Plant Management


The self-organising IEC 62591 (WirelessHART) network connects a new plant with an older unit in the same facility. Pulling data from the old plant into the new plant’s control room using conventional wiring was not financially feasible because of the distance and obstacles between the two plants. The wireless network includes 99 of Emerson’s Rosemount


wireless temperature, pressure, level, and discrete-input transmitters that communicate with three Smart Wireless Gateways to collect real-time data from gas processing and storage tanks, cooling towers, and compressors. The majority of the wireless devices replaced local indicators in the old plant, while others measure pressure along pipes between the two plants and tank level in the new plant.


Digital automation systems Data from the wireless network is integrated into the plant’s DeltaV digital automation system, which monitors and controls critical plant processes. Atlas operators also use AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager predictive maintenance software to actively manage key field devices in both plants, including Fisher valves. Predictive diagnostics provided through AMS Suite have enabled Atlas to eliminate operator rounds to the old plant, saving multiple trips per day. In another recent wireless project, Codelco, the world’s largest


copper producer, needed to optimise the water recovery process of the thickener pools at its Norte mine in Chile. The company chose Honeywell’s OneWireless Network to connect new field devices there to the existing Honeywell TPS control system.


The OneWireless network is used to connect Siemens S7 300 PLCs to the Honeywell TPS system. The PLCs are then used to manage equipment and instruments installed at each tank and pool. Since installing the OneWireless solution, the use of water is much more efficient because Codelco can accurately gauge the level of water in the thickeners. “We chose the OneWireless system from Honeywell


because it offered the most dependable solution for both our complex operation and the advanced control application, since it provides a higher capacity to support real-time gauging and instrumentation,” said Guillermo Cortés, concentrators’ automation leader, Codelco. “Our desert zone has many challenges including topography, the long distance between the thickeners and control room, and the extreme environment conditions of radiation, wind and temperatures. We are very pleased with the reliability of the Honeywell solution.” There are seven OneWireless multinodes covering the


site. One gateway is used to send the Modbus data collected from the PLC to the Honeywell TPS. With the installation of OneWireless, operators in the control room can call information from the PLCs under the Honeywell TPS control system. This information can be fed into the profit controller application to optimise process control of the facility. After the successful implementation of the network to


support PLCs, Codelco decided to install Honeywell XYR 6000 high level analogue input transmitters to monitor the level of the clear and dark water using ultrasonic transmitters. ■


Ensuring your plant design is not an incident waiting to happen


M


any recent safety incidents can be attributed to poor plant design, these incidents could have been avoided if fundamental design errors had been spotted and rectified at an early stage.


The way in which plants are designed and run has changed over recent years. Due to cost constraints much of the detailed design process is now done outside of the operating company by large design houses. The size of site teams has


decreased causing increased workload pressures and a loss of vital historic plant knowledge. This has created an increasing need to ensure the plant is designed to run safely and inline with best practice.


ABB Engineering Services is working with clients to address this need. It is working on both new build and existing sites to give an independent, expert set of eyes to uncover any underlying safety concerns through a process design- safety verification review. By testing and reviewing all design philosophies and safety processes any potential safety issues are identified, allowing the design or existing structure to be altered to reduce the risk of incident. This is providing clients with the assurance that all their assets around the world are designed to run safely and are not an incident waiting to happen. ■


Enter 23 or ✔ at www.engineerlive.com/epe


ABB Engineering Services is based in Daresbury, Warrington, Cheshire, UK. www.abb.co.uk/consulting


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