Enhancing critical national infrastructure remotely with zero defects during the pandemic

To keep pace with technological change and continue supplying safe, sustainable energy to 2.6 million homes and businesses, a major UK gas distribution network needed to upgrade its SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) application and associated operating system.

The operational platform used to monitor and control 3,800 kilometres of underground pipes, the SCADA system is an integral part of the gas network's core operations. Ensuring the highest standards of performance is therefore critical, and a failure to deliver the upgrade successfully would pose a significant risk to the network's service and the millions of consumers who rely on it every day.

The upgrade was complicated by the social distancing restrictions introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant the project had to be delivered almost entirely remotely, something never done before for a type of upgrade that is usually completed on site.

The customer appointed Enzen to deliver the solution, confident its specialist utilities knowledge, SCADA expertise and successful migration of the customer's control room infrastructure to the cloud a few years previously would ensure a smooth delivery.

Working from four different locations across the UK in compliance with Covid-19 restrictions and abiding by critical national infrastructure security parameters, the Enzen team performed extensive testing using the customer's equipment remotely, supported by another Enzen colleague embedded at the customer's site.

During the operation, the Enzen team also managed important stakeholders at transmission operator level and within other UK gas distribution networks, all of whom needed to authorise this non-routine operation.

The SCADA upgrade was delivered on time, on budget, in a Covid-safe manner and without any defects, a significant achievement considering it was the first time such a project had been delivered in this way.

The customer was impressed by Enzen's creativity, flexibility and dedication, not only to work around the logistical difficulties, but to deliver a high-quality result in exceptional circumstances with zero defects.

As a result, this key aspect of the UK's critical national infrastructure is now more resilient, sustainable and future-proof, and the customer is better able to accommodate upcoming technological innovations in the SCADA space. Meanwhile, millions of consumers can continue to access safe, sustainable and reliable energy in their homes and businesses every day.