Emerson Process Experts

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My RSS search on cyber security found an interesting post the other day by IBM's Todd Watson entitled How To Keep the Internet Sky From Falling.

It's especially interesting to me because I've had the chance to meet Todd who is also based here in Austin, Texas. He offered some great guidance in the early days when we were trying to launch the Emerson Process Experts blog.

The paper Todd referenced is by the Business Roundtable, Essential Steps Toward Strengthening America's Cyber Terrorism. Although this paper is mainly concerned with the loss of the Internet and Wide Area Network capabilities, it does have thoughts that process manufacturers around the globe need to consider.

I ran Todd's post by Bob Huba who is leading the efforts on cyber security as it applies to Emerson's DeltaV system. He's part of a newly formed cyber security testing consortium for the process industries.

Bob thought the paper as it applies to owners of control systems brought two points to mind. The first is to keep the control system completely segmented from internet traffic and the second is to not be dependent on information from outside the control system to perform basic control functions. This is especially true if the information required for control is coming from outside the facility over the internet.

As part of control system security best practices Bob always promotes the idea that in a crisis situation on the plant LAN, such as a serious worm or virus attack that could leak into the control system, you absolutely must be able to sever the external LAN connection(s) with the control system until the issue is resolved. The control system must be able to keep functioning at some acceptable level with this connection severed. This is why the recommended DeltaV approach is that the optimization and other supervisory type control tasks be done locally in the DeltaV system whenever possible.

This model is being used in universities and colleges where they have a “student LAN” for email, instant messaging, web access, etc. that is aggressively segmented from the main university system with very few interconnections. These connections can be highly secured and monitored. They can be easily and quickly severed if the "student LAN" gets infected or attacked so the main system can be protected.

This is the model used in the initial development of the DeltaV system and it is the model that is still enforced. The model is based on enforcing a high degree of segmentation between the control system network and plant LAN so that critical control system functions are safe-guarded as much as possible from threats originating on the business LANs. By using very limited external connections, these connections are easier to protect and monitor and can also be easily severed when necessary.

Bob has described more of these best practices in two whitepapers: DeltaV System Cyber-Security and Best Practices for DeltaV Cyber-Security.

Tags: cyber security | control network segmentation | control system network |

June 30, 2006 in Cyber-Security | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)

A continuing theme to several of these blog posts is how process manufacturers are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency in these times of high energy costs. One way to do this is to optimize the steam required for a distillation process.

I caught up with Pete Sharpe whom you may recall from an earlier post on reducing costs of APC projects using pre-engineered applications. Pete has recently completed some work for a specialty chemical manufacturer that wanted to improve the performance of the distillation columns by decreasing the steam required and decreasing the reflux flows to the columns.

Pete worked with the process engineers to apply model predictive control (MPC) technology found in the SmartProcess Distillation Optimizer. This application is one of the pre-engineered SmartProcess applications Pete described in the earlier post.

The distillation process is a classic multivariable problem with control variables, manipulated variables and constraint variables.

Using model predictive control, the column can be controlled and operated as a unit instead of a collection of loops.

In addition to reduced operator load, the process engineer identified 400 lb/hour savings in steam on one of the columns and close to 900 lb/hr on the first column where the Distillation Optimizer application was implemented. With a cost for 135 psi steam of $5 per klb, this translates into energy savings of more than $50,000 USD for these particular columns. This savings adds up as all of the distillation columns on site are converted over from multi-loop control to MPC-based control. Steam reductions are a result of lower reflux flows that have been reduced by about 20%. While this change increases the average overhead impurities as is expected, it is well within specifications.

Now that the Distillation Optimizer has demonstrated stable results on two of the columns, Pete is working with the process engineers to implement it on the remaining columns over time. Beyond better performance and increased efficiency, the best measure of the success to date has been operators leaving the MPC control on more than 90% of the time. This is one of the true tests according to Pete and the Advanced Automation Services team.

Tags: model predictive control | APC | MPC | distillation | energy efficiency | steam usage |

June 28, 2006 in Chemical, in Distillation Column, in Energy Management, in Process Optimization | Comments (2)

As members of the generation known as "Baby Boomers" begins to retire, so too does quite a bit of experience among process manufacturers. A recent article entitled Knowledge continuation at your company from ReliabilityWeb.com said it well:

Over the next 10 - 15 years the baby boomers will be leaving the industry in droves. As with every other aspect of their lives they will create a ruckus when they do so!

In this case they will be taking out a large amount of the experience, knowledge and skills that they have built up over a lifetime.

