One of my first assignments as a newly minted Electrical Engineer was to tend to a triple modular redundant (TMR) safety instrumented system (SIS) on an offshore Gulf of Mexico oil & gas gathering facility. This was back in the 1980s when these systems were introduced. Many manufacturers and producers have these older safety systems that have been in operation for decades. I mention this since I received a note from...

A safety instrumented function (SIF) within a safety instrumented system (SIS) consists of a sensor, logic solver, and final element. As part of the IEC 61511 global safety standard, these elements within the SIF must be tested during the operational phase of the safety lifecycle. Of the 3 elements, the final control element, typically a safety valve, has mechanical movement which must be tested. In a Processing magazine...

Edition #14 of Innovations in Process Automation is now available. And it’s available not only in English, but also in German , Italian , Spanish and French . This latest edition includes articles about: Emerson’s commitment to training and education is closing the skills gap STEM initiatives inspire next generation of innovators The business case for gender balance is clear Training solutions help maximise...

Author: Riyaz Ali Partial stroke test is one of the viable means to check mechanical integrity of Final Element of Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) loop. Generally, end users struggle on question of credit of PST for improvement in SIL (Safety Integrity Level). IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 define diagnostic coverage factors (DCF), but do not provide a prescriptive way to estimate the number applied in real process...

Cell therapy is when: …cellular material is injected into a patient; [1] this generally means intact, living cells . For example, T cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity may be injected in the course of immunotherapy . For manufacturers in the Life Sciences industry, making these therapies poses challenges since each batch is specific to a given patient. In this 2:25 YouTube video...

The rise of smart phone and tablets has enabled businesses to completely rethink workflows and access to information. Within the world of manufacturing, this is even true for supervising and managing the process. In a Chemical Engineering article, Engineering Challenges? There’s a Mobile Application for That , Emerson’s Mariana Dionisio describes how the DeltaV Mobile application: …allows users, such as operations...

Maintaining robust defenses from cyber-attacks is a priority for manufacturers. They rely on their automation suppliers to provide security-hardened technologies and cybersecurity services to help defend against new attacks and maintain resiliency and robustness over time. One key element in robustness is quickly finding, fixing and distributing patches for newly discovered vulnerabilities. Industrial control systems...

Authors: Tom Snowden , Greg Schirm Photovoltaic power stations (or solar parks) have traditionally used PLCs as their preferred control devices. Size, ruggedness, and cost are often cited as reasons for using PLCs. With the release of the Ovation Compact Controller , Emerson is merging the scalability of PLCs with the power of the Ovation distributed control system on photovoltaic (PV) solar projects. The compact...

Today is the final day of the 2018 Emerson Exchange conference. The last session I’m attending is on Control Performance with Emerson’s James Beall , Courtney (Eddie) Lane , Dirk Thiele and Aspentech’s Alex Kalafatis . After the panel introduced themselves, Dirk opened the panel with a poll question, “How would you rate the overall control performance in your plant?” More than 50% indicated that it needed improvements...

Augmented reality—a day in the life of operations is the intriguing title of a 2018 Emerson Exchange conference presentation. Emerson’s Aaron Crews , Mary Grace Francisco , and Mark Nixon joined University of Texas Center for Energy & Environmental Resources ‘ Robert Montgomery. Mark open the presentation introducing the panelists and noting how augmented reality (AR) is being actively incorporated into the overall...

Emerson’s Zach Brooks and Steven Kormann described how compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) with modern burner management and combustion control hardware systems has been simplified. They explored how recently released (and upcoming) standard changes have forced the evolution of best practices based on modern hardware solutions. The acceptance of SIL-capable instrumentation has become more commonplace...

The pace of technological change is dizzying. Even in our world of automation where there’s a premium on proven, amazing changes have occurred over the past decade. In a Control Engineering Europe article, Looking into the future of control systems , Emerson’s Bob Halgren shares his thoughts on where process control systems are headed in this era of Industry 4.0 and digital transformations. Bob opens noting the changes...

