Best Practices in

Process Automation
Process manufacturers face challenges to cut costs and increase throughput
as customer demand for consistency, quality and variety continue to change.
Learn how companies like yours have increased capacity and consistency
in their batch operations; slashed downtime by 50%; reduced line-stop
occurrences by 50%; and more. Also get updated on the ISAs new standard
for continuous process standards, and learn how advanced electrical CAE
systems can transform your design and project-management process.

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Table of contents
GLOBAL BEVERAGE MANUFACTURER EXPANDS CAPACITY, IMPROVES CONSISTENCY

AN UPDATE ON PROCESS AUTOMATION STANDARD ISA 106

ARE YOU PART OF THE CAE REVOLUTION?

See how the company also improved availability and throughput when it implemented a redundant system with
server virtualization when migrating its legacy batch system.
ISA has released a new technical report on automating continuous process operations. We examine the framework
and nomenclature it provides for developing automated procedures.
Advanced electrical computer-aided engineering systems can transform your design and project management
process to save time and labor.

FREE WEBINAR: EPLAN/RSLOGIX

CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN HARDWARE & SOFTWARE DESIGN

11

FREE WEBINAR: CAN YOUR CAD DO THIS?

12

CASE STUDY: FOOD PRODUCER SLASHES DOWNTIME BY 50%

14

CASE STUDY: PROCESS AUTOMATION KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON

16

See how a global food producer used manufacturing intelligence to increase product quality and reduce line-stop
occurrences, issue resolution time and costs at 65 plants.
An energy company slashed its downtime and improved maintenance by upgrading its turbine controls from a
distributed control system to an open-architecture process automation system.

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Case Study: Global Beverage

Manufacturer Boosts Capacity,
Consistency
See how the company also improved availability and throughput when it implemented a
redundant system with server virtualization when migrating its legacy batch system.

>>

Product safety and consistency are critical

to any beverage manufacturing process. For
decades, beverage producers have relied on nonstandard batch systems to help maintain process quality
and throughput. Facing accelerating regulations, a
shrinking pool of skilled workers and unrelenting
market demand for more product variation, beverage
producers are requiring more standardization than
ever before.
When a global producer of distilled beverages, beer
and wine planned to expand capacity at its Illinois
plant, the company approached process design firm
Barnum Mechanical, Inc. for a turnkey solution. Barnum engaged Industrial Automation Group for the
new control system.
Headquartered in Modesto, California, Industrial
Automation Group specializes in process control
solutions for the food and beverage industry. The
company is a Rockwell Automation recognized system

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integrator and a Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) certified member.

Migrate the Legacy Batch System

Improving the process efficiency of their installed

base was a key objective for this beverage company,
says Niniv Tamimi, program manager, Industrial Automation Group. Also, they planned to increase their
total capacity by adding raw ingredient storage, intermediate, batching and bottling tanks to their system.
The plant expansion was significant, and increased
railcar/truck stations and storage tanks by about 75%
in the receiving area. The blend room experienced a
similar increase. In bottling, tanks were added, and
some existing tanks were converted to f lex tanks,
which could be used for either bottling or raw ingredient storage.
As they expanded their operation, the company
planned to migrate to an all-in-one batch solution,
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The new process automation

system includes an
information-enabled, scalable,
multidiscipline control platform
that combines process and
discrete control
with communication and
intrinsically safe I/O.

Tamimi explains. They wanted to install an efficient, S88-compliant system.

The ANSI/ISA-88 (S88) standard provides a
consistent set of terminology and standards for batch
control in industrial automation systems including
the physical model, procedures and recipe management. The existing system did not comply with S88.
Commercial database software was used for recipe
storage and their entire batching system was programmed using Visual Basic for Application (VBA)
code and their legacy HMI, Tamimi says.
To achieve acceptable product quality with the
existing system, the plant often needed to implement
two or three batch corrections for each batch. The
testing time for each batch correction was approximately two hours. In addition, the system had no
failover or redundant capabilities.
As a result, if a server went down, the system
could be out for two to four hours, says Tamimi. In
addition to improving product quality, our customer
needed to increase system availability.
Last but not least, the company required better security. The existing system had just three logins: Operator,
Supervisor and Administrator. Passwords for the logins
could be easily shared among all users. The customer
specified that the new process system incorporate userspecific login, automatic sign-out and e-signatures.

