December 8, 2015 — United Electric Controls announced a program to help companies assess their industrial switching needs and evaluate upgrade opportunities. The program includes a guided assessment of needs for operational visibility, adjustability, safety, availability, energy conservation, economy and hazardous locations and helps determine the ideal combination of legacy and new digital switches that can meet them.
“A typical process plant might have anywhere from 100 to 1000 mechanical switches installed, some of which may be nearing the end of their useful lives or taking up operating space that might be filled by more productive contributors to plant control, process efficiency and safety. In addition to our robust line of electromechanical switches, UE offers temperature and pressure transmitters with built-in digital switching functionality to help customers determine where digital switching may fit into the plant automation schemes,” says Wil Chin, Director of Marketing for United Electric Controls.
Reliable switching is vital to plant operation performing functions ranging from controlling hard alarms, permissives, safety interlocks, blowers and fans to initiating an emergency shutdown. United Electric Controls has found that many companies are migrating to digital switches for the following reasons:
- Improved operational visibility via LCDs that display local process variables and diagnostics
- Easily adjustable set point and deadband to reduce setup time
- Certified for use in SIL 2 safety systems, capable of SIL 3
- Improved uptime to boost productivity
- Protection from hazardous conditions
- Lower total cost of ownership
- Plant modernization
- UE has also found, however, that some companies tend to prefer electromechanical switches to achieve the following objectives:
- Limited power availability at the source
- Faster reaction time
- Lower purchase price
In the switch assessment program, UE application experts will meet with plant managers to help identify the mix of switches that will meet their needs, now and into the future.
About United Electric Controls
United Electric Controls (UE,) a privately held corporation founded in 1931 and headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, is a global supplier of pressure and temperature switches, transmitters, sensors and controls for the process, discrete, semiconductor, aerospace and defense industries. Focused on protecting equipment, processes, personnel and the environment, our products are critical for safety, alarm and shutdown functions with uncompromising quality produced from innovative design and superior lean manufacturing.