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Tank Farms / Water Injection

Problems

  • Existing PLC at tank farm was poorly coded and not documented. As a consequence, root causes of process upsets were extremely hard to determine.
  • Existing HMI was very difficult to read outdoors in bright sunlight.
  • Water injection system included multiple stand-alone systems that did not play well with each other. Parts of the system would continue to run when other parts shut down.
  • Many field locations were originally installed as stand-alone systems, which increased overhead by requiring operators to constantly make their 'rounds', driving many miles each day.

Solutions

  • Fixed coding errors and fully documented the tank farm PLC.
  • Upgraded (1) HMI from Automation Direct to PanelView Plus 6 to increase display contrast.
  • Installed (6) new PLCs: three for the water injection system, one for a heater treater, one for a vapor recovery compressor, and one for a water separation facility.
  • Automated and networked stand-alone systems, which allowed operators to reduce their 'drive time' and concentrate on known issues.
  • Provided detailed electrical drawings including:
    • PLC drawings
    • Motor control drawings
    • Cause and Effect Chart

Results

  • Increased product quality.
  • More productive employees.
  • More reliable equipment.
  • Better able to document environmental compliance.

Details

Client: Energy Resources Group (ERG)
Location: Orcutt, CA

PLCs:
  • (1) Allen Bradley - CompactLogix L35E
  • (5) Allen Bradley - MicroLogix 1400
  • 217 discrete, 28 analog
HMIs:
  • (1) Allen Bradley - PanelView Plus 6, 10" color touchscreen panel
  • 65 tagnames
Remote Alarming:
  • Specter Instruments - Win-911 (existing)
Data Historian:
  • existing
Other Components Integrated through SCADA:
  • Allen Bradley - point I/O
  • Honeywell - burner controllers, 7890
  • MDS - iNet-II 900 radios
Networking, Protocols, and Drivers:
  • TCP/IP
  • RSLinx Enterprise
  • EIA-568A