Control System World

Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, today announced the winners of the Global System Integrator Excellence Awards for Industry. These awards distinguish our dedicated partners responsible for the innovations, achievements and great service that help our industrial and infrastructure customers meet their technical and business challenges.

“Recognizing the companies and individuals within the Schneider Electric System Integrator Alliance program is an important aspect of the program,” says Andrew Brown, Strategy & System Integrator Program Director, Schneider Electric. “These awards distinguish our dedicated partners responsible for the innovations, achievements and great service that help our industrial and infrastructure customers meet their technical and business challenges. These winners should be very proud of their recognition through these awards.”

The winners of the Global System Integrator Excellence awards are:

Business Development Award: Sintek (Russia) – Sintek is a loyal and driven SI Alliance Partner who excelled in 2014. They are a Certified Alliance partner, displaying expertise in delivering solutions for large projects, encompassing the full PlantStruxure offer.

Certified Engineer of the Year: Mr. Göray Akgün (Turkey) – The Certified Engineer of the year is Göray Akgün, who is a PlantStruxure Certified Engineer from MAS OTOMASYON SIST. SAN. TIC. LTD in Turkey. This is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates Göray’s engineering expertise across the PlantStruxure offer.

Technical Expertise Award: Artiflex (South Africa) – Artiflex is a two-time winner of the Technical Expertise award, which is an outstanding achievement. The company’s highly skilled team of engineers includes two PlantStruxure Certified engineers, clearly demonstrated their technical expertise through their many projects completed in 2014.

Global PlantStruxure Partner of the Year: Raster (Netherlands) – Raster is a dedicated and long-standing SI Alliance partner with a highly skilled team of engineers and project managers, committed to delivering the best Schneider Electric solutions to their customers.

Global Telemetry Partner of the Year: SPP Engineering (Turkey) – SPP Engineering has demonstrated their expertise in the Telemetry field throughout 2014 and are deserving winners of this new award category.

Global PES Partner of the Year: Supertech (India) – Supertech is an early adopter of PES and has displayed their engineering expertise with this offer throughout 2014 delivering projects across a variety of industries and applications. It is a great achievement to win this new award category.

An awards ceremony will be held in Dallas, USA on April 27th to honor the winners, which will be part of Schneider Electric’s Global Automation Conference. The conference will enable partners and customers the opportunity to collaborate, gain insight into what’s new from Schneider Electric and get technical with offer experts in the extensive marketplace.

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, has acquired LimeWare, a provider of system analysis and auditing software for Schneider Electric‟s Foxboro Evo™ process automation and I/A Series® distributed control systems. The acquisition provides foxray software to help customers pinpoint and address critical industry challenges.

“Acquiring LimeWare and its foxray software is an integral part of our strategy to help our customers improve their operational integrity and operational insight, while future-proofing their operations,” said Gary Freburger, president of Schneider Electric‟s process automation business. “With additional investment in our flagship process automation offerings, we have even more power to address critical challenges around safety, reliability and efficiency. The ability to more easily tackle pain points, while driving value across the entire process automation chain, is one of the big ideas we are discussing with our customers in Dallas this week, and it remains a major differentiator for our process automation business.”

LimeWare was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Its foxray system management software complements the robust functionality of Schneider Electric‟s Foxboro Evo and I/A Series process automation systems. The solution offers additional capability for configuration management, alarm management, operator action analysis and overall documentation. It includes:

• Change tracking with a complete change management workflow process;
• Graphics visualization of the control block loops;
• Integrity checks to solve all DCS configuration issues;
• Scheduled reports;
• Alarms and operator action management and tracking;
• I/O and FBM spare reserve and tracking;
• An advance query engine that can quickly fetch any DCS information.

“foxray software is the go-to tool for working with our control system database on a daily basis,” said Scott McWaters, process control engineer, Hunt Refining Company. “From easily locating and reserving spare I/O to improved troubleshooting and insight with the „where used‟ function, system health reporting, operator action reports, alarm history, inhibited alarm tracking and many other functions, foxray has greatly increased our efficiency. The software has been instrumental in our recent alarm rationalization efforts, and the alarm shelving tool will be used to help cut down on the number of call outs to our on-call engineers for nuisance alarm silencing. This contributes to our overall confidence in the integrity of our operation.”

