AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 21, 2005) -- Emerson Process Management has been able to significantly reduce the number of valves that are removed for service at Dow Corning, following the introduction of valve diagnostic services to predict impending problems and initiate efficient repairs. Emerson has a three year contract with Dow Corning for control valve monitoring services at their Barry, South Wales, plant. The plant is Dow Corning’s largest global manufacturing facility for silicon-based products. Continuity of production is vital and, to ensure reliability, Dow Corning was regularly dismantling and repairing up to 60% of the control valves on the plant as part of its scheduled maintenance program.
This was proving to be an expensive and time consuming exercise.By applying advanced diagnostic tools of Emerson’s PlantWeb® architecture such as AMS™ Suite: Intelligent Device Manager and Flowscanning(SM) valve diagnostic services to each control valve, Emerson service personnel are able to check valve performance. By servicing only those valves that are identified as faulty, Dow Corning has been able to increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs.For example, during a recent plant shutdown, a total of 191 valves on the plant were scanned. While traditional practice is to fully service up to 60% of valves in the plant, the Flowscanning service verified that only 51 valves required further investigation and, of these, just 16 valves were identified for a full service in the workshop.
Roy Phillips, Control Electrical Engineer at Dow Corning said, “Around a third of the valves that were scanned using Emerson diagnostics had an issue. Some of these were minor while others were more significant. If we had stroke checked these valves using a 4-20mA source in the traditional way, it is likely that only half of the IP issues and a quarter of the positioner faults would have been identified. Significantly, we estimate that only two of the valve failures would have been picked up.”Because a reduced number of valves require full service, the demands on maintenance resources are significantly reduced.
Flowscanning detects many minor faults that would have previously passed unnoticed, giving highly accurate results and significantly improving plant reliability.
About Dow Corning
Dow Corning ( www.dowcorning.com ) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States.
About Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Management ( www.emersonprocess.com ), an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate their production, processing and distribution in the chemical, oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, power, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and other industries.
Asset Optimization, www.assetweb.com ., a division of Emerson Process Management, is a leading worldwide supplier of services and technologies to increase the availability and performance of production assets for improved bottom line results. Asset Optimization plays a key role in Emerson's mission of combining superior products and technology with industry-specific engineering, consulting, project management and maintenance services to help customers achieve the potential of their operations.
Emerson brands include PlantWeb®, Fisher®, Micro Motion®, Rosemount®, DeltaV™, Ovation®, AMS™ Suite, and CSI.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Sales in fiscal 2004 were $15.6 billion.
For more information, visit www.GoToEmerson.com . PlantWeb, Fisher, Micro Motion, Rosemount, DeltaV, Ovation, AMS and Flowscanning are marks of Emerson Process Management.
