Feature Plant & process engineering Overcoming process industry challenges
There have traditionally been challenges to achieving an open and collaborative framework for process automation and energy management, then linking that framework to the enterprise. This is primarily due to process automation, energy management and production management systems originating from different islands for functionality across the process enterprise. Schneider Electric explains how combining real-time control applications and energy management with production management capabilities can result in a cost effective, energy efficient plant environment
T
he process industry is faced with issues such as sustainability, pre- serving capital assets and extend- ing their life, increasing asset utilisation, maximising operational effectiveness, reducing fixed and min- imising variable costs and empower- ing workers to make this happen. These exist in an environment where the systems, software and devices that control the real-time pro- duction processes, and the energy it takes to run these processes, have long been regarded as separate domains from the non-real-time world of opera- tions management functions that dic- tate planning activities, production schedules and other areas of opera- tions management. Even plant design and engineering, which can provide valuable data to production systems, has been regarded as a separate domain. One of the main challenges, therefore, is to overcome the barriers to information that exist between these multiple systems. The need is for a single environment where the energy management and automation systems seamlessly interact with operations management applications.
A step towards bringing down these barriers has been the adoption of Ethernet-based control networks and commercial off-the-shelf hardware, components and operating systems. In fact, the breakdown of barriers between energy management, process automation and operations manage- ment has been evolving for some time but suppliers must move to a single environment where production man- agement applications can plug seam- lessly into the same communications infrastructure as the basic energy man- agement and control system. Central to this is the need for a collaborative approach between corporate IT, automation groups and other disci- plines such as engineering and opera-
Factory Equipment MAY 2011
tions. The key is to tie energy manage- ment and control systems intelligently into business information systems using the Collaborative Process System (CPS) model.
Creating a fully integrated organisa- tional management system can be regarded as complex, but it should be achievable at a relatively basic level by having systems that operate through a standard communications hierarchy. By combining data from each of the operating systems within a common infrastructure, the business will have better control and visibility, a clearer understanding of energy usage and productivity as well as easier and improved maintenance.
Schneider Electric has introduced the PlantStruxure process automation system which includes a suite of pro- duction management software solu- tions. The solution includes networks and communications which are built on Ethernet to facilitate transparent communication between the field, process, plant and enterprise. With PlantStruxure, users benefit from high availability of systems across all process levels, helping to meet the demands of keeping unexpected downtime to a minimum, lowering production costs, ensuring targets are met and reducing potential harm to people and equipment. With the focus on providing continuous operations, increasing plant maintainability and efficiency, the result is reduced energy wastage and reduced revenue loss. This solution enables products and systems to collaborate, utilising open standards and third-party technology. It allows people to collaborate by pro- viding access to whatever information is required to optimise decision making. Benefits include increasing engineering productivity and reducing engineering times to accelerate project schedules. Another benefit is trans-
Optimising efficiency and reducing operating costs is achievable by implementing strategies that combine process and energy information into one system,
thereby providing a single interface for all process and energy control and management
parency, enabling authorised users access to information from any loca- tion. Transparency reduces the capital costs of design and installation while optimising the operation costs. It also addresses the process industry’s requirements for energy management in a procedure that includes auditing and measuring the process to establish a baseline and identify areas for improvement around energy con- sumption. This is a process which begins with fixing the basics by installing the devices necessary to record and measure energy usage, optimise power factor and increase power reliability. Next is optimising through automation by sustaining the energy efficiency gains through AC drives, intelligent power and motor control centres (iPMCCs), controllers and automated processes. Finally, monitoring, maintaining and improv- ing are achieved by continuously viewing the processes.
Schneider Electric T: 0870 6088608
www.schneider-
electric.co.uk Enter 334
Power and control have tradition- ally been separate worlds. Today, how- ever, the process end user can only optimise efficiency and reduce operat- ing costs by implementing strategies that combine process and energy infor- mation into one system, providing a single interface for all process and energy control and management.
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56