PLANT MANAGEMENT
“One key when implementing an
automation technology upgrade is that companies like Corbion can take their base confi guration and applications, and in a controlled, phased approach migrate it through the upgrade process,” says Paul Wallace, vice- president, global sales at NovaTech. “Through a very cohesive pre- engineering eff ort on this project, we put together a well-thought-out plan to execute the changes gradually.” According to Wallace, phase one
of the project was a technology infrastructure upgrade of the existing network including servers, workstations, network appliances, operating system, and backups. NovaTech also upgraded the existing D/3 Distributed Control System. Although this phase required a short, planned shutdown, the system was quickly back online. Phase two, which began in Q2 of 2021, was accomplished without any interruption of the process.
In
this step, Corbion decided to employ enhanced features of the D/3 DCS from NovaTech, starting with the human-machine interface (HMI). A properly designed graphical user interface helps improve situational awareness, reduces workload, and enables the operator to view the process at-a-glance so they can focus on mitigating abnormal situations.
NOVATECH IMPLEMENTS FLEXBATCH In addition, NovaTech implemented FlexBatch, a batch and recipe management system designed in accordance with the ISA-88 standard for batch control. With the software, developers, engineers, and production staff can quickly formulate and modify recipes, and then immediately schedule them for production. The fi nal step of phase two involved
the installation of PlantNotify, a platform-independent software that provides critical plant notifi cations and critical maintenance requirements to team members instantly via text and email when certain alarms or events are triggered. In the past, a knowledgeable team member had to actively monitor the system, essentially “tethering” key personnel to a PC and slowing any needed
response. Phase three, was scheduled for
later in 2021, and involved replacing the plant’s aging I/O drops. Corbion also opted to migrate to a modern I/O system, the 8000 series platform, a native, remote I/O family that was highly integrated with the D/3 system. The 8000 Series can be installed in
new installations or replace existing I/O without modifi cation to the existing fi eld wiring. This allows D/3 installations to upgrade older I/O hardware to the latest electronics with a minimum of downtime and very low process risk. To further minimise downtime, NovaTech pre-assembled and tested the equipment, before delivering it to Corbion well ahead of the scheduled shutdown. According to Wallace, the
advanced I/O allowed for greater automation with better diagnostics, troubleshooting, and asset management capability. If there is ever an issue with the system, maintenance staff can remotely drill down to the I/O controller using the HMI, instead of having to do so in the fi eld. With the technological
infrastructure in place, Corbion can now automate procedures with greater operator control and
visibility. Even in highly automated food processing environments, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for startup/shutdown, material loading/ unloading, line switchovers, clean- in-place, maintenance preparation and other tasks are still completed manually, using paper-based systems. To streamline operations, NovaTech
implemented a digital solution through its augmented manual procedures (NovaTech AM) software, which means food processors can replace their paper-based SOPs with a digital format that functions on smartphones, PCs, and tablets. When running, manual procedures
Captions to go here
are linked to the process control platform with bidirectional communication of equipment status and task completion. The information is displayed as an operator-friendly checklist, with completed tasks self- audited and timestamped for future reference and compliance reporting. The AMP software ensures accurate SOP execution, along with validation of manual tasks, and comprehensive information capture/sharing. ●
For more information visit
https://www.novatech.co.uk/
www.engineerlive.com 15
Corbion provides naturally derived preservation solutions including lactic acid
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