A study by the American Petroleum Institute indicated that experienced operators can have a positive financial impact of $350,000 USD per year, per operator, over less experienced, average performing operators. These improvements come from the ability to understand the patterns in the process which can lead to unscheduled downtime, to diagnose these, and to take action before the shutdown occurs. Also, experienced operators can take corrective actions before the product being produced goes out of specification which can create waste and/or rework.

You may remember Jeff Hackney, DeltaV OTS Project Manager in our Educational Services organization from an earlier post.

Jeff had a great perspective when I ran the ReliabilityWeb story by him. I'll not attempt to improve on his words:

Just like families today struggle to pass on their lineage and family history every industry faces the challenge of conveying the knowledge of their experienced work force to those who will replace them.

Some may have learned to avoid the Aunt who pinched your cheek or laid a red lip stick kiss on your cheek through first hand experience and embarrassment but if you were lucky you had an Uncle or older cousin warn you ahead of time.

Experienced operators are no different in that they have acquired a unique perspective on their processes and honed the actions required or warranted for specific process conditions. A key attribute of a training program is not only its ability to distribute new data to students efficiently and effectively but to also facilitate the transfer of knowledge from experienced to novice operators.

DeltaV OTS is an excellent tool that is part of a complete training program that not only introduces new operators to their process and operational environment but serves as an identical plant platform experienced operators can convey “tricks-of-the-trade” the “new guy” may not have been exposed to while under the wing of the experienced operator during operational system indoctrination.

As we all know, the operational system can’t be forced toward a trip condition to facilitate showing the new guy how to recognize, respond and correct the condition before the trip occurs. DeltaV OTS provides that identical system to maximize the training effort and transfer of knowledge.

Well said, Jeff!

Tags: operator training | retiring workers | experienced operators |

June 27, 2006 in Operator Training | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)

As I mentioned in an earlier post on fired heaters in refineries, this is an area where refiners can reduce energy costs by modernizing and optimizing the performance of these units.

The objective is to operate the heater at the lowest fuel cost, while being able to reliably handle the variability in fuel quality and BTU content for any waste fuels used by the heater. Many of these units operating in established markets around the globe are 20 to 30 years old and these often experience unplanned outages due to component failure. Another challenge is the tube coking / fouling in the units which can reduce operating efficiency.

Every 3-5% improvement in fired heater efficiency can mean 3 to 5 cents per barrel net margin improvement. For a 100kbpd facility, this translates into $1.8 to $2.9 million USD in annual savings.

I spoke with Chris Forland, an operations consultant for the Emerson Process Management group. Chris and the other consultants have helped refiners identify several ways to improve the efficiency and reliability of their fired heaters.

It starts with a study to baseline the performance and to confirm the operating issues impacting performance. This study helps to identify opportunities for improvement and to provide estimated costs and benefits to determine return on investment for the improvement initiative.

Beyond the SmartProcess Heater Optimizer mentioned in the earlier post, some typical opportunities Chris sees for improvement include on-line continuous measurement of fuel quality and BTU content, in-situ measurement of oxygen and carbon monoxide in the exhaust stack, predictive diagnostics for the smart instrumentation, digital valve controller actuator for the damper drives and control valves, and predictive measurements around the flame and relative coking.

These projects usually include a post project audit to determine the actual return on investment versus that forecasted one in the front-end study. This provides a measurement for the success of the project by determining the actual return on investment.

Tags: refinery | refining | fired heater | energy efficiency | process optimization |

June 23, 2006 in Fired Heater, in Process Optimization, in Refining | Comments (4)

Many industries such as oil and gas production, gas distribution, and LNG processing have the need to communicate over long distances without having readily available communications infrastructure. These manufacturers require voice, data, and/or video communications to operate reliably all day, every day.

I caught up with Gavin Jacobs who manages the telecommunications and network technologies project team for Emerson's Hydrocarbon and Energy industry organization.

Gavin's team works with the process manufacturer by starting with a conceptual design which analyzes and defines the requirements for the project. From this point, the architecture and technologies are recommended along with a project plan and schedule. The key to the design is to use the latest, proven technologies, and build upon the group's best practices standards.

In putting together the plan, the team draws upon their individual experts in local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs) and the methods of transport including radio, satellite, microwave, telephone leased lines, fiber, spread spectrum, and traditional copper cable. They also work with the various LAN/WAN and data acquisition protocols required including TCP/IP, UDP, MODBUS, BSAP, and DNP3. And the group works closely with the suppliers of switches, routers, wireless, cables and other equipment required for the communications networks.

