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Event Highlights & Feature Sessions
  • Wireless condition monitoring of cooling tower fans and pumps

    Dinis Ferreira, project manager at Repsol Polimeros, explained how turning to wireless vibration monitoring is helping Repsol identify potential problems with cooling tower fans and pumps. The new automated monitoring solution can alert control room operators to potential failures, enabling maintenance teams to respond quickly. At the Repsol petrochemicals complex at Sines in Portugal, recovered water from the process…
  • Advanced planning enables successful valve service

    Wojciech Szachta of Grupa LOTOS explained how they prepared for a maintenance shutdown in 2013 at the Gdańsk refinery in Poland. Grupa LOTOS is the second largest refinery in Poland following an investment programme that was completed in 2010. Turnarounds were scheduled every four years and these took place in 2009 when the refinery capacity was 6 mtp/year and again in 2013 when the refinery capacity had increased…
  • Control your energy cost using wireless DP flow solutions

    László Simon, head of automation and control department at Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd explained how by installing wireless differential pressure (DP) meters to measure the flow of nitrogen, they have been able to optimise energy consumption and achieve production consistency between shifts and plants. Teva is a leading international supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (api) with more than 70 years of experience…
  • Thursday's “Meet the Experts” Sessions Offer Advice and Insight

    The third and final day of the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange concluded Thursday afternoon with four Meet the Experts sessions that covered a wide range of prevalent issues concerning the process automation industry. These in-depth workshops gave users a unique opportunity to consult with the engineers behind today's leading technologies and discuss pertinent topics such as cyber security, safety instrumented system…
  • Taking a Comprehensive, Layered Approach to Securing the Internet of Things

    By the year 2020, the Internet of Things could connect 50 billion or more smart objects worldwide. Cars, cameras, phones, refrigerators, televisions, clocks, stoplights, thermometers, power transformers-approximately 6.5 devices for every person on Earth. There are high hopes that this new infrastructure will help transform raw data into wisdom, increasing operational efficiency and driving innovative business models…
  • Novartis Takes Front End Engineering Design to the Next Level

    In early 2013, Novartis Vaccines began planning a major overhaul of the process automation system at one of its bulk manufacturing facilities in Italy. The goal was to adopt a fully integrated process strategy, one that would improve flow consistency by moving from sequential unit operations to single production lots. The company had high hopes for the three-year project, as Gabriele Ricci and Massimo De Francisci of…
  • EDF Group Taps the Power of Wireless Video to Improve Plant Safety

    The many virtues of wireless video surveillance were on full display today at the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange in Stuttgart, Germany. I&C project managers René Biordi and Christian Gergen of EDF Group demonstrated how a new remote video monitoring system based on Emerson Process Management’s SmartWireless technology has improved safety and efficiency at the company's Belnod Thermal Power Plant. The video installation…
  • Tereos Uses FlowScanner to Make Smart, Selective Valve Repairs

    Harvest season is always the busiest time of year for Tereos Group. As one of Europe's largest producers of sugar, starch and bioethanol, the French cooperative processes more than 22,000 tons of sugar beets at its flagship Connantre plant every day of its four-month production campaign. Because the factory is only active those four months out of the year, even a few hours of downtime can have a significant impact on…
  • Value Engineering Creates Millions of Dollars in DCS Project Savings

    The first question any company usually asks when deciding whether to upgrade a complex system is, “How much will it cost?” In the process automation world, the expense involved in modernizing a control system often must be weighed against the demands of users who want better functionality and vendors who won’t support outdated technology. Jan de Rijke, an engineering manager at Momentive Specialty Chemicals, B.V.,…
  • Lukoil's New Operator Training Simulator Saves Time, Money and Lives

    When things go wrong on an offshore oil platform, training can make the difference between a minor incident and a full blown disaster. While it might make sense to practice fire-fighting or sea rescue operations in real-world conditions, regular operations training in an offshore environment can be unnecessarily hazardous. This was the thinking behind oil & gas producer Lukoil's decision to build an upgraded operator…
  • Emerson's perspective on the Global Metals and Mining Industry

    A Q&A with Alan Novak, Director Mining and Power Industries, Emerson Process Management The Emerson Exchange Metals and Mining Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Go here for more information on Emerson’s Metal and Mining Solutions What are the major issues and trends facing the metals and mining industry? Increasing focus on reliability and a desire to move…
  • Prevent costly downtime by detecting faulty bearings using PeakVue

    Oman India Fertiliser Company S.A.O.G (OMIFCO) is a joint-venture business established to operate a state-of-the-art two-train ammonia urea fertilizer manufacturing facility in the Sultanate of Oman. Plant capacity is 1,750 tons per day of anhydrous ammonia and 2,530 tpd of granular urea. All production is shipped to India to support that country’s growing agriculture industry. Ali Al Siyabi, Inspection Manager for…
  • Grupa LOTOS refinery integrates AMS with legacy DCS to improve valve maintenance

