Project overview

What’s the best way to monitor 60+ Sporting Field Lights?

The client for this project is responsible for the one of the largest urban areas in Australia. The council required a monitoring solution for 60+ sporting field lights around the council.

SGA was contracted to set up a wireless and cost-effective network that would be accessible for users without SCADA experience. Users required the ability to monitor and control all remote sites from remote computer and mobile.

This particular council is responsible for the sixth largest urban area in Australia. The Council area is 1681 square kilometers with a current population of 341,000.

The council was looking for a solution to monitor and control 60+ sporting field lights around the council. The sites would need to connect to a wireless and cost effective network.

The SCADA system would need to be easily accessible to operators from computer and mobile devices with an intuitive layout to allow users with little to no experience with SCADA systems to monitor and control all remote sites.

The solution was a perspective-based ignition project built to support easy visualization using mobile, tablet or desktop. The DNP3 protocol is used to transfer real-time and buffered event data across the 4G network to prevent data loss and ensure critical alarms are reported to SCADA immediately through unsolicited messaging.

A combination of Siemens S7-1200 PLCs and Schneider SCADAPack RTUs were installed onsite to control the field lights whilst communicating to the SCADA system for Time of Day Scheduling, alarming, statistical reporting and remote debugging and control. Maxom 4GX modems are used to connect the PLCs/RTUs to the SCADA server through a secure VPN tunnel.

Lighting run hours and power usage are combined into a report to automate the client billing process and can be generated from a user-friendly interface from SCADA or routinely at the end of every month.

Billing reports and alarms are sent to multiple clients through email notification.

SGA’s Involvement

Delivering an easy-to-use perspective-based ignition project

The solution was a flexible ignition system designed for seamless visualisation across mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Lighting run hours and energy use are automatically compiled into detailed reports that streamline billing and improve accuracy. Reports can be generated directly through the SCADA interface or scheduled to send at the end of each month. Automated email notifications deliver billing summaries and alerts to clients, ensuring smooth communication and timely updates.

The solution delivered by SGA allows the client to:

  • Remotely monitor all sites in real-time
  • Easily configure and control sites
  • Respond immediately to faults via email alerts
  • Automatically generate supporting reports for field usage bills
  • Delivered scalable SCADA access and reporting for two council clients managing multiple lighting sites.
  • Integrated a MySQL database to support data storage, retrieval, and reporting functions.
  • Programmed and tested alarm conditions to ensure accurate and reliable alerting across 180+ field points.
  • Configured over 31,000 tags, 40 screens, and 110 interactive popups to support live system monitoring and control.
  • Wirelessly connected over 60 field lights across the council’s region to a central SCADA system via a 4G network.
  • Designed and implemented a perspective-based ignition project that supports easy visualisation via mobile, tablet and/or desktop.
  • Enabled real-time communication and critical alarm notifications via DNP3.
  • Minimised data loss by optimising DNP3’s unsolicited messaging and buffered event data capabilities.
  • Implemented a secure VPN tunnel to connect PLCs/RTUs to the SCADA server via Maxom 4GX modems.
  • Combined individual light statistics (e.g., run time, power usage) into reports for individual council clients using the fields.
  • Directed automatic billing reports via email to multiple clients.
  • Configured historical trending of field light statuses, including operation information such as how a light got switched on (e.g., key switch, auto-on, SCADA manual command).
  • Conducted face-to-face meetings with the client to showcase progress, discuss challenges, and ensure effective communication throughout the project.
  • Ignition SCADA project
  • 23x Siemens S7-1200 PLCs
  • 38x Schneider SCADAPack RTUs
  • 61x Maxon 4GX Modems
  • Automated report and client billing
  • MySQL Database
  • Real-time remote monitoring
  • 2 clients, 31,000+ tags, 40 screens,
  • 110 popups, 180 alarms planned, programmed, and tested