newer technologies like virtualization, explained

Tamimi. We actually chose a virtual environment for
this application.
Rockwell Automation supports virtualization with
VMware Ready software and recommends the use
of server virtualization, and VMware vSphere, when
dealing with run-time production applications. Server
virtualization removes the dependency on a full host
operating system (OS) and provides a much more
stable environment for critical applications.
The new system includes an information-enabled,
scalable, multidiscipline control platform that combines process and discrete control with communication and intrinsically safe I/O. The fully redundant
system controls the applications in the processing arHigh-Availability Solution
eas as well as the Clean in Place (CIP) skids. Remote
Industrial Automation Group applied a control
control was integrated for hazardous Class 1, Division
solution based on the PlantPAx process automation
1 processing. Operator workstations were established
system, a modern distributed control system (DCS)
in the control room and batching rooms.
from Rockwell Automation.
An engineering workstation also was placed in the
With a PlantPAx solution, we could design a high- control room for live optimization of the process. In
availability system that would take advantage of many addition, the PlantPAx system includes supervisory
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The new system also improves

CIP reporting. It tracks all
sequencing and auto-generates
reports after each CIP cycle
is completed.

level visualization capabilities to provide operators

with optimal insight into process information. Data
management, performance and visibility, and production management software supply process and batch
control.
To keep the plant up and running as much as possible throughout the upgrade, the system integrator
implemented the system in phases. First, the bulk
liquid receiving areas, including the new truck and
railway stations as well as the new bulk storage tanks
were brought on line. CIP sequences were also applied
to these assets.
Next, the new batching system was added. To
implement the system, 120 original recipes were
recreated. Because of the plant expansion and new assets in the system, the order of material additions was
revised as part of the process to decrease batch time
and maintain quality.
Rigorous testing and quality control were extremely important, Tamimi explains. We had to
prove the new system could run the existing recipes
before we could take down the old system.
Once initial Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) was
complete, the team integrated the new control system
during a two-week shutdown. The system was tested further and parameters and recipes were tuned as needed.

input or other defined variables. Thanks to the material manager functionality within the batch software,
recipes do not need to be rewritten if the same material resides in a different tank.
During the commissioning phase, Industrial Automation Group helped the beverage company introduce 50 new recipes.
The system also improves CIP reporting. It tracks
all sequencing and auto-generates reports after each
CIP cycle is completed to document proper cleaning procedures before the next batch is run.
In addition, the system helps ensure product
consistency. Raw ingredients dont always enter the
system with the exact same properties defined in the
recipe, Tamimi explains. When thats the case, we
can update the parameters in the system, and it will
auto-adjust the ingredient amounts for each recipe.
With the PlantPAx system in place, the beverage
plant has met its goal of no more than one batch correction per batch.
Finally, the system has helped enable better security with individual logins and e-signatures. The system also imposes a 15-minute automatic sign-out and
requires re-entry of credentials for all critical items.

Increased Efficiency and Consistency

The plant has improved overall throughput and

consistency, Tamimi says. Plus the company can
add new recipes more easily with the batch system,
since most operations and many unit procedures are
shared.
To streamline recipe development further, the system allows dynamic prioritization based on operator
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Rockwell Automation Process Solutions

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An Update on
Process Automation
Standard ISA 106

ISA has released a new technical report on automating continuous process operations.
We examine the framework and nomenclature it provides for developing automated procedures.
By Dale E. Reed, CAP, Senior System Project Engineer, Rockwell Automation, Information Software and Process Business

