected ARC Informatique PcVue Scada software as their solution to monitor and control services and operations at its Super Rimiez water treatment plant near Nice (F) – recognized as the one of the largest drinking water supply sites in Europe. Performance, ease of use and lower total cost of ownership provided by ARC Informatique solutions were key factors in Veolia selecting the PcVue solution. Additionally, the 20 year relationship and trust between the two companies made the decision easier for Veolia.

The Veolia Super Rimiez water treatment plant is a cutting edge example of global water treatment technology. Constructed in 1972, the plant has seen a number of adaptations, including a total overhaul in 1998 and a systems update in 2007. The Alpes Maritimes Secteur Nice facility covers twelve drinking water production sites with a total capacity of 460,000 m³ per day and a 3,400 km hydraulic network for the distribution of drinking water to 64 cities and towns with a total population of over 950,000 people. Super Rimiez supplies the City of Nice (population of around 350,000) and surrounding area. Water is distributed to the population by a 1,200 km hydraulic network fitted with multiple valves, pumps and regulating equipment.

The Super Rimiez plant manages every stage of an extremely complex process that takes water all the way from collection points to household taps. Apart from the collection and distribution of water, Super Rimiez is also responsible for treating and storing the water in reservoirs located at elevated locations. This includes managing processes at the site itself, as well as all of the remote command and control functions for pumping stations and secondary processing installations located up and downstream, including 20 treatment works and the 90 telemetry stations forming part of the overall system.

To ensure the effective monitoring and smooth operation of such a complex infrastructure, Veolia uses a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. For this, Veolia has chosen the ARC Informatique PcVue SCADA monitoring software package. The monitoring software gathers data, stores it in a central IT system and then the data is processed. PcVue directly processes the data and displays it as animations (called mimic panels) using symbols that can be instantiated (known as objects). The information gathered is converted into standard PcVue objects and then stored in databases for subsequent use in associated spread sheet tools.

At Super Rimiez, the software controls and monitors processes not just at the main site, but also at secondary sites. The remote control and monitoring service installed comprises no fewer than 26 SCADA terminals, which acquire around 50,000 variables from some 400 industrial PLCs (programmable logic controllers) and remote terminals. To achieve this, the team of engineers at Super Rimiez configured 1,800 mimic panels and 600 objects. “In addition to ultra-high performance, a major benefit of the ARC Informatique PcVue solution is the user-friendly graphic interface, which enabled our team of development engineers to configure mimic panels and objects much more quickly than with a traditional SCADA solution. This helps to reduce costs and application roll-out times significantly”, explains Marc Pons, Veolia Water engineer and Head of the Control-Command department at the Côte d’Azur operational centre.

With regard to the data transmission network, the TCP/IP communication protocol is used throughout the plant, and at the 26 SCADA terminals. The system is based on a virtual private network on ADSL lines and the GPRS network, with a satellite link for the main connections and RTC, GSM and SMS packet transmissions for time-stamped data stored by a secure archiving server. The network serves around 450 monitoring sites and is capable of issuing an average of 8,000 remote commands and acknowledging and supervising 7,000 alerts every month.

“Yes, the performance, ease of use and application roll-out cost reduction associated with using the PcVue software were certainly key deciding factors in Veolia opting for this solution. But it is also very important for us to have total confidence in the companies we work with, and this has been the case between Veolia and ARC Informatique for nearly twenty years now”, explains Marc Pons of Veolia.

The authorities of the urban communities of Nice recently stated their intention to become self-sufficient in energy and water treatment services and looked into the possibility of producing electricity from the potential energy generated by a cascade of water. Wishing to align itself with this initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the City of Nice is evaluating a proposal from Veolia to install 4 micro-turbines in the water supply system for converting potential energy into useable electric power.

Untreated water coming down from the mountains is channelled to Super Rimiez above the city and some 280m above sea level. The elevated pressure achieved in this way, which can be up to 17 bars, is converted into electric power by the micro-turbines.

This solution for producing renewable energy should make it possible to generate over 12 GWh of electric power per year – the equivalent of the average electricity consumption of over 3,000 households.

World’s largest experiment with rechargeable hybrid vehicles

EDF (Electricité de France), Toyota and the Strasbourg  (F) area council have selected PcVue SCADA software, developed by ARC Informatique, for a joint three-year project titled Kléber. This is a full-scale experiment with a fleet of 70 rechargeable hybrid vehicles (RHV) and 145 charging stations throughout the Strasbourg urban area. Value for money, short lead times and industrial know-how all played a crucial role in the selection process.

