Activity

  • Vortex Flow Meters in Safety Instrumented Functions

    Jim Cahill
    Safety instrumented systems provide a layer of protection beyond the control system to safely shutdown the process during abnormal situations. A safety instrumented function (SIF) or “safety loop” includes the sensing device, logic solver and final control element to perform safety function upon demand. Flow measurement devices are often the sensing devices in these SIFs. Some flow measurement technologies may experience…

  • Proof Testing Level Measurement Devices

    Jim Cahill
    Safety instrumented systems (SIS) include the sensor(s), final control element(s) and logic solver(s) for each of the safety instrumented functions (SIFs) in the SIS. To verify the SIFs are performing the amount of risk reduction intended for their application, they must be periodically proof tested. PCN Europe magazine interviewed Emerson’s Teddy Tzegazeab on how proof testing has changed for SIFs with liquid level…

  • Proof Testing Level Measurement Devices

    Jim Cahill
    Safety instrumented systems (SIS) include the sensor(s), final control element(s) and logic solver(s) for each of the safety instrumented functions (SIFs) in the SIS. To verify the SIFs are performing the amount of risk reduction intended for their application, they must be periodically proof tested. PCN Europe magazine interviewed Emerson’s Teddy Tzegazeab on how proof testing has changed for SIFs with liquid level…

  • Level Sensor Safety Proof Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Backing up your computer or server is a waste of time if restoring the backup fails when you need it. Good practice is to test these backups on separate test systems periodically to make sure they restore properly. Similarly, safety instrumented systems (SISs) need to assure that each safety instrumented function (SIF)/safety loop does what it’s intended to do to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a demand…

  • Level Sensor Safety Proof Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Backing up your computer or server is a waste of time if restoring the backup fails when you need it. Good practice is to test these backups on separate test systems periodically to make sure they restore properly. Similarly, safety instrumented systems (SISs) need to assure that each safety instrumented function (SIF)/safety loop does what it’s intended to do to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a demand…

  • Safety Instrumented Function Valve Selection

    Jim Cahill
    Valves are critical components inside of safety instrumented functions (SIFs) since they do the work of touching the process flows to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a safety demand. In a Valve magazine article, How Valve Selection Can Impact SIS in Refining Applications , Emerson’s Janine McCormick describes the important criteria in finding the right valve for the required safety performance. Janine…

  • Remote Partial Proof Testing Level Sensors

    Jim Cahill
    For safety instrumented functions (SIFs), proof testing is the process of identifying undetected dangerous failures in the sensor, final control element and logic solver which comprise the SIF. Dangerous failures are those that could put the safety instrumented system (SIS) in a hazardous or fail-to-function state. If undetected, in the case of level measurements, this could lead to an overfill and spill, with potentially…

  • Instrumentation Diagnostics and Safe, Reliable Operations

    Jim Cahill
    As technology has advanced in power and sophistication, its ability to self-diagnose and perform predictive diagnostics has too. In a Plant Engineering article, Using diagnostic functions to improve system safety , Emerson’s Mark Menezes shares examples of how these diagnostics are used to self-diagnose instrumentation problems as well as those in the surrounding production process. He opens highlighting the benefits…

  • Optimizing Safety Instrumented System Proof Testing

    Jim Cahill
    If you are new to the world of process safety, you quickly learn that it has its own jargon with phrases such as safety instrumented functions, proof test intervals, PDFavg, etc. A Flow Control magazine article, Ensuring safety compliance with optimized proof testing , written by Emerson’s Afton Coleman , Erik Mathiason and Tonya Wyatt does a great job of introducing and explaining these concepts. They open describing…

  • 5 Questions for Digital Valve Controller and Safety Expert Riyaz Ali

    Jim Cahill
    Let’s continue our 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert podcast series with our guest, Riyaz Ali . You may recall Riyaz from numerous posts about digital valve controllers and final control elements in safety instrumented system applications. He has almost 40 years’ experience in process control instrumentation and holds numerous patents related to use of digital valve controllers for process industries. Please leave…

  • Improving Process Safety through Human Factors Analysis

    Jim Cahill
    Wikipedia defines process safety as focusing on: …preventing fires , explosions and accidental chemical releases in chemical process facilities or other facilities dealing with hazardous materials such as refineries , and oil and gas ( onshore and offshore ) production installations. In a Valve magazine article, Human Factors Can Cause a Disaster—or Prevent One , Emerson’s Julian Annison and Travis Hesketh highlight…

  • Focus on the Process in Your Safety Requirements Specification

    Jim Cahill
    A safety requirement specification (SRS) for a safety instrumented system (SIS), as part of the IEC 61511 global safety standard [ from the exida blog ]: …incorporates all the analysis done during the Risk Assessment, HAZOP [ hazard and operability study ]/PHA [ process hazard analysis ] and LOPA [ layer of protection analysis ] reviews. Emerson’s Russell Cockman presented at an Institute of Measurement and…

  • Embracing Safety Requirements Specifications

    Jim Cahill
    The Institute of Measurement and Control is hosting the Functional Safety 2016 conference this week in London. This conference seeks to engage practitioners from a wide variety of industrial sectors who have responsibilities in any functional safety lifecycle phase to share views and best practices. Emerson’s Russell Cockman is presenting Why embrace the concept of the Safety Requirements Specification? Here is the…