>>

ISA recently released Technical Report

ISATR106.00.01-2013, Procedure Automation for Continuous Process Operations Models and
Terminology. This Technical Report is the continuousprocess cousin to the well-known ISA Standard ANSI/
ISA-88.00.01-2010 - Batch Control Part 1: Models and
Terminology. It provides nomenclature and a framework
for developing automated procedures for continuous
process plants.
Why was this document issued as a Technical Report
(non-normative) instead of a Standard (normative)? First,
the committee undertook the effort as a survey of the
current practices in the industry rather than as a dictate
of what to do.
Second, the committee found wide variations in the
names used at different layers of the plant equipment
hierarchy from industry to industry. Rather than pick a
particular name set, as ISA-88 did, the committee presents

in the Technical Report a table showing the variability in

naming, giving various process sectors leeway to automate
along their preferred structure and using their naming
conventions (see the table on page 8).
One common terminology didnt exist on which to
standardize. The models presented use a particular naming, but theres lots of room left for users to interpret and
modify the models to suit their purposes.
Finally, the committee didnt want to have the effect
of non-normative examples, such as the phase state model
in ISA-88, becoming de facto industry standards against
which vendor offerings are judged. This leaves vendors
the freedom to provide a range of tools of varying complexity (or better, simplicity) to automate processes.

Automating Batch vs. Continuous Processes

A fundamental difference between automation of batch

processes and automation of continuous processes is how

>> Rockwell Automation Serves on ISA Standards Committees

Rockwell Automation participates in several ISA standards committees, taking on a leadership role as needed,
to ensure that the company is providing the tools needed for its customers in the process industries batch
and continuous going forward.
FactoryTalk Batch is a tool for automating complex batch processes. The Logix Batch and Sequence Manager provides a simpler framework for smaller batch processes.In addition, the simple sequencer included in
the Rockwell Automation Library of Process Objects provides a powerful, yet simple tool for providing openended automated sequences at all physical levels for the continuous process industries.
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Oil Refinery

Offshore Oil Platform

Example 1

Offshore Oil Platform

Example 2

Site

Site

Platform

Plant

Plant

Complex

Plant Area

Area

Unit

Unit

Equipment

Equipment

Device

Device

ISA-106

Chemical Company

Enterprise

Enterprise

Site

ISA-95

ISA-88

Field

Enterprise

Enterprise

Platform

Site

Site

Area

Area

Plant

Work Center

Process Cell

Unit

Work Unit

Unit

Package

Paper Industry

Mill

Equipment
Module
Control
Module

Device

Note: Empty cells mean there is no consistent term for the model level or that the level is not formally recognized.
ISA-TR106.00.01 uses the Physical Model names on the left throughout the Technical Report, but makes clear that the naming varies across industries
and thats okay. The Technical Report also shows the corresponding names from ISA-95 (enterprise management systems) and ISA-88 (batch control
systems). (From ISA-TR106.00.01-2013, Table 7; bold lining and highlighting added. ISA-TR106.00.01 Copyright 2013 by ISA, used with permission.)

the automated procedures start and end. For a typical ISA-88 batch procedure, the equipment starts idle,
receives batch ingredients or a batch from a prior unit,
does some processing, then transfers the batch to the next
unit and ends up ready for the next batch. By the nature
of producing finite batches, the procedure is necessarily
closed-ended.
Procedures for continuous processes are different.
Theyre intended to simply move the process from one
state commonly called a mode of operation) to another
in an open-ended fashion.
For example, an automated start-up of a distillation
unit might need to take the column from a cold idle state
to a heated state. A second procedure might take the column from the heated state, begin product feed, and take
the column to an operating state.
Yet another procedure might be activated when a surge
or flood is detected in the column to alleviate the condition and bring it back to an optimal steady state. And,
of course, there might be multiple procedures to take
the column back to a heated-ready state, then to a cool
shutdown state.
Procedures might cascade down through the physical hierarchy, from the enterprise to the site and on
down through the plant and plant area to the units
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and equipment, and even to devices such as transmitters, pumps and actuators.
For example, the site might have a procedure to follow
for shutdown and evacuation in the event of a natural
disaster such as a hurricane or tsunami. Parts of the
procedure might be executed by people from written
checklists, while other parts of the procedure may be
automated to a lesser or greater degree.
The shutdown of the distillation column above might be
fully automated, but other procedures for taking the plant to
a safe state ready for evacuation might be fully automated or
have parts automated, might be done with online checklists or other electronic guidance, or might be performed
manually from paper. ISATR106.00- 01-2013 provides the
framework for understanding how to make automated and
non-automated procedures play nicely together.

