Fernwasserversorgung Franken (FWF) – Automatic Meter Reading for improved efficiency and better customer service

Supplying drinking water in excellent quality to private households, industry and commerce, to the cities and municipalities in the area is the main objective of Fernwasserversorgung Franken, established in 1951. It’s supply area currently comprises 6 rural provinces in Bavaria’s Lower and Central Franken area.
18 Mio m³ of water are provided annually through the companies 1.100+ km distribution network

The Project: „Automatic Reading of Bulk Meters“
Until recently 640 bulk water meters had to be read within the last two days of each month by 8 teams of two people each, a considerable effort. To largely reduce this effort while at the same time increasing the accuracy and timeliness of the reading FWF has built in the course of 2005 a network of 570 Adcon wireless telemetry stations to automatically retreve consumption data of all bulk meters in the companies supply area.

The projects major targets where to:
- provide exact consumption data on the last of every month at   12pm,
- gain better understanding of consumption development by   easily comparing annual consumption patterns with each   other, and
- make better use of manpower for more important and   pressing issues than meter reading.

Mission achieved!

Despite the size of the supply area (4.700 km²) even the most remote meter is connected, with the Adcon RTU network routing such data from station to station back to base. Every 15 minutes the company’s control center at Uffenheim (see picture to the right) receives updated data.

A major aspect was the integration of the Adcon system into the company’s control system. Understandably so, since this largely reduced the training effort for the staff.

Nonetheless FWF will use Adcon’s addVANTAGE Pro software in parallel to provide better services to its customers by publishing the data on the internet. Since March 1, 2006, cities, villages and industrial clients, purchasing water from FWF, are able to monitor their water consumption online and in real time. Protected by their respective username and password each customer can react indefinitely much faster to unusual consumption patterns or indications of leaks. The advantages are evident: fixing leaks faster reduces their monthly water bills, eliminates supply ruptures and last not least helps protecting the environment. The Adcon radio network is already well prepared for future tasks that FWF is planning to implement, like monitoring pipeline pressure, unauthorized access to manholes, probably even ground water monitoring.

The companies Managing Director, Mr. J. Rautenberg, sums it up:

- For our customers it is of the utmost importance to receive an accurate and timely statement of the water quantities supplied by us – data and invoices they can rely on. Running such a large water supply operation economically and safely requires a lot of effort for inspection and maintenance. By using the Adcon radio system we have managed to free up valuable time of our staff that is now invested in maintenance work. Furthermore the system has largely facilitated our monthly invoicing procedures; collecting data automatically has sped up processing significantly while at the same time avoiding errors caused by manually reading and entering data.

- But the system not only operates to our but also to our customers advantage. Being able to retrieve their own data in real-time via the internet they enjoy a number of benefits: no need for frequent inspections of their pipeline access points, no need for their own data loggers to read their meters, fast reaction to leakages in their own distribution area, and thus large savings at the end of the month.

- The official inauguration of the system took place at the end of March of 2006, using the opportunity of the annual "Day of Water" information event. We have tested and double tested the system to make sure that all data arrives timely and correctly at our web site. Since word has spread around about this system amongst the cities and municipalities in the region we have already received numerous requests for future applications. The Adcon system and its benefits were well received by our clients and the public.