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it will be releasing a number of new UTAdvanced® series controllers on April 24. The new controllers include four DIN rail*1 mounting type controllers and one 1/8 DIN panel type program controller. This is part of Yokogawa's ongoing effort to expand its controller business by satisfying market needs and giving customers a greater range of choices.

Development Background:

UTAdvanced series controllers are mounted on furnaces and other types of heat process-related industrial facilities for the measurement, display, and control of operating variables such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate.

In recent years, it has become more common for equipment manufacturers to integrate the setting, manipulation, and display functions of programmable logic controllers (PLC) and other embedded control devices on touch panels and other types of user interfaces, and to mount the hardware on DIN rails inside panel boxes. There is an increasing need for such DIN rail mounting type controllers.

The UTAdvanced series controllers come in two sizes: 1/4 DIN and 1/8 DIN. While 1/4 DIN controllers are more popular because they have large display panels and provide a wider range of I/O signal choices, there are certain applications where space is at a premium that require a smaller device. For just such applications, Yokogawa has added more 1/8 DIN controllers to its product lineup.

Sierra’s portable ultrasonic flow meter enables the user to do flow measurement checks at many points in a flow process without the need for a permanent installation.

Battery powered, lightweight, and rugged, the 210i is a totally self-contained flow measurement package. Sierra 210i ultrasonic portable flow meters come standard with a sturdy and convenient pelican carrying case, transducers installed into compact, easy to set up mounting racks (magnetic & cable mount), coupling compound and a start-up CD. Get high accuracy measurements in five minutes or less. This universal transit-time meter features a dual-function push button interface, ergonomic handheld design and a beautiful backlit color digital display that significantly simplifies setup and data collection.

The portable 210i is ideal for precisely measuring a wide range of liquid flows. Its high-powered ultrasonic pulse with improved digital signal processing requires just one set of transducers for a wide range of pipe sizes and materials including metal, plastic and concrete. While principally designed for clean liquids, the 210i operates effectively with the minimal quantity of air bubbles or suspended solids found in most industrial applications.

Our 210i ultrasonic flow meter provides a powerful and extremely user-friendly programming menu that includes instantaneous flow rate, positive total, negative total, net total, velocity, date & time, and daily flow results. Its 2 GB SD memory card promises high-capacity data logging and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery supports continuous operation up to 10 hours.

Product Webpage

Mirion Technologies has contracted with Schneider Electric to use its Wonderware eDNA historian software as the information management system for the Radiation Monitoring System (RMS) upgrade at AEP’s D.C. Cook nuclear power plant. The eDNA RadServ solution interfaces directly with Mirion’s radiation monitors being installed at the plant and is used to notify operators when radiation levels reach predefined thresholds.

As part of the contract, Wonderware eDNA display screens are being created for real-time visualization of data for each radiation monitor and detector at the plant. The screens highlight radiation levels and the status of the monitor and its corresponding detectors -- whether normal, maintenance, or alarm -- in addition to other user-defined variables. The software includes the ability to generate standard radiation monitoring reports that include both real-time and historical data, such as source check, channel checks and system performance audits, in addition to custom reports.

“Wonderware eDNA has been installed at the D.C. Cook plant for more than a decade, and we are excited that this technology continues to be used in this RMS upgrade and for numerous other data-intensive projects in the power industry,” said Rob McGreevy, Vice President of Information, Operations at Schneider Electric.

Wonderware eDNA’s RadServ Radiation Monitoring System is a reliable solution for centralized monitoring and control of radiation field units. Overall, the Wonderware eDNA enterprise historian is equipment agnostic and is used in the power industry to collect, store, display, analyze and report on operational and asset health related information.

KOBOLD’s NMC Series two-wire capacitance level transmitter consists of a measuring probe and a connecting head with a plug-in evaluation module. It is a great solution for measuring continuous liquid levels in tanks. Different probes are available to suit the needs of various operating conditions: a single probe for standard applications, a single probe with an external grounding reference tube for non-metallic tanks or media with a very low dielectric constant, a single probe with a split connecting head for liquid temperatures of up to 260 °F (125 °C), and a double probe with PVDF connection for non-metallic tanks with aggressive media. The possibility of any mechanical wear is minimized with the NMC Series capacitive level transmitter due to the lack of moving parts. Plug-in evaluation modules can be changed if necessary, making for an easy-to-maintain device.