The Work Continues

Future work for the ISA 106 committee includes Technical Reports on work practices for choosing, designing,
developing, testing and commissioning automated procedures, development of example procedures and more.
Rockwell Automation Process Solutions
www.rockwellautomation.com/go/tj10pr
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Are You Part of

the CAE Revolution?
Advanced electrical computer-aided engineering
systems can transform your design and project
management process to save time and labor.
By Christine Knapik, EPLAN Software & Service

Numerous Efficiencies

Editors Note: This article is adapted from a white paper,

Computer-Aided Engineering: The future is now, from
EPLAN Software & Service. Download the free, comprehensive white paper at http://info.eplanusa.com/eplan_the_
future_is_now for more information about electrical CAE.

Database-centric CAE programs can make every phase of

a job, from design through production, more efficient or
cost-effective with gains that include the following.
Improving Accuracy. The database-driven CAE
delivers a systematic reduction of errors, error-checking
Computer-aided engineering (CAE) softand data redundancy. Few, if any, errors survive to the
ware is the designers best friend, a tool
manufacturing stage or beyond, where theyre signifiproven to enhance the users productivity. It has
cantly more costly to fix.
liberated engineers from the most tedious aspects of
Leveraging Recurrent Content. Storing and reusing
their jobs, shortened project turnaround times and
data opens the way to standardizing and modularizing prodimproved the quality and accuracy of their work.
uct content. This accelerates design and manufacturing, and
Todays advanced electrical CAE (E-CAE) proenables large economies of scale in purchasing components.
grams have automated many tasks, such as wire numThe benefits of standardization are so great that some
bering and device tagging. Engineers are completing
companies redesign existing models to maximize stanassignments that once took days or weeks in a fraction dard content so design and manufacturing for subsequent
of the time.
orders take less time. Others invest considerable resources
The latest generation of CAE programs adds a
creating large content archives as part of their transition
powerful central database that enables them to provide substantial additional automation. This database
>> Download the Free White Paper!
can hold a large archive of recurrent content, ready
for insertion into a project with a single keystroke.
Visit http://info.eplanusa.com/eplan_the_
Engineers can convert project documentation into diffuture_is_now to download EPLANs free,
ferent languages or regional, national and international
complete white paper about electrical CAE, Comstandards. This makes the database-centric CAE wellputer-Aided Engineering: The future is now, which
suited for cross-country and cross-border collaborations
includes criteria for selecting CAE software.
or for serving a multinational customer base.

>>

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The multidisciplinary user interface of advanced E-CAE software includes 3D enclosure modeling and P&ID and electrical schematic, all supported
with online master data from various component suppliers.

>> Free Trial CD

to a database-driven CAE. The archive can store frequently used components or complex macros of product
assemblies and subassemblies, all pre-validated.
Creating Efficiencies. The database can be integrated
into a companys IT architecture, allowing other departments to monitor a projects progress for more accurate
customer quotes, more timely and cost-effective stocking of components, and more reliable production and
delivery scheduling.
Streamlining Interaction with Stakeholders. Project
files can be exported to customers and re-imported with
changes to speed up revisions and approvals. They also
can be exported to subcontractors to shorten delivery
times. Engineers can import component data directly
from vendor catalogues.
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Automation and
standardization
are the future of
electrical engineering. EPLAN
Electric P8 CAE
automates the engineers time-consuming project tasks like wire-numbering, device-tagging,
cross-referencing, error-checking and more. Accomplish in a day what takes a week or more
using a CAD or legacy CAE. Click here to
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>> Free Webinar: EPLAN/RSLogix

Closing the Gap Between Hardware & Software Design

In this one-hour webinar, learn how to share

engineering data between departments within
your organization, resulting in one set of consistent
data. See how EPLANs central database interfaces
with other software programs, such as RSLogixTM
5000, RSLogix Architect and Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB). Demos will include bidirectional
synchronization of controls hardware and tag synchronization, and how to incorporate Rockwell Automation certified product data into electrical designs via the EPLAN Data Portal with just a drag-and-drop into
your schematic. Click here to register.

