The main wastewater treatment plant in Vienna intends to cover its entire energy demand with self-produced sewage gas by the year 2020 as wastewater treatment plants belong to the biggest local energy consumers. Therefore, the operating company started the project E_OS (Energy_Optimisation Sludge Treatment) in 2013. The wastewater treatment plant which is located in the 11th area of Vienna is dimensioned for four million inhabitants and was put into operation in 1980.

In the course of the energetic optimisation a large part of the wastewater treatment plant is modernised and equipped with highly efficient energetic propulsion and control systems. Therefore, the Berching-based Huber SE received the order to replace six multi-rake screens together with wash presses by current machines which are more productive and in particular more energy-efficient. Further six Huber RakeMax with a gap size of three millimeters and the corresponding wash presses WAP HD 8 will be installed for an additional fine screen level.

Successful cooperation

The entire control technology of the twelve new screens and wash presses – they already work with highly efficient PMSM motors – comes from SPANGLER Automation. And that is not all: “Our plants are both connected to the SCADA system and integrated into the emergency stop concept of the entire first cleaning stage,” Daniel Eichenseer, Project Manager, reports.

Five construction phases have already been completed and the plants for the sixth phase have been delivered for which the start-up and the trial operation are expected soon. Both the project’s dimension and the organisational process are a challenge for all persons involved as the five-year-long reconstruction of the main wastewater treatment plant is taking place during ongoing operation. Here the long-term cooperation between both companies Huber and SPANGLER pays off once again.

Current developments and future challenges were the focus of this year’s SPANGLER Automation Day which was organised by SPANGLER together with suppliers and partner companies on 14 September. About 40 guests heard interesting presentations, exchanged views and informed themselves about the latest constructive solutions at an in-house exhibition.

Insight for specialists

The presentations covered a wide range of topics and were addressed to all local specialists who deal with SPANGLER control technology for water treatment every day. The experts of SPANGLER reported on the modernisation (retrofit) of the plant control of a wastewater treatment plant and gave tips and tricks for the navigation in a wiring diagram. FlowChief GmbH, specialist for process control engineering and energy management located in Fürth, dealt with the digitalisation in the water management while Huber SE located in Berching examined energy-efficient drives for the wastewater treatment. The lecture presented by Endress + Hauser was about optimisation of production processes by using intelligent sensors.

During the breaks the guests had the opportunity to look at the exhibition stands or to synchronise speed and sense of balance on a Segway course. Anyone who had become curious about the practice after the theory at the end of the day was able to take a look behind the scenes of the SPANGLER Manufacturing Department together with Service Manager Helmut Weigl.

The best ideas, the largest volumes of data, the most sophisticated structures are of little use if you cannot understand them or hardly find them again within the system. Therefore, SPANGLER Automation has used the system EPLAN for years to plan projects, to visualise designs and to arrange production and assembly processes. By means of the SPANGLER Documentation System there is a clear documentation at the end where all necessary information is available online for the customer worldwide.

Wiring diagrams based on EPLAN

A speciality of SPANGLER is to offer the design of wiring diagrams based on EPLAN as service. Not only does the creation of master data, such as 3D graphics macros and article data, drilling patterns and connection diagrams or standard sheets and forms belong to this range of services but also the adjustment of the as-built plan. “We retrofit them from another system to EPLAN, update them to the latest version or increase their quality standard,” Rainer Meier, System Administrator Engineering (EPLAN Key User), describes the SPANGLER CAE SERVICE. “We also integrate the colleagues from EPLAN Consulting in our projects, if required, and therefore achieve a particularly high degree of efficiency.”

It results in a level of innovation that numerous renowned customers appreciate: SPANGLER supports, among other things, the Munich-based compressor manufacturer Bauer in the master data maintenance. For the transformer manufacturer SGB in Regensburg SPANGLER creates wiring diagrams.

A close cooperation with a strong partner is very important to be able to use the technological progress and the innovations in the automation and propulsion technology for the benefit of the customers. Since 2009 SPANGLER Automation has therefore been a certified member in the Siemens Solution Partner Program.

Both know-how and competence of the partners are certified in audits. One criterion is the experience and the quality when planning and performing projects. In these points the automation specialist from Töging regularly convinces with successfully completed reference projects.

Direct connections

Another important part of the program is the exchange at expert level. “We are in direct contact with Siemens so that we are able to solve even complex tasks fast and successfully,” Tina Lambert, SPANGLER Managing Director, emphasises the value of cooperation.

Siemens informs its partners about new products and solutions at regular intervals and also checks their know-how and technical competence. “Only in September 2016 two employees from SPANGLER Automation have successfully passed these exams,” Markus Birkhan, Siemens Sales Manager, explains.