S2E8 -From South Platte Renew to Switzerland: Innovating the Future of Water

Welcome everyone to the Park Innovation Flow podcast where we talk about projects and research that we're doing here at the park program for South Platte Renew. I'm your host Blair Corning and I'm here with a great guest today, Joe Morissette. He is the manager of EINC here at South Platte Renew. Thanks for being here, Joe.

Thank you.

Joe has got some great stories about a trip, a journey he recently went on. And what was behind that journey. But before we get to that, maybe you could just introduce yourself and kind of give the listeners a little bit of your background and how you got to where you are.

Sure. So I've been working at South Platte Renew for about 17 years. As far as my career goes, I have— I've been in the electrical industry since the '90s, and that has progressively gone gone from industrial electrical installations to instrumentation and controls, and that's really the main focus that our group does today. So yeah, the level of technology that I've seen change over the past 25, 30 years has really kind of brought us to a lot of the relevant topics that we're going to discuss today.

Cool. Well, it is good to have you. prepped you with an icebreaker question to get the ball rolling, and what I came up with was if you had guests in town, what restaurant would you take them to to give them a memorable experience? So you got any good recommendations?

Yeah, one of my favorite restaurants right now is a restaurant named Annette.

Annette?

Yes, it's in the Stanley Marketplace. It's a really, really good restaurant. The chef owner has Recently won a James Beard Award.

Wow.

And the restaurant is hoping to get their first Michelin star this year. And everything they do is— they just hit it out of the park. Their menu changes about every month and a half, and everything they do just makes it worth keeping coming back. And I would definitely take somebody there if they were here from out of town.

Cool. I'm gonna have to try that. What kind of food is it? All kinds or Italian?

It's American. It's scratch to table. So yeah, pretty much they have, they have some pastas that are rotating, but they have a lot of pork tenderloin steaks, just real different American fare varieties. But it's, it's all top-notch.

Cool. Yeah. Thanks for the recommendation. I might have to check that out this weekend. But let's get to the, the questions at hand. I want to talk about this trip you went on. So can you talk a little bit about what you were doing in Switzerland and how you came to be there?

Yeah, so our primary instrumentation provider is Endress+Hauser, and they every 3 years do what's called a Global Forum conference there in Switzerland, which is where their headquarters are. And the goal of that conference is to bring end users and vendors from around the world to be able to not just interact and network with each other, learn different perspectives, but to also get face time with the company's board of directors, their lead engineers, their key decision makers. And they're able to reach or have direct access to the customer to find out what's working well, what's not working well, and what Endress+Hauser can do as a company to improve their service to their customers.

Cool. All right. Well, before we get to— and I really want to dig in on Switzerland because I've never been there, so I want to hear all about it. But before we do that, can you tell the listeners a little bit about why communication instrumentation, that kind of technology, those kind of systems are important to a utility like South Platte Renew or other utilities?

Yeah. The theme of this conference was sustainably driving digital transformation together.

Okay.

And the reason that that's a relevant topic is how fast technology is changing. What we can do with data that we can capture is evolving very quickly because of AI and other things. But one thing I learned in this effort is that globally, Less than 5% of all water and wastewater utilities globally are on digital communication platforms for their instrumentation systems.

I would never have guessed that.

Yeah, and that's very limiting. When you look at the technology that is here and the technology that is coming, there is an inevitable transformation that's going to have to happen with these utilities. And that was That was a large focus of this conference.

Cool. What is the benefit of being digital as opposed to analog and how— what's the difference and what's the benefit of that?

Well, that's a loaded question. There's a lot of benefits. Just from a footprint standpoint, you know, if you take a legacy analog system and you have 50 instruments in an area, you're gonna have 50 cables going back to your control cabinet.

Mm-hmm.

