AXXELA LIMITED ENTERPRISE SCADA
CASE STUDY
(DECEMBER 2023 – PRESENT)
Axxela Limited is a major Gas Supplier to Industrial Facilities in different parts of Nigeria and the West African region. This is done through a pipeline network with Pressure Reduction and Metering Stations (PRMS) located at the customer facilities. This project for Axxela limited involved the deployment of Remote Terminal Unite (RTU) panels at over 100 gas stations to facilitate real-time data collection and monitoring. The captured data was integrated with Ignition SCADA system, enabling seamless communication, analysis, and visualization for improved decision-making and operational efficiency.
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THEIR NEED
Their operations require accurate monitoring critical parameters like pressure, temperature, flow rate and volume consumption. This ensures accurate metering and billing as well as timely incidence response when parameters deviate from pre-defined thresholds. Electronic Volume Converters (EVC) located in each customer facility are used to capture these parameters.
Their desire was to have a web-based enterprise level SCADA system that would enable them capture the readings from the remote sites as well as the ability to remotely shut down stations or modify station parameters if required. The system was also required to be seamlessly integrated into their ERP for customer invoicing and general planning
OUR SOLUTION
Zip Automations installed RTUs in 100+ locations to capture the data from the meters through the Modbus RTU protocol. The data was sent to a central server through a cloud broker with the MQTT protocol. The Ignition SCADA Platform acquired the data through the Cirrus Link Modules for visualization, storage and analysis.
KEY FEATURES
The Ignition platform provided us with the tools to develop an enterprise level SCADA that provides insight into the live values from a customer as well as the performance over any given period through well-defined KPIs. The system also generates scheduled reports to specific personnel, removing the need for manual generation and emailing of reports as with some other SCADA systems
The Ignition platform provided us with the tools to develop an enterprise level SCADA that provides insight into the live values from a customer as well as the performance over any given period through well-defined KPIs. The system also generates scheduled reports to specific personnel, removing the need for manual generation and emailing of reports as with some other SCADA systems.
The clients also receive alarms whenever values deviate from the acceptable thresholds. The alarms are disseminated through email and third applications like telegram through APIs.
Security was an important consideration at all layers of the system. The data from the edge is encrypted through TLS (Transport Layer Security) and user names and passwords for authorization. Role Based Access was also incorporated into the system to ensure that access is only granted to personnel based on their authorization levels.
Multifactor Authentication and integration to Axxela’s identity provider was also built into the system to prevent unauthorized access.
As an Ignition certified systems integrator, Zip Automations was able to bring our expertise across several domains such as Control systems design, SCADA systems, networking and cybersecurity to develop a world class and highly scalable solution that has markedly improved the efficiency of Axxela’s operations.