Operating Maintenance
Automation Infatuation-mobile Work Place Automation Makes Chemical Plant Operations More Reliable and Efficient
Throughout the chemical process industry, it’s difficult to think about plant monitoring without visualizing personnel on daily rounds laboriously filling out paper log sheets. Besides being a manual-intensive routine, this traditional monitoring approach primarily focuses only on documentation. Typically stored in filing cabinets, field data currently collected by most plants is lifeless, rarely reviewed for plant performance monitoring and trouble shooting. However, this outmoded approach is quickly giving way to an electronic monitoring system outside of the control room. Now plant operations data are wirelessly gathered on-site with handhelds, then fed into a hosted Web-based system. This system allows quick operational decisions based on the most accurate information, to save time and money. The current method’s only benefit is to ensure that operators actually make the rounds of equipment observation/inspection. Even then, operators tend to pencil-whip data without really observing the plant equipment. Since supervisors are busy with routine shift work, even experienced operators fail to recognize pit fall readings and prevent a plant shutdown or unsafe situation.
Enter the Web-based system, hosted software, wireless handhelds and a “behind-the-scenes” team of process engineers and information technology (IT) professionals. With this integrated system functioning 24/7/365, calculations are constantly being run (not triggered) in the background to detect any equipment abnormalities and in turn notifying the operations supervisor to take action.
The system determines possible abnormalities two different ways. With Pull, plant managers log in and trend all the equipment to see how trend lines look, i.e. pulling that information out. With Push, all the information is brought together, calculations performed, and any cited problems are emailed with a cause and required action. The new systems have many productivity built in tools including the following:
1.Operations must physically scan the RFID tags or barcodes on the equipment and hear, smell and feel any developing abnormalities before a shutdown or unsafe incident occurs.
2.Every reading can have an alarm set-up at no cost. For example, the lube oil filter DP is critical but hardly any plant has an alarm in the field or control room. Using this system, when an operator enters an above-normal reading, it beeps and flashes a message such as “Lube Pump may loose suction” or “Filter element may collapse.” Then the operator must reset or connect the situation before it allows him to input the reading.
3.The mobile device automatically enters real-time data, which can be an excellent tool for problem solving or plant trouble shooting.
4. The mobile device will calculate the compressor, pump or steam turbine efficiency automatically and trend them. If the polytrophic efficiency of a compressor stage suddenly falls, the device will send an e-mail to the operation/maintenance manager to check the labys or seals for leaks, for instance. The device also can calculate plant specific operating parameters such as stream carbon ratio for hydrogen reformers or operating fouling factors for heat exchanges based on operating data entered routinely by the operators. Handhelds are today’s key to mobile plant automation. Specifically, the equipment is a Class 1 Division 1/Division 2 rated pocket PC- based handheld device, bar code and/or RFID-enabled. If equipment is not bar coded, the provider physically affixes bar codes to all plant equipment to begin implementing the mobile automation process.
Subsequently, on daily rounds, the bar code/RFID-enabled real-time wireless data collection proceeds. When that process is completed daily, the data collector presses. Send, and via a wireless LAN connection or a cradle connected to the computer, it’s uploaded directly on the Web and instantly available to management personnel. An important issue involving technology applications -heightened by wireless- centers on safety and security of data. With Category 5 Hurricane Safe data centers, comprehensive policies and procedures are in place to best ensure that data cannot be compromised either outsiders or the plant’s own personnel.
Optionally, plants can host internally but that is typically a complicated undertaking working with organizations own IT department to get the entire process set up. With the hosted option, the entire services can be up and running in less than a week. Since most plant operators are used to working with paper logs, they are somewhat change resistant in the early stages. But, not only do they typically adapt quickly, they wholeheartedly embrace the system. For example, when the system was implemented in the world’s largest ammonia plant, it immediately encountered expected skepticism.
However, a few months into using the system on limited critical field equipment like boilers, turbines and generators, they asked that the system be implemented plant-wide even indulging equipment already electronically monitored via DCS. A major reason was that the system is built to look and feel much like log sheets to which they are accustomed.
To get more info go to www.PlantMS.com or email Info@fitiri.com
About the Author
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