3D Prototyping. Merging data with 3D modeling

software lets engineers create virtual prototypes to prove
a design before manufacturing. Mechatronic engineering requires smooth connectivity between mechanical
engineering and all other engineering disciplines.
Superior Machine Setups. Automated setups of wire
processing and enclosure manufacturing machines turn
around orders faster, and with precise results.

process engineer adds a pneumatic-controlled butterfly

valve to a design, the fluid engineer must add the fluid
drive and the electrical engineer must provide control for
it. Working separately, each designers intent is self-referencing, and colleagues might not understand it.
If those same engineers work together on a project
as part of a multidisciplinary team and use the same
platform, they get greater speed and accuracy and a high
degree of assurance their contributions fit well together.
Design as Needed
Data is shared across all disciplines. As changes are made,
When project work begins, engineers on these advanced
the system makes updates automatically wherever those
systems can begin at different starting points and need
changes occur or otherwise affect the project.
not follow a prescribed order.
In addition, revisions management has been streamFacing a rush order, for example, an electrical engineer lined. Traditionally, the process of obtaining customer
might assemble component macros or programmable
revisions and applying them is prone to delay, which can
controller schematics first, compile a parts list to assure
disrupt production schedules.
the availability of components for an early manufacturWith todays CAE, project documentation can be
ing start, then finish the job by numbering devices and
exported to customers in formats such as smart PDFs,
wires and generating all documentation.
and their changes are re-imported and incorporated
Most CAE systems are discipline-specific. A select
automatically.
few support design software for electrical as well as other
Once a design is finalized the CAE automatically
engineering disciplines. In effect, the software becomes a generates a complete build package for manufacturing
powerful multidisciplinary platform.
that includes all diagrams, lists and component IDs, and
Traditionally, engineering disciplines work separately, if desired, automated setups for CNC machining and
often with different software tools, passing a project
wire processing.
back and forth as content is added or changed. When a
The maintenance technician in the field similarly is
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empowered. Product data typically is available in multiple electronic formats, suitable for continuous updating.
Engineers can access project PDFs on a laptop or tablet
for quick and mobile troubleshooting and resolution.
The CAE viewing tool can be connected to the visualization tool running in the control room. Thats a far cry from
arriving at a customer location to find the machines printed
manual missing, damaged or hopelessly out of date.

>> Free Webinar:

Can Your CAD Do This?

Working Together

Rockwell Automation and EPLAN have partnered to

create additional value for our joint customers in two
ways.
First, the two have created software macros descriptions of the products including dimensions and electrical connections for all of the standard products that
Rockwell Automation sells. These macros are used to
streamline projects together, to ultimately help machine
builders reduce design time and time to market. Macros
can be downloaded from either the EPLAN Data Portal
or from www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellautomation/support/eplan.page.
Second, the focus is on synchronizing controls configuration data between the EPLAN Electric P8 and the
Studio 5000 programming software through RSLogix
Architect. This integrated solution eliminates the need
for manual entry of configuration information by users to
automatically update, synchronize and validate changes
to model configuration information, including racks, I/O
cards, I/O tags and descriptors.
It also provides increased flexibility in engineering
workflows to enable both disciplines to work concurrently rather than consecutively by beginning a project
from any starting point.

Can you automate the most time-consuming

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E-CAE software is a revolution in design and project

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competitive position.
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Rockwell Automation Encompass Product

Partner Program
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Do You Like This Best Practices in

Process Automation Ebook?
Then check out these other free Ebooks from The Journal!
Insights into Motion Control & Linear Motion: Whether performed

through hydraulic pumps, electric motors or linear actuators, motion control

is a vital function of industrial automation. Increase your understanding of
the components and how they operate, including lessons from companies
just like yours.
Download this free Motion Control & Linear Motion Ebook today at
http://goo.gl/AFYx7M.

Insights into

Motion Control & Linear Motion

Whether performed through hydraulic pumps, electric motors or linear actuators, motion control
is a vital function of industrial automation. Increase your understanding of the components and
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2014 Trends in Technology: The convergence of control and information

technologies via The Connected Enterprise is enabling the cloud infrastructure,

big data, industrial Ethernet and secure remote access to help OEMs and end
users boost efficiency, slash costs and meet consumer demands. Learn about
how these and other trends are affecting the packaging, food and beverage,
life sciences and other industries.
Download this free Ebook at http://goo.gl/MKcGI3.