Author: Jonathan Lustri Almost all Life Sciences manufacturing execution system (MES) projects include an interface to SAP, the enterprise resource management system . This interface is strategic in that this is how the business and production are tied together. It allows the manufacturing floor to be integrated with the business for cost accounting, material planning, and production planning. The integration...

Pressure relief valves (PRVs) are critical safety and equipment protection devices to prevent overpressure conditions. They need ongoing maintenance to assure that they operate as designed for their intended applications. In a Valve magazine article, Lifecycle Management of Pressure Relief Valves , Emerson’s Kevin Simmons and Marcelo Dultra describe considerations for effective and efficient PRV sizing, selection...

Wikipedia defines a High-integrity pressure protection system (HIPPS) as: …a type of safety instrumented system (SIS) designed to prevent over-pressurization of a plant, such as a chemical plant or oil refinery . The HIPPS will shut off the source of the high pressure before the design pressure of the system is exceeded, thus preventing loss of containment through rupture ( explosion ) of a line or vessel. Therefore...

Author: Jonathan Lustri I have previously been interviewed and written about a process control and MES [ Manufacturing Execution Systems ] architecture where the batch control logic within the process control system is the single procedural engine. It drives procedural logic and workflows executed by the MES system when called by the process control system. The benefit of this architecture is an overall lower cost...

The reality for manufacturers and producers is that their plant assets continually degrade over time. Valves wear over time, electrical assets may experience intermittent faults, and rotating equipment imbalances may lead quickly to forced outages. In this 3-minute YouTube video, Alert Plant Operations When Rotating Equipment Problems Pose a Threat , Emerson’s Kevin Rossi shares ways to equip plant operators with...

Emerson’s Mircea Lupu shared his thoughts on Ovation system algorithms for handling processes with long lag times—a control challenge that vexes many. Mircea opened noting that control algorithms are at the heart of any control system to provide stable and accurate response and robustness against disturbances and process changes. Tuning these algorithms to achieve the desired performance can be laborious. Proportional...

At the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference, Emerson’ Brett Benson discussed the challenge of operating multiple plants with reduced staff levels and how centralized control for single or multiple plant sites is a viable solution. The latest developments in communication technology coupled with modern control hardware provides utilities the ability to monitor, analyze alarms and control their plants, remotely, from...

Emerson’s Nick Janouskovec shared his practical tips for attaining and managing Ovation system security at the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference. With so many different standards, regulations, technologies and approaches to cybersecurity, it can be challenging to figure out what you really need. Developing a security program that truly secures your control system, meets your compliance obligations and doesn’t add...

At the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference, Emerson’s Sam Onuska and Greg Lieb presented improvements in advanced overspeed protection and online, real time testing of overspeed systems. Greg opened describing where overspeed protection systems can be applied including steam turbines, gas turbines, boiler feed pump turbines (BFPTs) and hydro turbines. These systems measure the shaft rotational speed and decide &...

Emerson’s Tom Snowdon provided a closer look at the Ovation Compact Controller (OCC100) with third party I/O at the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference. The OCC100 extends the Ovation platform to small-scale and highly-distributed applications that need secure, reliable and direct control close the field devices or plant equipment. Typical applications may include small hydro, PLC replacements, wind, solar, microgrids...

At the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference, Emerson’s Jason King and John Reidelbach provided an update on Ovation Machinery Health Monitor and a case study of its application. Jason opened describing some of the challenges of traditional machinery protection systems. Plants today have more operational issues due to cycling stresses, loss of expertise, and maintenance issues from growing reactive work practices....

At the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference, Emerson’s Jose Pablo Bonilla and Levi Crosier described the different components of the Power and Water Cybersecurity Suite (PWCS) . This presentation included providing users with guidance for configuring their systems, identifying custom reports & dashboards along with establishing a cadence for performing routine security tasks effectively & efficiently. Their focus included...

At the 2018 Ovation Users’ Group Conference, Emerson’ Nick Koonce and Mike Ames presented on some of the tools and data that Ovation control system users can use for lifecycle planning . It included a step-by-step demonstration along with an explanation of the data (format and content) focused on: Lifecycle planning tools & data such as System Gather & Registration Utility Considerations/limitations/things to...