VEGA’s sensor technology is providing improved safety and efficiency of operations at Cleanaway’s St Marys site.
Cleanaway’s St Marys Liquids and Technical Waste Services treatment facility in Sydney’s west processes hazardous solid waste for developers, infrastructure businesses and waste companies.
The team has developed its own wastewater treatment plant, something Branch Manager Nethan Kana says allows them to evolve and upgrade as waste streams or treatment processes change.
“We are a NSW EPA licenced facility that treats hazardous solid waste, such as contaminated soils and drill mud – we’re the only licenced processor of asbestos contaminated drill mud in the state,” he says. According to Nethan, protecting the environment is paramount to Cleanaway, and when dealing with any hazardous waste, the prevention of overflows or spills is critical. He says Cleanaway facilities are expected to ensure compliance with the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act, as well as social and community expectations.
When the Cleanaway St Marys team was looking to streamline and strengthen its stormwater and treated water management with sensor technology, Nethan reached out to VEGA’s Tony Scarborough – NSW Business Development Manager – on a recommendation from the staff at Cleanaway’s nearby South Windsor site.
“Tony came in, he was able to consult on the project, and provide a scalable and upgradable solution,” Nethan says. Nethan knew from the beginning that Tony understood the liquid wastewater treatment process, operational challenges, and what the Cleanaway team wanted to achieve on site. He also knew exactly which off-the-shelf products VEGA could supply to minimise disruption.
“Not only does he know exactly what the VEGA products can do, but he knows exactly where the limitations are, which is very important,” Nethan says.
Once Cleanaway St Marys decided to go ahead with the VEGA set-up, Tony was there every step of the way.
“To be honest, if he had just said ‘this is the product you need’ and left the rest to somebody else, I don’t think we would have progressed beyond that first consultation,” Nethan says.
“Tony provided technical support to our electrical contractors, and he commissioned and calibrated the sensors himself. He also managed the installation of the software, set up all the emergency notifications, and provided training to our staff. He handled it all for us.”
The set-up
Cleanaway’s St Marys site uses VEGA technology for two main applications. The first is for its stormwater pit, where surface and stormwater run-off is collected and tested in accordance with the site’s stormwater management plan, before being released offsite.
Here, Tony installed a VEGAPULS 21 compact radar sensor for continuous level measurement, along with a PLICSMOBILE T81 radio telemetry unit. When the site is unmanned, or during extreme weather events, the system can send email and SMS notifications to key personnel to alert them when the pit is full and needs releasing.
“It’s an invaluable part of our stormwater management on the site,” Nethan says. “If we have a sudden thunderstorm, or we haven’t opened up a valve, we are alerted to the risk of overflows straight away.”
The second is for the site’s wastewater tanks – an essential part of the processing of contaminated drill mud. Mud is dewatered with a series of screens and sieves, then the water is treated to make it suitable discharge via a trade waste agreement.
Each of the site’s tanks is also equipped with a VEGAPULS 21 level sensor, which connects to a VEGAMET 841 for local monitoring. One of the tanks, located a short distance from the others, has its signal relayed between two VEGAMET 841 units so it can be monitored together with the rest in a single location.
This tank is also connected to its own PLICSMOBILE T81 for alerts. The remaining three are networked via VEGAMET 624 ethernet controllers.
“This set-up eliminates the need for the manual checking of each tank level,” Nethan says.
“We don’t have to climb up and look inside the tank, so we’re not working at heights. It makes the whole operation more reliable, efficient, and far safer for our operational staff.”
The whole system is accessible through the VEGA Tools mobile app, as well as Cleanaway’s computers via VEGA’s cloud-based VIS (VEGA Inventory System).
“This system provides that extra level of protection,” Nethan says. “If there’s a malfunction or some unforeseen incident, it helps prevent contaminated water escaping, which could require a costly clean up.”
Sensing the future
Nethan says a big strength of VEGA’s measurement solutions is their flexibility and adaptability.
“We’ve developed our treatment system through our own research and development, and we’re in the process of automating it,” he says.
“With the equipment that Tony’s provided, as our system is fully automated, the VEGA set-up can adapt.
“And that’s because he really understood our motivation. He’s got the background; he’s got years of experience. He knew exactly where to position everything to get the most reliable, accurate data – as well as the best way to ensure everything was compliant.”
Nethan says Tony’s ongoing support has also been invaluable – whether in providing additional training or telephone support.
“We weren’t driven by price on this particular project,” Nethan says. “It was about the service, and the quality of the componentry. And the VEGA sensors provide that reliability, day in day out. It’s just set and forget thanks to VEGA’s ongoing support.”
For more information, visit: www.vega.com/en-au
Related stories:
A sense of control: VEGAPULS 6X
Pump shafts and flow measurement: VEGA
.png){kind=small}
