Articles and News

By Bill Lydon, Editor In February 2013, Schneider Electric announced the PlantStruxure PES (Process Expert System) as, “The innovative Process Automation System that brings together the best from the PLC/SCADA and DCS worlds and combines this with integrated energy management features…” To gain a better understanding, I had the opportunity to ask their Product Marketing Manager some questions about this new offering.

The Metso DNA automation system lets the Tampere plant operate unmanned with remote monitoring from the main control room of the Lielahti power plant.

With TuneWizard, plant facilities in the power and process automation industries can tune their control loops to ensure they are performing as they should without any cost.

The FMC722 subsea automation interface provides integration of the FMC protocol on the controller, enabling seamless peer-to-peer communication between topside and subsea control assets.

By Bill Lydon, Editor A pharmaceutical company discussed their strategy and tips for system obsolescence planning and presented a specific case study of a DCS replacement at a specific site. Other pharmaceutical companies also shared their perspectives on the topic.

Honeywell will supply building automation, process control and safety systems for a new bubble fluidized-bed (BFB) boiler site.

Website describes S88 Builder, a configuration system developed based on the ISA-S88 standard for best practices of control operations at batch processing plants.

Emerson will supply an Ovation control system, AMS Suite predictive maintenance software, valves and smart wireless instrumentation to the waste- and biomass-fed power station at Morcenx in southwestern France.

Honeywell will install an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) to modernize the integrated control room at the Tokuyama Refining and Petrochemical Complex in Japan.

Increased investments, government regulations and the exploration of new oil and gas deposits will favor the development of the automation and control solutions (ACS) market in Russia over 2013-2016.

Yokogawa will supply control systems and operator training simulators for the Shoaiba II combined cycle power plant, which is being built in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Electricity Company.

The Experion Process Knowledge System and Experion Orion will be among the Honeywell control and safety systems showcased in this facility.

Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) will be deployed throughout the Azzour Water Distribution Scheme so that operators at a central location can control a network of six different treatment plants.

MDIS selected OPC UA as the Master Control System (MCS) and Distributed Control System (DCS) protocol standard for offshore oil and gas production.

Metso will provide automation systems for two greenfield 1000 MW power plant units located in Xiashu Town, Jurong City, Jiangsu Province, China.

Yokogawa will supply the integrated automation and safety system for the new liquefaction trains at Cheniere’s LNG facility in Sabine Pass, LA.

By Robert Myles Given the issues present in large-scale PLC/DCS systems and the advantages offered by Dedicated Alarm Annunciators, the additional cost to include one as a redundant system is well outweighed; particularly when the system or the process they are protecting and the cost of a shutdown (or worse) is taken into account.

ARC says automation expenditures in the water & wastewater industry will grow at a rate of 7.8 percent over the next five years.

The PROFIBUS Tester identified potential, covert failure nuisances within the PROFIBUS network before DCS commissioning started, reducing the overall time needed for commissioning the DCS by about 25%.

CALgrafix software enables a user to set up and monitor CAL temperature and process controllers in individual machines or complex automation systems.