    To improve the maintenance of critical valves and instrumentation at their Gdańsk refinery, Grupa LOTOS implemented an advanced asset management system from Emerson Process Management . The new system has been integrated with existing third-party DCS systems, some of which did not offer HART capability. By providing online predictive maintenance functionality, automated documentation and remote monitoring, the new system…
  • Intelligent positioner improves reliability and operation of the ESD valve

    Albert Yeats opened his presentation on the reliability and operation of ESD (Emergency Shut Down) valves by explaining why traditional shut-off valves are no longer suitable for today’s challenging applications. Users need large diameter SIL-rated valves with the capability to close in just 4 seconds to cope with high pressures and temperatures. As the Lead Instrument Engineer for KBR, one of the world's leading engineering…
  • Technip and Emerson Rewrite the Project Management Playbook

    In early 2012, project managers at Technip, S.A., were preparing to take on another immensely complex refinery construction contract. Pushing the organizational envelope was nothing new to the Paris-based engineering firm, but this particular project called for nothing less than perfection. Missing the delivery deadline would have had an enormous negative financial impact on all involved, and time was short from the outset…
  • Tanatex Cuts Its Steam Losses with Wireless Monitoring

    Rising fuel costs and increasingly rigorous environmental standards in recent years have sent many process managers scrambling to find cheaper and better ways to conserve energy. Steam traps, which remove condensation from steam lines, are easy targets for potential savings—there are hundreds of them in most plants, and they can have an immediate impact on profitability when they fail. Knowing when they've failed is…
  • Developing Competency through Collaboration at Kuwait Oil Company

    When the Kuwait Oil Company began mapping its organizational strategy for the next 15 years, it realized that it would soon be on the verge of a talent crisis. An aging workforce combined with a shortage of skilled recruits would likely leave the company struggling to recover for years to come if a solution was not found quickly. The story of how that solution came to fruition was the subject of a presentation by Abdulla…
  • UDEP: Voice and Drive Your Ideas for DeltaV

    The Roman philosopher Seneca said that the best ideas are common property. This kind of collective approach to innovation is the basis for Emerson Process Management’s User Driven Enhancement Program, says Jaap Lageweg, Senior Process Automation Engineer at Sabic Innovative Plastics. Mr. Lageweg presented an overview of UDEP and an update on its latest achievements today at the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange in Stuttgart…
  • Achieving World-Class Alarm Management without the Tears

    Even after more than two decades of improvements in software tools and systems design, alarms are still a major concern for the oil and gas industry. “The sheer scale of the problem is daunting,” says Neil Brown of Profimation, who presented an informative overview of alarm management this week at the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange in Stuttgart, Germany. “This is particularly true for upstream hydrocarbon production…
  • NAM Streamlines Its Well Monitoring Operation with Remote Measuring Devices

    Twice a week, Dutch natural gas producer NAM was sending operations personnel out to check the integrity of its abandoned gas wells throughout the Netherlands. In many cases this required two hours of driving time plus one hour to conduct a pressure check and upload data, which added up to 300 hours spent on each well every year. Given the large number of wells NAM was legislatively obliged to monitor, the company decided…
  • Swedish Power Plant Finds a Solution in Emerson's Radar Level Meters

    In late 2010, European utility provider E.ON launched a comprehensive modernization initiative at its Åbyverket, Sweden, plant. One of Sweden's largest biomass-fueled power stations, the Åbyverket facility has provided heating to customers through a 390km-long pipeline network since the 1960s. Over the years E.ON has used a variety of methods to measure fluid and gas levels in the plant's tanks, but frequently experienced…
  • Emerson's perspective on the Industrial Energy

    A Q&A with Chip Rennie - Director, Global Industrial Energy, Emerson Process Management The Emerson Exchange Industrial Energy Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Go here for more information on Emerson’s Industry Energy solutions What are the major issues and trends facing industrial energy producers? Energy is a significant cost to industrial producers, and the volatility…
  • Emerson's perspective on the Life Sciences Industry

    A Q&A with Saroj Patnaik, Director, Life Sciences Industry Solutions, Emerson Process Management The Emerson Exchange Life Sciences Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Go here for more information on Emerson's Life Sciences What are the major issues and trends facing the life sciences industry? The overall population is aging, including in the developing world…
  • Q&A with Emerson Process Management's refining experts.

    Gary Hawkins, senior refining consultant Ed Schodowski, director refining sales - Global Industry Solutions Group Tim Olsen, global refining program manager The Emerson Exchange Refining & Petrochemicals Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Go here for more information on Emerson's Refining Solutions. What are the major issues and trends facing the refining industry? …
  • Emerson's perspective on the chemical industry

    A Q&A with Peter Cox, Global Chemical Industry Leader, Emerson Process Management The Emerson Exchange Chemicals Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Go here for more information on Emerson’s Chemical Solutions What are the major issues and trends facing the chemical industry? 'Impact of shale gas on European petrochemical assets profitability and utilization…