But with digital communication, you can have those 50 instruments and they will tie into one cable and all be able to communicate not just the process value that you get over analog, but you're gonna get diagnostic codes and a lot of other troubleshooting and calibration data that is coming across the network very, very quickly. and with digital communication protocols, it's two-way. So it's not just an instrument telling you a process value, it's you having the ability to remotely configure instrumentation. So now you're able to manage a much larger infrastructure with a smaller staff. So there's financial benefits to that too.

Cool. You said instrumentation, Communication protocols, right? What, what, what does that mean? Can you describe what that is?

Well, a protocol is just a fancy way of saying language. When we talk about Ethernet cable or Ethernet APL, those are actually just physical medias. That's the physical cable that, that communication travels on. Protocol is literally what language is being spoken over that cable. And so different industries Different industries use different protocols, and that's really just what it boils down to. It's just a language type.

And what kind of data is coming over these lines? What kind of instrumentation? What's instrumentation, a few examples, and what kind of data is being sent?

So our process instrumentation At South Platte consists of pressure, level, flow, temperature, a lot of analytical stuff. And so the key values are the process value that's coming across. But there's a lot of other diagnostic codes and status codes that you can get if an instrument fails. It has the capability to send a code across the network and say, I have a broken diaphragm, or my decibel strength on my sensor is too weak to give you a value. All of those things become available when you are using digital communication protocols that go way beyond just a process value.

Yeah, so it helps you diagnose or run the plant a little tighter, diagnose issues a little better.

Yeah, much more predictive and preventive than reactive.

Okay, cool. Well, can you tell us a little bit about— you did a presentation at this conference, which I can see why they, they got you, because Joe is one of the best in the business at EINC at what he does, which we find a lot here at South Platte Renew. We always have the best, the leaders in the business here, which is why it's great to work here. But can you tell us a little bit about the presentation that you put on?

Yeah, so One of the reasons that I was invited to participate in a presentation, especially on this digital transformation, was about 20 years ago, Southplat was one of the first, if not the first utility in the United States to go through that digital transformation of leaving behind analog systems and jumping in with both feet on digital communication. We went with PROFIBUS for all of our instrumentation. We went with DeviceNet for our VFDs and our smart MCCs. And so really because of being early adopters and having 20 years of experience in this effort, Endress+Hauser, because they've had such a long partnership with us, they were well aware of this and they thought that it would be very useful for someone that's in the role of an end user or customer to be able to speak to their entire customer base that may have not made this jump yet and to speak to the value and the benefits, you know, some of the pros and cons of what we went through, because there's always growing pains.

Yeah.

But they just really wanted somebody that was in the role of an end user to be able to speak directly to their other customers.

Cool. So 20 years ago, and this is the part where only 5% are digital worldwide. South Platte Renew did that 20 years ago, and now you're further migrating to an even more advanced digital technology?

Yeah, so, you know, 20 years ago, PROFIBUS was brand new.

And what is that? Is that an acronym?

It's, it's, it's an abbreviation of a phrase. PROFIBUS is short for Process Fieldbus.

Okay.

So fieldbus technology is some of the earlier legacy digital communication. The best way that I can differentiate it from Ethernet is if you look at, if you take PROFIBUS or any fieldbus technology, think about communication on a walkie-talkie. You can either talk on a walkie-talkie or you can listen, but you can't ever do both.

Mm-hmm.

Fieldbus technology in a nutshell. You can only either send or receive on that cable. With Ethernet, imagine being in a room and being able to talk to one person or talk to a group of people or talk to the whole room and people can talk back to you at the same time.

Uh-huh.

That's Ethernet communication in a nutshell and it happens much faster. So it's a much more efficient way to communicate and you can accomplish much more, much more quickly. And so that's why it is taking over some of these legacy networks that have really performed well over the years, but they do have some limitations. And these newer networks like South Platte is in the process of migrating from PROFIBUS to Ethernet APL. The reason that we're doing that is because fieldbus networks are going away. You're starting to see manufacturers come out with the latest version of instrumentation and they're not offering PROFIBUS anymore.

Yeah.