Product Features:

• Capacitive Monitoring Principle
• Measurement of Liquid Levels in Tanks
• No Moving Parts
• Four Designs for Various Applications

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, today released its Tricon® CX compact system for safety and critical control applications in the oil and gas, power, refining, chemicals, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, where safe operations are critical and reliable operation is paramount. A certified ISA Secure system, the high-integrity and highly available Tricon CX ensures operational integrity, protecting against inherent risk and hazards, as well as external threats such as cyber-attack.

“Safety and security have always been a top concern for our industrial clients, but now new threats, such as cyber-attack, have challenged the traditional approaches they have taken to protect and secure their people, property, communities and the environment,” said Mike Chmilewski, vice president, process systems offer management, Schneider Electric process automation business. “Therefore, our clients demand the highest levels of safety and security to keep them safe and ensure the systems they rely on are immune to external threats. Our high-performance, future-proof Tricon CX safety system does just that. With more performance and capability, it can help clients maximize productivity, reliability and security while minimizing risks and the likelihood of business interruption. It’s another example of why Schneider Electric is uniquely positioned to power the big ideas our clients need to solve their most critical issues.”

The latest addition to Schneider Electric’s Triconex® line of safety-instrumented systems, the Tricon CX is smaller, faster, lighter and more powerful than previous safety solutions. Its advanced functionality enables online upgrades without operational interruption. Additionally, the compact design allows for a number of new features including:

• Reduced form factor by 50 percent
• 67 percent reduction in weight
• Lower power consumption
• Advanced monitoring and control capabilities, including:
• Supervised DI/DO with advanced line-performance diagnostics
• Fast analogue inputs with integrated HART
• 1ms SOE digital input
• Choice of direct termination or external termination panel
• 300 percent increase in controller tag capacity
• 5 times increase in peer-to-peer performance
• ISA Secure EDSA level 1
• New automated test and verification of safety logic

“The Tricon CX safety system will enhance Schneider Electric’s current safety portfolio, and ARC believes its increased capabilities will enable new and existing customers to expand existing systems, replace obsolete systems or implement new systems,” said Larry O'Brien, vice president, process automation, ARC Advisory Group. “Its ability to handle upgrades without interrupting the operation should give users confidence in their ability to continue to draw additional value from their investments down the road.”

Through its Triconex brand, Schneider Electric offers industry-leading safety and critical control solutions for managing risks in hazardous environments. Triconex solutions enable safer operations by maximizing compliance to mandated safety regulations and minimizing both unscheduled downtime and the likelihood of business interruptions. The systems improve operational efficiency, helping clients achieve gains in production availability, asset uptime and ROI. Based on industry-leading Triple Modular Redundancy technology, Triconex solutions are also easy to operate and maintain, and they provide a higher total value of ownership over competitive offers.

In addition to leading technology and solution sets, Schneider Electric’s process safety offer includes more than 650 safety engineers who provide a suite of services that help clients better manage their operations. These services include:

• Safety Instrumented Functions Management services
• Process safety consulting services
• Functional safety learning services

Technip’s subsidiary in Colombia, was awarded by the Consorcio Constructor Ductos del Sur(2), a front-end engineering design and detailed engineering design contract, on a lumpsum basis. This covers the development of a new gas pipeline to transport gas from the Camisea field to Southern Peru.

Launched by the Peruvian government, the project consists of more than 1,700 kilometers of 32" gas pipeline. It aims to improve the existing Peruvian Energy Network, contributing to the development of an Energy Node and Petrochemical Hub in Southern Peru.

The overall work will be performed by Tipiel’s offices in Bogota, Colombia. Marco Villa, Technip’s Region B(3) President, commented: “This award reflects the importance to accompany the client since the very early stage of an initiative to help design an optimized project execution scheme.”

Riccardo Nicoletti, Tipiel General Manager, stated: "This contract, which is related to one of the most important projects for the development of energy infrastructure in Peru, serves our objective to make Tipiel a leading engineering company outside Colombia as well”.

Tipiel is a Colombian engineering company and a leader in Latin America in project management, engineering and construction for the oil & gas industry. Established in 1975, it has contributed to the design and construction of the main successful projects related to hydrocarbons in Colombia. Its reference shareholders are Technip (44%) and Grupo SURA (41%), a company based in Colombia which is an important player in Latin America through its strategic investments dedicated to the insurance, pensions and banking sectors as well as investments in the processed food, cement production and energy sectors.