GOING DIGITAL CAN IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE
What does ‘digitalisation’ mean to environmental management technology? Computers have been used for process control since Fortran 77 was developed in the late 1950s. Commercial transactions have been executed in ERP computer systems for decades. So, what’s new about ‘digitalisation’ for the environmental monitoring sector? And, how can companies active in this industry benefit from getting ahead of the curve? Artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), big data and 3D virtual reality are all examples of sub-sets within the broad digitalisation agenda. Each of them is being applied daily to have a positive impact on environmental management.
Big data is being used to capture and analyse thousands of environmental monitoring data points which are then analysed to make conclusions about the impact of emissions sources on the ambient environment. Cylinder gases distributors, such as Coregas who operate in Australia and New Zealand, are using barcode scanning to track storage assets and maintain a database of cylinder locations that can be made visible to themselves and their customers. The environment can be protected, revenues can be maximised, costs can be reduced, safety is improved, and start-up times are minimised. Everything adds up to a powerful business case for a digital transformation in environmental technology.
UEC WirelessHART Gas Detector side view
Process safety: WirelessHART fixed location gas detection systems to augment existing hard-wired systems on refineries and oil storage terminals
Many refineries operate with a process safety target of zero incidents. But, to achieve the holy-grail of zero requires an absolute and unrelenting commitment to continuous improvement in safety practices and related equipment. This is a driver for the augmentation of existing gas detection systems with additional devices to increase the coverage density of gas detection and further reduce the risks of potentially hazardous leaks going undetected.
On an established refinery the idea of digging new cable trenches for hard-wired fixed gas detection systems would require permitting, engineering management of change reviews, HAZOP studies and costly ground-work. The expense, complexity and lengthy timeline of the installation would demand strong benefits to justify the project.
But in the modern digital world of Industry 4.0, there is an alternative that may result in a much simpler project at lower cost and faster execution: to use wireless fixed gas detection units. And, if they are battery powered and can communicate with a wireless non-proprietary (ie open) protocol, such as WirelessHART
technology, their installation and configuration can be achieved in a matter of hours, not weeks.
According to Julian Yeo, Strategic Marketing Manager at United Electric Controls, “ten years ago, the thought of using a battery powered wireless gas detector would have either been a technical fantasy or the costs for a pilot unit would have been prohibitive. Today, the combination of sophisticated power management systems that increase the battery life to an acceptable multi- year period and increased production volumes has made commercialisation possible. Unit for unit, they are still more expensive than a wired device of a similar specification, but from a total cost of installation (materials and labour cost) perspective, deploying gas detectors like the Vanguard WirelessHART can reduce the installed cost by more than 50%.
Furthermore, in some cases the installation cost is not the deciding factor. If a gas detection system is required immediately, then wireless may be the only option that is quick enough to be installed in an acceptable time window. Deployment speed is also enabled by the WirelessHART technology used by the Vanguard, which can be an ‘instant drop-in’ solution to augment many existing fire and gas systems for data gathering. Consider that the environmental regulator or a safety audit has mandated that operations be terminated until corrective action is taken. The daily costs of non-operation can be many times the cost of the gas detection installation, so speed will be the governing factor.
Throughout this case study, we have referred to ‘augmentation’ of existing systems not ‘replacement’. Why? Is the state of the art for wireless devices not yet ready to eliminate the fixed systems? Yeo answers the question: “the Vanguard was designed to augment gas detection capability in hard-to-access areas or remote areas. It is meant to complement fixed systems instead of replacing them. While WirelessHART technology is extremely reliable and operates on a self-organising and self-healing mesh network, it is still used primarily in monitoring applications and even some open loop control applications. For closed loop control, wired devices are still the preferred choice”.
Yeo is positive about the future; he says that “for many industries, the jumpstart begins with a paradigm shift in how WirelessHART
Toxic and hazardous products AET October / November 2019
www.envirotech-online.com Hand-held portable gas leak detection
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