SAFETY EXPERT ANNOUNCES NEW ROUTE TO MARKET


HIMA, a provider of technologies for safety- critical applications, is now providing direct access to its solutions and services in the UK and Ireland. Prior to this, HIMA supported this region through Hima-Sella, who will continue to partner with HIMA as a System Integrator under the name Sella Controls. Following a period of sustained global growth over the last 10 years, during which HIMA has doubled in size, the safety specialist continues its expansion. Customers in the UK and Ireland now have direct access to HIMA’s safety expertise and knowledge, from the engineering support and technical services to the training, consultation and advice from its entire global network. “One of HIMA’s greatest assets is its people


– with more TÜV-certified safety specialists than any other safety systems manufacturer, we supply the most reliable functional safety management advice to the process and rail industries,” says Sébastien Lachaise. He leads HIMA operations in the UK and Ireland, enabling IOCs, OEMs, MACs, EPCs and system


ASK THE EXPERT: EFFECTIVE ALARM MANAGEMENT


IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY


integrators to develop smart safety solutions that protect people, assets and the environment from harm. John Blackwell, managing director of Hima-


Sella says, ‘that with more than four decades of experience, the company is renowned for the provision of full life-cycle services, functional safety management and turnkey safety solutions. “These are exciting times and it is with genuine pride that we relaunch Sella Controls - the new old name for functional safety,” he concluded. www.hima.com/uk


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UKOOG REACTS TO LABOUR’S BAN ON FRACKING


UKOOG, the trade body for the onshore oil and gas industry, has today hit back at the Labour Party’s pledge to ban fracking should they win the upcoming general election. The promise to ban fracking, is a pledge


which will hurt the UK’s energy security, see potential UK jobs find their way overseas and keep the cost of energy bills rising, says UKOOG. Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG, said: “The Labour Party’s position has changed dramatically in two years and shows a misunderstanding of how we use energy in this country. The only solution to our pressing energy needs is a balanced mix of nuclear, renewables and gas – produced here in this country, creating tax revenues and skilled jobs.” Looking at Labour’s manifesto pledges,


UKOOG would like to highlight these key facts:


• On the “deterioration of the current account”: Within 20 years, the UK will be importing over 75% of our gas, costing the equivalent of over £300 per household. The simple way of avoiding this is to produce our own gas onshore and offshore. • On the need to “ensure security of energy supply and keep the lights on”: How does turning away from gas help energy security or the 84% of our homes that are heated by gas?


• Pointing out that “one-in-ten households are in fuel poverty”: At present, there is no viable or affordable alternative to natural gas...Electricity is around three times more expensive per kilowatt hour than gas. This is why households with electric heating are far more likely to be in fuel poverty. www.ukoog.org.uk


Circuit Design, a supplier of low power radio modules, has recently developed the new WA-TX-03S and WA-RX-03S wireless audio modules for the European harmonized 863 - 865 MHz audio band. Like its predecessor, WA-TX-03-R and


WA-RX-03-R, the WA-TX-03S and WA- RX-03S modules can be set to 15 communication frequency channels within the 863 - 865 MHz band. In addition to offering the same frequency response sufficient for audio transmission, the compander noise reduction system enables wireless transmission of clear sound, with improved dynamic range of 90 dB or more.


NEW WIRELESS AUDIO MODULES RELEASED By focusing on simple wireless audio


transmission processing functions, the product guarantees the user maximum flexibility in developing higher order software. Communication between modules uses only RF channels. So for example, if the modules are embedded in a tour guide system, as long as the channel settings match, there is no limit to the number of receivers used. As embedded modules, they include


nearly all the parts necessary for audio transmission in a small shielding case, making it possible to develop audio transmission equipment in a short time. www.cdt21.com


/ PROCESS&CONTROL


Like many industrial process plants, your manufacturing facility’s process control system may have a poorly functioning alarm system. An effective alarm system not only helps you improve safety but also improve productivity and I’m often asked for advice about how best to manage them, says Richard Sturt, business development manager – Process Industries, at Rockwell Automation.


Process alarm systems are intended to assist operators in the diagnosis and remedy of abnormal conditions, reducing incidents and accidents. Modern process control systems make it very simple to add alarms, which, in general is a very good thing. However, poorly implemented alarm systems can become a hindrance by overloading operators with too much information, causing confusion and potentially masking problems in need of attention. Improving your alarm system should be broken


down into a number of steps. The first step involves monitoring and assessment to get a good understanding of the current situation. This typically means using alarm management software to look at historical data to determine things such as: What are the most frequent alarms? Are there long standing alarms? How many alarms are present at peak periods?


The next step is to develop an alarm philosophy and benchmark the current system. The philosophy should answer two main questions. What should be an alarm? How should the operator respond? Benchmarking will allow you to understand the gap between the current situation and the desired performance. The third step is rationalisation and


implementation. This is the process of reviewing and justifying alarms that meet the criteria in the philosophy document. For example, does the alarm indicate a deviation that requires operator action? And, does the alarm capture the root cause of the problem?


Fortunately, alarm management is a well-


documented issue and there are a number of industry standards and guidelines such as EEMUA 191 in Europe and ANSI/ISA 18.2 in the US. Reviewing these standards is a great starting point. Most suppliers are able to offer software packages designed to help you meet these standards and offer engineering support if you need extra resources to undertake a project. Whilst there are many things you can do to


enhance the alarm capability of an existing system, you may find that an old control system simply won’t do what you want it to do. It may be time to upgrade to a new system to improve your operations. An effective alarm management system will help you improve productivity, increase plant safety, and improve regulatory compliance – so doing what is needed to get it right is often a very smart investment. Rockwell Automation T: 0870 242 5004 www.rockwellautomation.com/en_uk/


PROCESS & CONTROL | MAY 2017 7


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