They launched a joint project named Kléber for full-scale demonstration of rechargeable hybrid vehicles (RHV). This three-year programme has three main aims: to study user expectations of RHV technology and recharging infrastructure, to verify RHV performance in real situations and to develop methods for evaluating fuel consumption and CO2 emission. This experiment is vital as Toyota is now marketing a plug-in version of its well-known Prius range. The Kléber programme is part of a world-wide project rolled out by Toyota, with 600 Prius RHVs also being tested in Japan, the United States, England, Canada and Australia. For EDF it is an opportunity to test the charging facilities in practice. 

“Experiments are essential for assessing technical solutions, usage and economic models”, explains Igor Czerny, EDF’s Electric Transport and Vehicles Director. The Kléber project is the largest experiment of its kind in the world with a fleet of 70 RHVs and 145 charging stations, almost all connected via 3G, to be tested by selected users. The 145 stations are installed in all the places one might expect: at the roadside (8 stations), in public car parks (18), at the vehicle owners’ homes (44) and in the car parks of the businesses where they work (75).

One year into the experiment, the EDF and Toyota teams have analyzed the technical data by gathering the information output by the communicating charging stations, uploading the data recorded in the RHVs during visits to the dealer and analyzing user questionnaires and field surveys.

To manage the remotely metered portion of the charging data from the EDF stations, the sponsors of the Kléber project selected PcVue SCADA software developed by ARC Informatique. “This is a proven and reliable industrial tool that is used to supervise numerous devices in many large-scale projects around the world. Our choice was influenced by its meeting our specified requirements for performance and value for money.” states Thierry Meunier, project manager at EDF Electric Transport and Vehicles. Examples of recent major projects in which the PcVue solution has distinguished itself include that of Iberdrola the Spanish power utility which selected the software to monitor its wind farms that generate 3600 megawatts from 35 separate plants in the USA.

Responsive service by ARC Informatique and the service provider who installed PcVue was also an important factor for the Kléber project. “The contractor’s responsiveness was of prime importance for setting up this programme. The project was only defined in autumn 2009 and kicked off at the start of 2010, which is a very short lead time for one of this size.” stresses EDF’s Thierry Meunier.

The function of the PcVue supervisor is to collect data for transfer to a computer system for analysis. The data are processed directly by PcVue for display in animated views (with mimic diagrams) using pre-defined object symbols that can be instantiated in the mimics. The acquired data are translated into standard PcVue objects and then archived into databases for processing via analytical software such as for spreadsheets.

In the Kléber project, the data acquired by the charging stations are transmitted over a 3G network and managed by PcVue. The database compiled by PcVue using the information collected from them is shared with an EDF central server via a web service. This means that the data can be consulted over the Internet or an intranet via secure access.

The PcVue software keeps a central database for recording the behavior of the charging stations’ users throughout the Strasbourg urban area and for logging the usage of the stations. It also provides real-time management of any charging station that malfunctions, for improving maintenance of the overall system.

The Kléber project is a full-scale experiment based on a fleet of 70 rechargeable hybrid vehicles (Toyota Prius RHV) and 145 charging stations installed by EDF throughout the Strasbourg urban area.

Design software

The new PcVue 10.0 tools, Application Architect and Application Explorer, from ARC Informatique, can save up to 50% in development time over the application´s complete life-cycle. From the design phase right through to testing, from maintenance to re-engineering, they are aimed at all users, from applications developer to occasional user.

These days, the total cost of acquiring a supervisory application is reckoned not just in terms of licensing costs, but also the development time required. Applications change over time, incorporating new functions and improvements; so the cost of upgrades and corrective maintenance must be taken into account. In this respect, PcVue 10.0 is an innovative solution. In addition to providing high-performance tools for easy application design, it includes the tools needed for rapid maintenance: diagnostics, object-oriented modifications, change distribution etc., while ensuring that the specification and behaviour of the application are reliable.

Shipping for the first time with PcVue 10.0, Application Explorer covers all the configuration functions for a supervisory project. It is based on ergonomic rules for systems environments, making PcVue even easier to use. Application Explorer enables the use of tree structures and lists, Multiple Document Interface, Copy/Cut/Paste including sub-items, intuitive navigation within the application, use of previous/next buttons and a range of display options (icons, lists, details etc.), along with standard Windows keyboard shortcuts.

