The Complete Picture

FlowView pulls flow, level and rainfall data together in an intuitive system that makes managing your collections system much easier.
The Complete Picture
FlowView puts flow, level and rainfall monitor data from wastewater collections systems at your fingertips in an accessible, easy-to-use dashboard that makes system management more efficient.

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It’s Saturday evening. You’re out for dinner but there’s a big storm rolling through. Do you know what’s happening in your collections system, and will you be able to respond to changing conditions before they grow out of control?

You can have monitors collecting data all over your system, but if you can’t pull all that information together and view it in real time, you might just be watching a disaster happen instead of preventing it.

That’s why ADS has developed FlowView, a web application built to support management, engineering and operational decisions. FlowView connects clients to an ADS monitoring network, delivering near real-time operational intelligence on the status of the wastewater collections system.

We recently spoke with ADS product manager Kevin Enfinger about the new application and what it can do to improve operations for waste-
water utilities.

MSW: What is the philosophy behind the development of FlowView?

Enfinger: The philosophy behind FlowView is simple: put flow monitor, level monitor and rainfall monitor data from wastewater collections systems at your fingertips in an accessible, easy-to-use manner so you can manage your collections system effectively.

MSW: Can you give me an overview of the system’s capabilities?

Enfinger: FlowView connects clients to an ADS monitoring network, delivering near real-time operational intelligence on the status of the wastewater collections system. This state-of-the-art system provides knowledge and early detection of potential problems. It offers dynamic analytical functions for fueling discoveries that will lead to enhanced management of the sewer collections system. FlowView performs data retrieval, storage, alarm management and information presentation functions.

MSW: What are the advantages of this software platform over other available options?

Enfinger: FlowView offers seamless integration with ADS monitors and is designed to provide near real-time delivery of a variety of alarms. Alarms can be configured for low level, full pipe, high level, high-high level, and overflow conditions, as well as flow loss alarms. In addition, device status alarms including low battery alarms and tilt alarms (for ADS ECHO-level alarms) can also be configured.

MSW: What types of system monitoring devices can be integrated with the platform?

Enfinger: FlowView integrates data from wireless ADS flow monitors, level monitors and rainfall monitors.

MSW: Is this platform compatible with flow monitoring equipment from other manufacturers?

Enfinger: No. Although historical data from other flow monitoring equipment from other manufacturers can be imported into FlowView, the application is designed primarily to work with ADS monitors.

MSW: How is real-time information from system infrastructure relayed to the system?  

Enfinger: Scheduled data transfers and asynchronous alarm events are relayed to FlowView via 3G/4G wireless communications.

MSW: Walk me through the setup for a typical utility.

Enfinger: FlowView setup is performed by ADS. The process is simple and painless.

MSW: How is information stored and shared between users?

Enfinger: Monitor data is archived in a web-accessible database, eliminating the need to store, back up or organize flow monitor data. Leverage the data within FlowView using existing reports and graphs, or export data as needed to other applications such as hydraulic models and spreadsheets.

MSW: What’s the biggest advantage of pulling all of this information into a single dashboard view?

Enfinger: The centerpiece of the FlowView Dashboard is a feature-rich map interface. Of all of the displays we use in our daily lives, people can most readily relate to a map. At a glance, the map interface lets FlowView users see not only where their monitors are located, but also their alarm status.

Supporting information is also close at hand, just a click or two away. The map-based dashboard interface is intuitive and easy to use. You can quickly assess system conditions and drill down to sites with alarm conditions.

FlowView helps operators understand capacity-related concerns with percentage-full reporting and graphics. It facilitates routine reporting for billing networks, regulatory reporting and more. It also gives your engineers and engineering consultants direct access to monitor data for engineering planning and design efforts.

MSW: Are all of the dashboard’s capabilities available when users receive system alerts on mobile devices?

Enfinger: FlowView users can receive system alerts via text message, email, or directly through the FlowView web application. System alerts can be acknowledged or cleared via the FlowView web application viewed on any of the most commonly used modern web browsers, including those used on iOS and Android devices.

MSW: How is system monitoring improved with FlowView?

Enfinger: Flow, level and rainfall monitors generate a tremendous amount of data. FlowView improves system monitoring by managing this data and placing it at people’s fingertips to keep a pulse on conditions within the system and react to developments as they occur. Insight is provided through the map interface, as well as a variety of easy-to-use reports and graphs.

MSW: Is the platform aimed at larger utilities, or can it still be cost-effective for small utilities?

Enfinger: The FlowView platform works for utilities of all sizes. It’s a web application and is priced with a setup fee and a monthly fee thereafter, based on the number of monitors configured in FlowView.

MSW: What sort of support does ADS provide?

Enfinger: ADS provides support to its clients in a variety of ways. Technical support for FlowView is provided by our support center.



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