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PITTSBURGH (October 2, 2004) — Emerson
Process Management’s PlantWeb® digital plant architecture
with the Ovation® expert control system can help water and
wastewater facilities manage the regulatory reporting process by
serving as the foundation for sharing operational data throughout
the organization. The PlantWeb digital solution uses intelligent
field devices networked with the Ovation expert control system
to enhance the availability, reliability and performance of water
and wastewater operations.
"Putting the wealth of information needed for any report
into one place makes it much easier to generate reports that are
required now, as well as those that will be required in the future,” said
Doug Johnson, water/wastewater business development manager, Emerson
Process Management, Power & Water Solutions.
"A number of larger cities rely on Emerson technology in
their water and wastewater operations as part of a good automation
master plan,” said Johnson. “They are finding it much
easier to pull together information when, where and how it is needed
so that they can meet today’s stringent reporting requirements.”
PlantWeb and Ovation: A Central Resource for Regulatory
Reporting
Today, water and wastewater industries are
facing a growing number of complex regulations.
From an environmental
standpoint, the EPA’s Office of Wastewater
Management has added numerous programs and policies to promote
compliance with the Clean Water Act. These include the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting program, the
Combined Sewer Overflow Policy, and the proposed Sanitary Sewer
Overflow Policy – all of which have implications for environmental
reporting.
Meanwhile, on the financial front, GASB No. 34 (Government
Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34, “Basic Financial
Statements – and
Management’s Discussion and Analysis – for State and
Local Governments) now requires governments to define the value
of all assets and report depreciation and other expenses. As many
municipalities invest public funds to automate their treatment
facilities, water distribution systems and wastewater collection
systems, management of those automation assets becomes an important
element of compliance to this regulation.
Two additional regulations – Title
IV or the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – are
also expected to impact the industry for years to come.
These diverse regulations have one thing in common: they all
call for access to operational data to fulfill the reporting requirements.
In many organizations, financial and operational information resides
on separate – and often incompatible – systems. This
makes it difficult and time consuming to obtain the necessary combination
of information required for reporting. According to Johnson, as
time goes on and regulations increase in number and complexity,
it will become even more important for the water and wastewater
industries to bring these disparate “islands of information” together.
Of course, developing and implementing an automation master plan,
which is the basis for this type of integration, is a process and
takes place over time. The key is to plan ahead.
"Emerson’s Ovation and PlantWeb technologies are
proven solutions for enabling the industry to move down the path
toward an integrated information infrastructure,” said Johnson. “The
alternative – possible non-compliance – is a very high
price to pay for not laying the foundation now to integrate financial
and operational data throughout the organization.”
About Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Management (www.emersonprocess.com),
an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate
their production, processing and distribution in the power, water
and wastewater treatment, chemical, oil and gas, refining, pulp
and paper, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and other industries.
Emerson's Power & Water Solutions division (www.emersonprocess-powerwater.com)
is a global supplier of advanced distributed process control and
information systems. The Pittsburgh-based company is a recognized
leader in developing plant-wide process control solutions for the
power generation, water treatment and wastewater treatment industries.
Power & Water Solutions
plays a key role in the Emerson mission of combining superior products
and technology with industry-specific engineering, consulting,
project management and maintenance services. Emerson brands include:
PlantWeb®; Ovation®; SmartProcess®;
Fisher®; MicroMotion®; Rosemount®; Daniel®;
DeltaV™ ; and AMS™ Suite.
About Emerson
St. Louis-based Emerson (www.gotoemerson.com)
is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together
to provide innovative solutions to customers in process control;
electronics and telecommunications; industrial automation; heating,
ventilating and air conditioning; and appliance and tools. Sales
in fiscal 2003 were $14 billion.
# # #
Ovation, SureService, SmartProcess, PlantWeb, Fisher, Micro
Motion, Rosemount, Daniel, AMS™ Suite and DeltaV™ are
marks of Emerson Process Management. Other marks are the property
of their respective owners.
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