And so they're kind of forcing you to move into this more modern means of communicating, even if you've been on digital communication protocols over the past 20 years. There's still new technology coming out that we have to stay current with and plan for and really stay forward thinking.

Yeah, it's like when you get the new iPhone and it has a different cord plug-in thing and you got to get a new cord and you got to get new chargers and all that.

You don't really have a choice. Yeah.

Yeah, what are the drawbacks of not doing that? What are the drawbacks of not going digital or not keeping up with the, the times as far as digital technology?

Well, the thing that I just mentioned is it's going to get more and more difficult for you to find the instruments that you need that communicate over these legacy networks. Yeah, so it's going to be more difficult to support whatever critical infrastructure that you may be responsible for. So that's one really big reason. Some of the other drawbacks to not I mean, if you're still on analog, the drawbacks are obvious. All the advantages that we've discussed with the 2-way communication, remote configuration, all this additional data that can come across the network, none of that's available to you on analog networks.

Yeah.

So that's a drawback if you try to stay on that. But yeah, if you're on some of these legacy networks like PROFIBUS, It's going to get more and more difficult for you to support your infrastructure because you're just not going to be able to get those replacements that will connect to that network.

Yeah, yeah, it is, uh, amazing, at least in my opinion, and I want to hear yours, but how much— you know, I started this business in '98, I guess, and how much it— we used to— when I first got there, there was a big round chart on the wall in this like marker recorded flow. And, you know, the thing turned around and the flow went up and down, which moved the marker. And, uh, that was the instrument, you know. But now it's like things have changed so fast. That wasn't very long ago, but it's totally different today.

Yeah, well, technology does change fast. And, you know, it's— it can be difficult to stay on that leading edge. Yeah, I can remember when we first installed PROFIBUS at South Platte. we were so lost because we'd never, we'd never really done anything with it. And as we experienced problems with it, there was, there was no phone number that we could call and just get PROFIBUS tech support.

Yeah.

Like, we literally had to figure it out ourselves. And we certainly didn't have phones in our hands that we could look up and have, you know, endless amounts of data at a moment's notice like we have now. But But yeah, these new forms of technology are coming out. Growth is uncomfortable, but growth never happens within your comfort zone. So you just have to do it, but there's a lot of benefits if you do. Yeah.

Have you learned anything or can you give any advice as far as managing change? It seems like a huge change for plants, for staff. for the technology. I'm sure there's a skill in managing all that. You got any tips for the listeners on how to do that, managing new technology and people's hesitation and just the not knowing a lot of answers, you know?

Yeah, I'll tell you what my secret is. I find the smartest people in the industry and I surround myself with them.

Nice.

There are a lot of really, really intelligent people that know an incredible amount about this subject and this industry, and that's who I have to learn from.

Yeah.

I mean, there's an element of strategic planning and being able to message this to your executive management team so that you can make sure that these efforts are planned and funded. But from a technical standpoint, that's been what I've done for 20 years is just Really try to surround myself with people that are smarter than I am so that I can learn from them and then be able to pass that benefit on to South Platte.

Yeah, yeah. I think part of part of your skill too is in communicate like the whole walkie-talkie analogy, breaking it down because a lot of people including me don't understand all the things that you're saying, right? So then to break it down into oh okay yeah that's like one way or the other now it's You know, it's getting people to understand so that they can see the benefits of the technology, and I know you do that well. Let's get to Switzerland. Where was this conference at?

The conference was in Basel, Switzerland.

Basel?

Yeah, so, you know, as I mentioned, this is where Endress+Hauser is headquartered out of, is Switzerland.

Oh, okay.

You know, there's people coming from all over the world. It makes perfect sense to try and bring everybody there so that your— the company's executive management is there, their lead engineers are there. You can actually do factory tours there, which we did. And yeah, it was a really good experience. Long flight, but totally worth it.

How many hours that flight?

It was like 14.

14 hours? Yeah.

But it was, it was totally worth it. It was, it was one of the best conferences I've been to. I definitely made connections and was able to have conversations and, and, and that with people that I probably would have never crossed paths with if I wasn't at an event like this.

