The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system, or SCADA for short, plays a major role in the success of SJRA’s work. As the SCADA Superintendent for SJRA, Randy is responsible for overseeing and leading a highly skilled and technical team of SCADA specialists that supports the automation of our processes. This includes our Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Human Interface Machines (HMIs), and Operations Technologies (OT) infrastructure. He is also responsible for continually looking for ways to improve our control system cybersecurity, efficiency, and reliability. Randy’s normal day-to-day usually involves coordinating with his team and the operation teams at each division to make sure any needs of the division are met, checking on various processes and applications to ensure there are no critical alarms that need to be addressed, and looking for ways that both he and his team can grow and develop.

SJRA is responsible for top quality treatment of drinking water and wastewater, as well as the delivery of drinking water and raw water. The SCADA system is a key piece of technology in the water and wastewater treatment process. It is heavily relied on to automate processes to run more efficiently, alert us to needs of the system that need to be addressed (low levels, high pressures, etc.), and allows for quicker response times when human intervention is needed. All of this helps SJRA to make sure that the safe drinking water, wastewater treatment, and raw water delivery that our customers rely on can consistently be provided.

Randy and his SCADA team are critical to the SJRA’s success. In addition to working at SJRA, he is also a part of the Texas American Water Works Association (TAWWA) Resiliency and Cybersecurity Committee. He speaks at the Texas Water Conference, Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Conference, and Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) SETX Chapter. Back in 2022, he and a couple other utilities helped start up a SCADA User Group that now includes approximately 60 organizations in Texas. The goal is to support the operation technology user community and provide a venue for knowledge sharing and networking with the ultimate objective of providing education and best practices regarding process control and cybersecurity.

SJRA’s SCADA team is an essential part of fulfilling the mission or preserving and protecting the best water in Texas. The best water in Texas requires SJRA having the best employees in Texas as well, which is what Randy loves about working at SJRA. He appreciates that SJRA invests in and cares about the employees, supports them as leaders in the industry, and that the organization’s work makes a difference in the community.