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Corona Virus & Emerson-approved Disinfectants

When considering the scenario of a corona virus outbreak in the control room, what Emerson approved disinfectants should be used for the DCS computers and electronics? I am sure that there are many logical answers, but it is my hope that a response is provided by a qualified Emerson representative.

Curtis Byrd

• 9 Apr 2020 2:34 PM
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8 Replies

• Rune Reppenhagen

  

  • 9 Apr 2020 2:59 PM

  Curtis,
  
  There is a KBA issued with more information on this. Please look for KBA NK-2000-0232.
  
  Best regards,
  Rune

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• doug bray

  

  • 9 Apr 2020 3:24 PM

  In reply to Rune Reppenhagen:

  The KBA is pretty generic. Are there any suggestions or procedures disable keyboards and mouse while cleaning? We have a very large facility and our operators will be doing the cleaning. The PC workstations are not readily accessible so unplugging the keyboards and mice is not practical. I would also worry the operators would fail to get them plugged back in correctly causing other problems.

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• Jason.Brumfield

  

  • 9 Apr 2020 3:38 PM

  In reply to doug bray:

  We created a monitor only account that has no control capability. They login as that user, wipe down keyboards, mice, etc and then re login with control credentials. This assures they don't accidently make a change. Our second alternative is to hit ctrl-alt-del and lock the workstation prior to wipe down.

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• RMartinez_T

  

  • 9 Apr 2020 8:39 PM

  In reply to doug bray:

  Curtis,
  
  Here is another solution that I just thought about. I thought about your question and depending on the setup, turning off the monitor does not work. My Quad monitor and the remote KVM will detect that and it will mess up the quad display. So it is an interesting question of how to sanitize the monitors, mouse, etc.
  
  I hope I don't get kicked out for this solution. Back when the TDC-3000 came out, it had CRT (Cathod Ray Tube) monitors because you could touch the screen to Operate. Those systems had a dedicated display, don't recall the name (maybe it was black screen). It sounded silly that you would need a "black" display but my operators back then learned how to use it ... to clean the CRT's at the beginning of their shift ... especially if the previous shift had been eating fried chicken or pizza or something kind of messy.
  
  So I would think that creating a "blank" display and making it available in the Display Directory for Operators to call up and put/ point the mouse on that display might solve the problem.
  
  I am surprised 3 of my plants that I support have not raised that issue. I wonder how they are cleaning the monitors, mouse and keyboard now.
  
  Hope this helps because I now have a solution if need be.
  
  Thanks,

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• doug bray

  

  • 9 Apr 2020 8:58 PM

  In reply to Jason.Brumfield:

  We found we can do windows L keys and lock and control alt del to get back in as well. That seems to work.

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• Curtis Byrd

  

  • 10 Apr 2020 7:04 PM

  In reply to RMartinez_T:

  Thanks Raul. This is actually a very good idea I've seen implemented at other sites. This keeps the operator from worrying about passwords. I would assume that this "blank" display would also be lack the toolbars, so there may need to be an operator training on how to return to the directory. Perhaps the blank graphic would have a button that initiates an prompt that must be confirmed to return to a default graphic; and is located in an area not easily clicked?

  The quad display issue you mentioned is worth paying attention to. Modern displays are often affected in the same way if they are connected to KVMs (as mentioned before), or if they support multiple local inputs. Turning these displays off often causes resolution issues that are not easy to recover without rebooting.Alternatively, if auto-login is setup, then turning the machines off should not be a problem in most cases.

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• Curtis Byrd

  

  • 10 Apr 2020 7:11 PM

  In reply to Rune Reppenhagen:

  Thank you Rune. This is exactly what we needed for building our procedure.

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• Curtis Byrd

  

  • 10 Apr 2020 7:15 PM

  In reply to Jason.Brumfield:

  Thanks Jason. This is a practical solution that can easily be implemented with minimal training and configuration. It eliminates any need for a shutdown. Auto-login would complete the strategy for me in case a shutdown is necessary.

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