Yeah.

It's really cool to see people that are doing the same thing as you're doing in your industry, but they're doing it all over the world. And you get to see how different it is. You see the different perspectives and what works for other people and maybe try and steal ideas. But yeah, that was probably one of the coolest parts is just seeing how things are done in other parts of the world, not just in water and wastewater. Everybody was there. It was It was gas and oil, food and beverage, mining. It was a lot of different industries, but we all use the same instruments just in different ways. So yeah, that was probably one of the coolest parts is just the people and seeing the different perspectives. As you sit through presentations, you really learn a lot about how things are done in other parts of the world.

Cool. How was Switzerland aside from the conference? Is it— how's it different from the US? Or is it?

It's very different. You can get around in that country extremely easy via, via train. We had the Swiss Travel Pass while we were there. And it just makes it really easy to just literally go anywhere you want at a moment's notice. Trains come every few minutes, and it's very efficient. That's, that's one of the key things about Switzerland that stood out was their efficiency, even Even their electrical infrastructure, they said like 65% of all of their electricity produced in the country is done via hydroelectric power. So they said like 90% of their train system is electrically fed by hydroelectric energy. So very efficient, very clean energy there. That's a huge focus of that country. And it's just, it was very different to see a road and you can see trains, buses, bicycles, cars, trucks, scooters, all traveling in the same lane on the road, and everybody seems totally fine with it. And it took some getting used to, but yeah, if I was in Switzerland, I don't think I would need to own a car.

Oh, that is different. Did you see any, uh, any cool sights there? Did you do any Any adventures?

Yeah, so we spent a few days in Zurich. We got to see the— we did a lot of city tours. We went to the Lindt Chocolate Factory.

Nice.

We went down and saw St. Moritz. And the best way I could describe that is like, that's the Telluride of the Swiss Alps. A beautiful town. I would recommend it to anyone. There's a beautiful lake there that you can walk around. But absolutely gorgeous, picturesque. Everywhere you look, it just looks like you're looking at a poster. Then we went and spent a couple days in Geneva, and then we headed over to Basel for the conference.

Cool. Well, that sounds like an adventure, and an adventure mixed with a great conference. So a great experience overall. Is there anything I didn't ask that you wanted to share with the listeners that I, that I didn't touch on?

No, I think we, we pretty well covered it given the amount of time that we have.

Um, yeah, we're not done yet though. Yeah, still got the end of show quiz.

Okay.

All right, are you ready?

Yeah.

All right, Joe, I'm gonna give you a choice of 3 categories: Superstores, Partners, or Famous Founders.

Let's do Famous Founders.

All right, that's the one I was hoping you would pick. Okay, there's 4 questions here. See if you can, see if you can nail them all. What film studio was founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen?

I have no idea. I know those names, I just didn't know they had their own company.

DreamWorks.

Okay.

Yeah. Which brand was founded by Sam Walton?

Walmart.

Walmart is correct. What record label was founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss?

I don't know.

A&M Records. I guess that's Alpert and Moss. I did not know.

I've never even heard of A&M Records.

I've heard of A&M Records, but none of those guys. Which company was founded by David Sarnoff in 1926? You picked a hard category. Yeah, don't know. NBC.

Okay.

Yeah, you got one, you got one.

I got one out of 4.

That's good. All right, not bad. Well, thanks for, uh, thanks for being on today. Thanks for taking us through a little bit of this, uh, digital transformation that South Platte Renew and you are leading here at South Platte Renew. It's good to, uh, good to learn about that and good to hear about your trip to Switzerland.

Thanks, Blair.

Yeah, and to the listeners, uh, thanks for listening. If you like the show, give us a thumbs up, give us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or whatever platform you're listening on, and tell a friend, tell a family member, tell someone interested in travel to Switzerland or digital transformation about the show, and maybe they'll start listening as well. And we thank you for listening to the The Park Innovation Flow Podcast.