Maintenance Programming

Problems

Plant processes and equipment often change, requiring new solutions which must then be integrated with existing systems. The work is rarely glamorous and does not make for good advertising copy, but it is often critical that the work be performed quickly and accurately.

Solutions

Installed, Replaced, or Modified Communication Networks

• Upgraded Siemens Tiway network to a TCP/IP network.
• Created new DH+ network to allow SCADA system to communicate with a Thermal Oxidizer.
• Installed wireless network to allow a PLC to communicate with a mass flow meter via Ethernet-to-RS232 radio modem.
• Installed a cellular modem to allow alarm text messages to be sent to operators.
• Installed and programmed converters to allow PC to gather data via Ethernet-to-Modbus RTU network.
• Installed and programmed new scanners and adaptors to create a Remote I/O network.
• Installed leased-line modems for a master-slave DF1 network.
• Installed wireless network to allow a PLC to collect data from a flare gas meter via a spread-spectrum radio.
• Installed and programmed communication cards so various PLCs could communicate via Modbus RTU to gas chromatographs, power management relays, chemical injection skids, flow meters, and variable speed drives.
• Installed various routers, switches, and firewalls to manage TCP/IP network.
  

Replaced Relay-based Controls with PLC-based Controls

• Flare ignition system.
• Refrigeration compressor operation at an LTS plant.
• LACT shipping sequence for an oil pipeline.
• Gas compressor operation.
• Fire pump control.
• Heater Treater control.
• Steam boiler control.
• Tank Farm control.
• Hydroelectric dam flood-control sequence.
• Vapor recovery compressors with lead-lag sequencing.
  

Installed Additional PLCs onto Existing Automation Networks

• New PLC and HMI for a tank farm.
  
• 3 new expansion PLC bases for new instrumentation at an urban oil lease.
• New PLC for motor control and alarm annunciation at an Amine Plant.
• New PLC for a Thermal Oxidizer.
• 53 new PLCs for a water injection system.
• New PLC for a CO2 plant.
• New PLC for a LACT (custody transfer) skid.
• 3 new PLCs to control an assembly line at an automotive plant.
• New PLC for a vapor recovery system.
• New PLC for a chemical injection skid.
  

Installed Additional Field Equipment and Integrated with PLC and HMI

• Meteorological station to monitor atmospheric conditions to meet air quality standards.
• Analog input/output cards and PID loops for process control.
• Fire, combustible gas, and toxic gas monitoring systems.
• Variable speed drives for motor control.
  

Modified PLC Ladder Logic

• Modified ladder logic at a tank farm to correct multiple programming errors.
• Added programming to calculate gas and liquid flow rates based on differential pressure across orifice plate, taking into account temperature, pressure, and specific gravity correction.
• Re-created ladder logic documentation for databases that had become corrupted.
• Created new controls which allowed Operators to test their safety devices under controlled conditions without shutting down their plants.
• Modified the programming for a driller's console on an offshore drilling rig.
  

Provided Detailed Electrical Drawings

• PLC drawings
• Control Panel drawings
• Interconnection drawings
• Motor control drawings
• Networking drawing

Results

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

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Details

PLCs:

• Allen Bradley: ControlLogix, CompactLogix, MicroLogix, SLC 500 and PLC 5 families
• Automation Direct: Productivity 3000 and Direct Logic 06, 205, 305 and 405 series
• Siemens: TI 545
• Westinghouse: Numalogic

HMIs:

• Inductive Automation: Ignition 7.2 through 7.8
• Allen Bradley: FactoryTalk, Machine Edition
• Allen Bradley: FactoryTalk, Site Edition
• Wonderware: InTouch 7.11 through 2012
• Maple Systems: 5000 Series OIT
• Automation Direct: C-More Series OIT
• Iconics: Genesis

Remote Alarming and Paging:

• Inductive Automation: Ignition (paging, email, SMS text messages, voice messages)
• Specter Instruments: Win-911 (paging, email, SMS text messages)
• Wonderware: SCADAlarm 6.0 (paging)
• United Security Products (paging)

Data Historian:

• Microsoft SQL Server
• Wonderware: InSQL Server
• Canary Labs: Historian and TrendLink
• MySQL

Other Components Integrated through SCADA:

• ABB RTU - gas chromatograph data
• ABB TotalFlow - flow meters
• Cisco - hardware firewall
• Daniels - Gas Chromatographs
• DetTronics - flame detection panel
• Fieldserver - network bridge
• Freewave - frequency-hopping radios
• Lantronics - protocol converters
• Honeywell - burner control
• Honeywell - corrosion monitor
• Meteorological Station
• Micro Motion - mass flow meter
• MDS - frequency-hopping radios
• Motorola - 202T modem
• Moxa - Ethernet switches, routers
• MSA - combustible and toxic gas detection panel
• Multilin - power management relay
• Notifier - fire alarm panel
• NuFlo - flow meters (Modbus RTU)
• PCAnywhere - remote PC access
• PepWave - cellular modem
• Phase Dynamics - Water Cut Monitors
• ProSoft communication modules - 3150-MCM, MVI46-MNET, MVI46-MCM
• SCADApack - Daniels gas chromatograph data
• Security Camera (web enabled)
• SonicWall - Dell hardware firewall
• Systron Donner - fire detection panel
• TeamViewer - remote PC access
• United Security Products AD-2000 - paging equipment
• Variable Speed Drives
  • Allen Bradley
  • Centrilift
  • Cutler Hammer
  • Slumberger
  • SPOC
  • Toshiba
  • Unico
  • WEG
• YZ - NJEX 7300G chemical injection skid

Operating Systems:

• Windows NT
• Windows XP
• Windows 2003 Server (mirrored hard-drives, with RAID-1 protection)
• Windows 7
• Linux Kernel 4.0-4.2
• Android - Kit-Kat, Lolipop

Networking, Protocols, and Drivers:

• AB1784KT (Data Highway Plus driver)
• ABTCP (AB Ethernet driver)
• CTI-2572 (TI Ethernet driver)
• DDE - Dynamic Data Exchange
• DeviceNet
• DF1 - AB serial protocol
• DH - Data Highway
• DH+ - Data Highway Plus
• DSData (OPC and DDE communication driver)
• EIA-568A
• HART - Highway Addressable Remote Transducer
• K-Sequence - Koyo serial protocol
• KEPDirect (OPC Server)
• Modbus RTU
• Modbus TCP
• OPC - Object Linked and Embedded for Process Control
• OPC-UA (Ignition OPC driver)
• PROFIBUS DP - Process Field Bus, Decentralized Peripherals
• RIO - Remote I/O
• RS-232
• RS-485
• RSLinx
• SuiteLink - Wonderware protocol
• TCP/IP - Ethernet
• Tiway - TI (Siemens) serial protocol
• WWRSLinx