Water Quality Awareness 101 19 | P a g e 12. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) CONSULTANTS  IT consultants engaged to work on drinking water systems  Engineers, designers and personnel involved in the planning of construction and changes within drinking water treatment facilities  Water utility management system representatives Modern drinking water systems in Australia are controlled and monitored using some type of technology/computer software. Within water treatment/supply systems, there are often Critical Control Points (CCPs) for the monitoring and safe supply of drinking water. Information Technology plays an important role in maintaining/monitoring these CCPs. Changes to CCPs or system monitoring and controls require careful management by water utilities; however, it is possible for inadvertent changes to be introduced. One of the most common ways that this can occur is through software introductions, upgrades and maintenance. 12.1.1 Issues  Monitoring set points and CCPs being inadvertently changed without notification or tracking  Introduced software bypassing critical limit applications within existing systems  Impacts from set point changes that have not been fully assessed to identify all potential risks that could result from the changes  IT personnel who have insufficient knowledge of the ongoing operational requirements of drinking water quality  Incorrect logic controlling the key elements of a drinking water system 12.1.2 Solutions  Conducting detailed inductions for personnel and the completion of risk assessments prior to working on any drinking water treatment system electronics  Lock down protocols to limit access to drinking water control systems  Careful assessment of the software interactions and the ramifications of CCP set point changes  Security software to monitor interactions and logins, including password login protection  Procedures for the monitoring and follow up of CCP set point changes