2014
Trends in
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The convergence of control and information technologies
via the Connected Enterprise is enabling the cloud
infrastructure, big data, industrial Ethernet and secure
remote access to help OEMs and end users boost
efficiency, slash costs and meet consumer demands.
Learn about how these and other trends are affecting
the packaging, food and beverage, life sciences
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Special Report on Electrical Systems: Electrical systems are the heart of

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drive maintenance, drive system configuration, motor energy efficiency,
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Special Report on

Electrical
Systems

Electrical systems are the heart of any

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practices for variable-frequency drive
maintenance, drive system configuration,
motor energy efficiency, worker safety
and cost efficiency.

Download this free Electrical Systems Ebook today at http://goo.gl/pg8o1I.

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Best Practices for Server Virtualization: Learn about the steps you
can take to help ensure manufacturing IT system availability to keep your
production operations running.

Download this free Ebook at http://goo.gl/NFWizu.

Best Practices for

Server Virtualization
Learn about the steps you can take to help
ensure manufacturing IT system availability to
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Case Study: Food Producer

Slashes Downtime by 50%
See how a global food producer used manufacturing intelligence to increase product quality
and reduce line-stop occurrences, issue resolution time and costs at 65 plants.

>>

Food manufacturers need to turn out a

greater variety of packaged foods to satisfy
a range of demographics. At the same time, they
must address growing food safety and sustainability
concerns all while improving the bottom line by
making more product in a more sustainable and efficient manner.
For one global producer, meeting batch quality
standards was further complicated by an acquisition
strategy. While good for revenue, it left them responsible for food production in 65 locations across North
America. Different plants had different equipment,
varying manufacturing processes in place, and a range
of control and information solutions.
Management was tasked with improving batch
yields and getting production information from all
locations fed into an SAP system. To investigate the
causes of batch loss properly, and make sure vested
parties from the plant f loor up to enterprise management had access to consistent and timely production
information, the company needed a common information solution for process monitoring and reporting.
Managers asked Grantek Systems Integration to

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audit the companys existing information systems to

provide insight and counsel on the best solution for
improving production. Grantek is a Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program Solution Partner
for Control, Process and Information.
The audit revealed a lack of governance, scalability
and support needed for effective and efficient information sharing at the enterprise level. Additionally,
no standards existed for control-system-to-SAP interfaces, reconciliation or error handling. This made
integrating plant-f loor information with SAP costly,
and the system was unreliable. Many plants couldnt
handle SAP outages, meaning information collected
during outages was simply lost.

Gathering Disparate Information

To remedy this situation, Granteks engineers implemented a manufacturing intelligence solution using
FactoryTalk VantagePoint and FactoryTalk Historian
Site Edition from Rockwell Automation.
Engineers installed a framework that mapped and
blueprinted all of the customers manufacturing-facing
SAP modules for every production facility scenario,
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and provided a bidirectional store-and-forward system

so SAP data collection would continue during outages.
The framework incorporates FactoryTalk Historian SE
software and an SQL server to collect and archive historical and real-time data directly from the from production
equipment, and optimizes historical data storage.
The team also implemented an open, Web-based
reporting platform using FactoryTalk VantagePoint
software that aggregates information from multiple
data sources SAP, Microsoft SharePoint, the
historian and the SQL server and provides easy access to real-time data and key performance indicators
(KPIs) via any Internet browser.
FactoryTalk VantagePoint is unique because it
allows us to essentially create a Yellow Pages of the
companys disparate information. They were able to
leverage the dashboards and drill down into data to
understand where problems were arising even without
completely understanding all of the technology that
made the solution possible, explains Ian Tooke, business solutions practice manager for Grantek.

The new system saved the

company at least $200,000 per
year, and each plant now runs
without risk of data loss.
In addition, the new system saved the company at
least $200,000 per year on administrative expenses,
and each plant now runs without risk of data loss
due to SAP outages. Transaction completion speeds
improved from 25 minutes to less than 2 minutes, and
failure resolution time per failure has been reduced by
15 hours.
With true manufacturing intelligence at their
fingertips, the manufacturing operations team was
able to move from a fix-it and restart mentality to
an observe and prevent operating approach, says
Tooke. In a shorter amount of time, the food manufacturer can now produce more food at higher quality,
driving dollars straight to the bottom line.