Application Architect is a powerful new tool incorporating high-level mechanisms for templating and re-use of components. With it, you can create re-usable objects including not only graphics, symbols and block diagrams but all the most usual configuration elements too, such as variables, alarms and their associated behaviour: events, archiving, thresholds, commands, scripts etc. Applications can be created in four steps. First there is modelling, which consists of determining the input and output variables, behaviour, graphical representation etc. Then there is configuration, to identify and determine common features and differences across the processes within a template. Next, instantiation consists of describing the structure of the process and the real physical objects in plant terms (motor, conveyor, production line, fan etc.). Finally, there is the customisation stage, where Application Architect enables the developer to modify processes so that they are ideally suited to the particular local setup.

In addition to Application Explorer and Application Architect, the Smart Generators—which enable automatic application generation and imports from external sources—have undergone further improvement in PcVue 10.0. These developments concern LNS®, Siemens STEP7® and Yokogawa® Stardom® connectors and the almost entire import of FactoryLink™ applications.

In addition to this, PcVue 10.0 is built on international energy sector standards: IEC 61850 and its wind-power variant IEC 614000, as well as IEC 60870-5-104. Standard 61850, which is natively integrated into PcVue 10.0, defines all the objects necessary for substation management along with their various attributes. Engineering rules are also defined. In particular, the file formats have been standardised to ensure interoperability in the configuration phase. The IEC 60870-5-104 protocol is used for hydroelectric generation, electricity substations, building management systems, industrial sites, railways etc. It covers data and complex services such as dual control, switch position encoding, short and long pulse controls, and time-stamping at source.

A number of other improvements have also been added to PcVue 10.0: new functions for BACnet, integration of new Ethernet Moxa and General Electric drivers, native SMS integration to improve on-call staff management, new block diagram graphic controls, integration of the latest Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7 and VMware environments.

BMS in ultra-low-energy building in Luxembourg!

This trend-setting building comprises a clinic for physiotherapy and medical muscle-building plus the offices of the builder, Steffen Holzbau. All of the efficiency systems are monitored from a PcVue 9.0 BMS system with remote WebVue access linked to BACnet controllers and communication.

As a specialist in design of wooden buildings, Steffen Holzbau planned and built the facility in cooperation with Sanichaufer based in Luxembourg – where the building is situated – and the contractor GIGA-Automation of Saarbrücken (D). GIGA-Automation is a PcVue Solutions Certified Partner which provides integrated building management systems (IBMS) in Germany and Luxembourg. The BACnet network was developed to rigorous specifications: PcVue for the operator workstation and control system, DDCs from SAIA Burgess with native BACnet communication and a Menerga Control System for the swimming pool and therapy controls.

The building conforms to the Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency with minimum ecological footprint. The clinical and administrative areas have each been optimized for ultra-low energy usage across several kinds of heating and cooling. Two central ventilation systems provide sterilized air to both areas. The cooling and heating plant uses special convector systems built into the floors and arranged in front of the window surfaces.

The ventilation is equipped with efficient heat recovery systems and adiabatic cooling. There are approximately 50 m² of solar panels on the roof for hot water production and heating support. As backup for the solar water heating (140 kW) both the ventilation and the pool heating are assisted by woodchip boilers (100 kW) and an oil-burning system.

The therapy pool of high-grade steel has a water treatment plant installed to ensure water quality. The pool is equipped with a countercurrent feature and underwater massage nozzles. Space heating and dehumidifying of the swimming-pool area are achieved with a special air handling unit.

PcVue 9.0 combines the data from those systems and from 65 sensors at various points in the façade, roof and outer surface of the building to measure temperature and in some cases humidity. The results are sent to a laboratory for evaluation to assess the influence of external conditions on the internal environment and thus help to optimize the building’s energy performance.

For complete control of the clinical and office areas the BACnet EDE-File Import process populates the PcVue database automatically. The BACnet communication gives access to 2,000 BACnet I/O points in total. The project also includes BACnet Scheduling for the pool heating cycle. Historical data will be archived using Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Reporting is via SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services (SRSS) for data exchange with scientific institutions, including spreadsheet export for the energy analysis.