  • Improve Safety Proof Test Capabilities with Intelligent Instrumentation

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, Emerson’s Afton Coleman , Erik Mathiason and Tonya Wyatt presented, Improve Safety Proof Test Capabilities with Intelligent Instrumentation. Their abstract: Safety Instrumented Systems are designed to be the most critical line of defense against a catastrophic failure. Ensuring that each component of the system is working properly is required, often leading to downtime…

  • Safety Logic Solver Validation on Logic Updates

    Jim Cahill
    The global safety standard IEC 61511 Functional safety – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector describes the validation process. The objective of the requirements of this clause is to validate, through inspection and testing, that the installed and commissioned safety instrumented system and its associated safety instrumented functions achieve the requirements as stated in the safety requirement…

  • Testing Valves in Safety Instrumented Functions

    Jim Cahill
    Safety instrumented systems are a critical part of process manufacturers and producers overall process safety management in protecting personnel, environment, equipment, property, reputation and image. In an Offshore Engineer article, Safety Instrumented Function loop ‘final element’ problems and solutions , Emerson’s Riyaz Ali describes the importance and ways to test the final control elements in these safety loops…

  • Separate versus Integral Final Element Accessories Questions

    Jim Cahill
    A post from a few years ago, Separate Versus Integral Final Element Accessories in Safety Applications , continues to generate some good questions. I thought I’d make these questions and associated answers more visible in today’s post. Here’s the first question: I understood the whole description, But while calculating PFDavg, We will have to add the Failure rate of valve assembly (Valve+Actuator) which brings down…

  • When is a Safety Integrity Level Rating of a Valve Required?

    Jim Cahill
    Control valves play a large role in process control. Emerson’s Riyaz Ali shared with me that he is often asked about their use in safety instrumented functions (also known as safety loops). When asked recently, he shared an ISA Safety Division newsletter from the fall of 2007. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the newsletter in my Google searches. His article in this newsletter, When is a Safety Integrity Level (SIL) Rating…

  • SIS CHARMS in DCS and SIS Integrated Solution in DCS Modernization Project

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s MC Chow and Janka O’Brien teamed up with an SIS technical expert from a major refiner to tell a story of a control system and SIS modernization project. Their abstract: This session is to discuss DCS replacement projects on two near identical FCC units. One was done in the traditional non-integrated approach for a DCS and SIS, the other was done using an integrated approach with DeltaV and DeltaV SIS CHARMS…

  • Increase Safety and Efficiency with New Proof Test Method

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Hampus Regnér and Christoffer Widahl presented Increase Safety and Efficiency With New Proof Test Method at the Denver Emerson Exchange conference. Here is their presentation abstract: A functional proof test of a high level alarm (HLA) is required as a key objective of operational safety. Testing and qualification of the HLA device is a critical aspect, which has previously not been well addressed. In this…

  • Verification in the IEC 61511 Safety Lifecycle

    Jim Cahill
    I received a great question about the application of the IEC 61511 safety lifecycle . The person noted that a question was raised after the safety integrity level (SIL) study and safety requirements specification (SRS) had been performed. The question is about the verification of these and who would need to perform them. I turned to Emerson’s Russell Cockman on the SIS [safety instrumented system] Functional Safety…

  • Control Valve Suitability in Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Sometimes an email exchange turns up something developed years ago that still has great value. So is this case with an article I received as an attachment on final control elements and their suitability in safety instrumented functions (SIFs) , a.k.a. safety loops. The article, When SIL suitability is required for final control elements , was written by Emerson’s Riyaz Ali back in 2011 for EngineerIT magazine. The…

  • Managing the Safety Lifecycle

    Jim Cahill
    The post Managing the Safety Lifecycle appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog. Process safety revolves around managing the risks of your production process throughout the life of your plant, mill or production facility. The international safety standard, IEC 61511 (Functional safety – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector) : …sets out practices in the engineering of systems that…

  • Digital Protocol Diagnostics and Risk Analysis

    Jim Cahill
    In an earlier post, Wired Versus Wireless Risk Analysis for Process Instrumentation Measurements , we highlighted the fault tree methodology for performing risk analysis on wired and wireless instrumentation. Emerson’s Jonas Berge added a thoughtful comment which I wanted to bring out and share in this post. Jonas Berge Director, Applied Technology I attended their workshop. It was great. At 9:30 in the video Ed…

  • Wired Versus Wireless Risk Analysis for Process Instrumentation Measurements

    Jim Cahill
    How does wireless communications compare against wired communications for process instrumentation? That was the subject of an Emerson Exchange presentation by Kenexis’ Ed Marszal and Emerson’s Gary Hawkins . Their presentation, Risk analysis of wired versus wireless transmission of process measurements was recently narrated by Ed as an encore presentation and uploaded to YouTube. In this 30:31 video, Emerson Exchange…

This is the official online community site of the Emerson Exchange, a forum for the free exchange of non-proprietary information among the global user community of all Emerson's products and services. Our goal is to improve the efficiency and use of automation systems and solutions employed at members’ facilities by sharing our knowledge, experiences, and application information.

Community Guidelines | Legal Information | Privacy Policy | Contact Community Manager

Website translation provided by Website Translator

© 2015-2026 Emerson Exchange. All rights reserved.