Production Benefits

Grantek Control Systems Inc., based in Burlington,

Ontario, Canada, is a designated Rockwell Automation
Solution Partner. The company provides integrated manufacturing automation services. Its solutions are designed to
help improve manufacturing productivity, product quality,
asset utilization and integrated technology.

After implementing the new framework and manufacturing intelligence solution in the 65 production centers, line-stop occurrences were reduced by 50%. For
example, the food producers staff found inadequate
materials to run production and warehouse locations
at all plants that were causing unscheduled line stops,
and they were able to correct the issue by interlocking
the information from SAP.
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Case Study:

Process Automation
Keeps the Lights On
An energy company slashed its downtime and
improved maintenance by upgrading its turbine
controls from a distributed control system
to an open-architecture process
automation system.

>>

For tourists, Hawaii is known for its stunning

beaches, delectable local cuisine and endless
opportunities to engage with nature. However, most people
dont realize that Hawaii is also the most isolated island
chain on earth, and year-round home to more than 1.2-million people who require electricity to live their day-to-day
lives on the states beautiful six main islands.
The Big Island of Hawaii is larger than all five of the
other islands combined. The islands residents, businesses
and tourists look to Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc.
(HELCO), a subsidiary of the Hawaiian Electric Company,
to provide the energy that has transformed the islands from
a Hawaiian kingdom into a modern state.
The Keahole plant is in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on the
Big Island, and is one of HELCOs primary power-production facilities. It features three combustion turbines
that generate about 240 GWh of energy each year
almost one-fourth of the entire power-generation capacity
available on the island.
Unfortunately, in 2006, the company was faced with up
to 50% downtime caused by the turbine control systems.
The original turbine control system was completely proprietary, and by 2006, also entirely obsolete, says Norman
Verbanic, HELCOs production department manager.
Replacement parts were essentially nonexistent. When

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something failed that we couldnt fix ourselves with a repaired card, flying in a controls engineer to troubleshoot the
system could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Because of HELCOs isolated location, repair parts
could take more than two days to arrive. Flying in controls
engineers from other countries could take even longer. The
result: The Keahole plant was at reduced capacity nearly
50% of the time.
To improve our uptime rates, we knew we needed a new
turbine control system with an open architecture that our
staff could troubleshoot and optimize themselves, without
having to rely on outside expertise, explains Verbanic.
In 2008, the state of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Company crafted an energy agreement that requires
40% of electricity needs and 70% of overall energy needs
(including transportation) to come from clean, renewable
sources by 2030. Long term, were hoping to have the
entire Keahole plant producing power from locally raised
biodiesel, Verbanic notes.

Integrated Architecture, New Possibilities

Once Verbanic and his team made the decision to replace

their obsolete turbine control system, they selected the
Rockwell Automation PlantPAx process automation
system. Based on the Integrated Architecture platform,
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the PlantPAx system delivers a unified process, discrete

and information solution.
The entire system is configured using RSLogix 5000
software and communicates to I/O inputs via ControlNet, and third-party operator interfaces via the EtherNet/IP network.
We looked at other traditional DCS vendors, but
they each had proprietary, closed systems and expensive
spare parts, maintenance and support contracts, says
Verbanic. We couldnt afford that in terms of expense
or time especially not at our remote location. We were
familiar with Rockwell Automation products, and knew
we could troubleshoot, maintain and optimize the PlantPAx system ourselves.
The Wood Group, a Rockwell Automation
PartnerNetwork-recognized systems integrator headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, was contracted to
install the new turbine control system.
We benchmarked the PlantPAx system against all
other DCS systems to prove it was capable of handling
the high bandwidth and rapid execution rate requirements that high-speed, aeroderivative gas turbines
demand, explains Clark Weaver, project manager, Wood
Group Controls. At the Keahole plant, Wood Group
engineers left the original I/O from the previous control
system in place, but removed the original processors that
caused so many issues previously.
Our original system was triple redundant, with three
separate processors and I/O cards for each turbine,
Verbanic says.
With the new system, weve leveraged the original
triplicated I/O field devices and matched them with new
triplicated I/O modules streamlined to simplex PlantPAx
processors. This helped protect process uptime should
something fail unexpectedly while significantly simplifying the system architecture, he adds.
The PlantPAx processors also were equipped with redundant parallel power supplies for enhanced reliability.
In addition, Allen-Bradley XM condition-monitoring
modules monitor vibration on each turbine and generat Previous page

Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. (HELCO), located on the Big

Island of Hawaii, needed a new turbine control system with an open
architecture that its staff could troubleshoot and optimize themselves to
reduce the 50% downtime the utility was facing

tor. This helps identify potential problems before they

reach a critical level. Information from each XM module
is transmitted back to the central control system for improved, real-time turbine health monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Wood Group engineers also implemented an AllenBradley Combined Generator Control Module (CGCM).
The duplexed CGCM seamlessly integrates with the
PlantPAX system to provide digital power metering,
voltage regulation and automatic synchronization control
for each of the turbines. The redundant configuration
enhances system reliability.

Increased Flexibility, Reliability

With the old turbine control system, the question wasnt

when the plant would start up, but rather if it would start
up at all. With the PlantPAx system, we know the controls are running whenever we need them, says Verbanic.
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With the PlantPAx system, we

know the controls are running
whenever we need them.
Norman Verbanic, Hawaii Electric Light
Company (HELCO)
turbine project, we proved that with the right engineering expertise, the PlantPAx system is exactly that. Based
on that success, we also proved that the PlantPAx system
was a viable alternative to traditional DCS platforms for
plant-wide control as well.
Now, the PlantPAx system controls almost every aspect
of the Keahole plant, from the turbines, heat recovery boilers
and generators to the water treatment, steam turbine and
emissions systems, as well as most balance-of-plant applications. Verbanic and his operations and maintenance teams
benefit from significantly simplified maintenance, operability
and troubleshooting by using a single hardware and software
environment for the entire facility.
Replacement parts are easy to obtain and cost-effective to keep in stock, and our staff is more than capable
of identifying and solving any problems that arise, no
matter where the problem may be located in the plant,
says Verbanic. In fact, theyve been able to identify opportunities to optimize the system entirely on their own.
Theyve really been able to focus on becoming experts on
the PlantPAx system. With significant improvements in
turbine downtime and plantwide control on a single open
platform, the staff at HELCO is far more self-sufficient.
Its been a really pleasant ride, Verbanic adds. Since
each island is an autonomous grid without interconnections to neighbor island utilities, we cannot rely on the
outside world to keep the lights on. With the robustness
and flexibility of the Rockwell Automation solution, we
do exactly that.

The PlantPAx process automation system handles the high bandwidth

and rapid execution rate requirements that HELCOs high-speed,
aeroderivative gas turbines demand. The new control system has helped
the energy company meet its uptime and reliability goals.

In fact, turbine controls-related downtime at the Keahole

plant dropped from a high of around 50% to less than a
few percentage points annually since the system upgrade.
And when a rare controls problem does occur, troubleshooting and resolution is fast, without having to crossreference cryptic codes and mind-numbing acronyms.
Three years later, when the HELCO team decided to
convert the Keahole facility to a combined-cycle plant, they
knew they wanted to stick with Rockwell Automation.
With our great success on the turbine retrofit project,
we knew we wanted to utilize the PlantPAx system for
plant-wide control as well, Verbanic explains. We
were looking for a flexible system that would allow us
to accommodate fluctuations in demand and knew the
PlantPAx system could do exactly that.
Mustang Engineering, a Wood Group company, was
contracted for the project, and together with the HELCO team, convinced HELCOs engineering firm to use
the PlantPAx system for the entire facility.
The power generation industry is asking for a flexible,
reliable, open-control platform, Weaver says. On the
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Free Fundamentals Series

Online Tutorials from The Journal

The Journals Fundamentals Series webinars are fantastic online tutorials that provide a tremendous opportunity for
you to learn about the basics of critical topic areas in our industry. Visit www.brainshark.com/thejournal anytime to
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Fundamentals of Power Quality: Harmonics & Mitigation
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harmonic mitigation methods. Sponsored by Rockwell Automation
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Visit http://goo.gl/4EmrqR.
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