Beyond the upfront consultation and planning, Gavin's team performs detailed engineering, and follows it through with the implementation, integration, installation, and commissioning. One of the most common causes of LAN communications issues is improper cable installations. This is a critical part of the design, and it should be well documented to minimize installation issues. Also, having equipment and cables rated for their operating environments is critical to reliable and safe operations.

The commissioning process involves validating the communications throughput, monitoring and trending the physical layer, validating packet routing, validating security, and monitoring the protocols to eliminate sources of potential service disruptions. Some of this diagnostic information is often integrated with the manufacturer's maintenance management system to provide a central area for managing any issues with the network.

Gavin's team often provides ongoing operational support to help these manufacturers take advantage of communications improvements and cost reductions in these technologies.

Tags: telecommunications | LAN engineering | WAN engineering | oil and gas |

June 21, 2006 in Miscellaneous, in Oil & Gas | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)

Process manufacturers need better flows of information to make timely decisions to efficiently run their businesses. The ANSI/ISA-95 Manufacturing Enterprise Systems standard, commonly referred to as S95, is the international standard for the integration of enterprise and automation systems. This global standard consists of models and terminology for the exchange of information between systems for sales, finance and logistics and systems for production, maintenance and quality.

One key area of information flow is reading laboratory analysis results from the laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and coordinating this information with the running batch controlled between the batch automation system and the manufacturing execution system (MES). The MES normally maintains the complete electronic batch record of all automated and manual processes, including LIMS data.

I spoke with Steve Thorp, an Integration Consultant in our Life Sciences industry organization. He is currently working with a batch process manufacturer who is implementing extensive elements of the S95 model, including comprehensive LIMS integration. Some of the key objectives for this project included:

• Providing the MES system (Compliance Suite for this project) the ability to request the creation of new samples within the LIMS system based on the current status of the MES Electronic Work Instructions. The MES system would also read information from the process control system to determine when and what samples would be created.
• Providing the MES system the ability to monitor the status of specific samples within the LIMS system
• Providing the MES system the ability to read the analysis results for specific samples within the LIMS system after the samples status has been set to “completed”

Steve and the team architected and implemented a solution which first combined the LIMS server software and MES server software onto a single hardware platform using one SQL instance, with separate databases for the LIMS and MES data. Next the LIMS and MES clients shared the same network and often the same PCs running both clients. The team developed scripts using the MES Electronic Work Instructions to have the MES software execute the LIMS software to have the laboratory analysis data entered per the appropriate work instruction, and then automatically inserted into the proper area of the LIMS database which feeds the electronic batch record.

Steve talked about the alternative of doing this process manually, the number of people who can be involved, and the delays this manual process can cause to the release of the batch. By analyzing this processes and architecting a solution to automate the manual pieces, big efficiencies can be gained.

For implementing this portion of the S95 model Steve offered the following guidance to process manufacturers. First, fully understand the current workflow including how and when the physical samples are taken, when the results are required, how these should be included into the electronic batch record, and what failure contingencies should be made in the MES and automation system if the results are not ready when expected. Second, when implementing the design, it critical to understand the underlying data structure within the LIMS system, and to understand the overall usage patterns to properly estimate server and storage requirement for the hardware design.

Tags: ISA-95 | S95 | LIMS | MES | electronic batch record | Life Sciences | electronic work instructions |

June 16, 2006 in Life Sciences, in Project Services | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)

As Control magazine editor-in-chief, Walt Boyes, mentioned in his Another one joins the club... blog post, Emerson has joined the companies who are sponsoring the security consortium feasibility study to be performed by Wurldtech Analytics.

I spoke with Bob Huba whom you may recall from an earlier post on cyber security and the DeltaV system.

Bob participated in the initial meeting to kick-off this consortium which was held prior to the Process Control Security Forum meeting last week in San Diego. He's excited about the formation of this group because he believes that one of the things that will help automation system cyber security is the ability to certify when the automation system components or even when the system itself meets a minimum level of security or protection. Without some kind of certifying capability, it's difficult for the end users who manage the system day-to-day and system suppliers to fully assess how secure their systems might be.

Automation system security currently has no organization like the TÜV and other certifying agencies where these suppliers can go to get a device certified for different security levels. Cyber-security testing needs some sort of agency to provide the framework for device and system testing and to help manage the information around best practices (or at least generally accepted practices) for creating and maintaining a well protected system.

Bob is really glad to see that this initiative is being driven by the user community and not just the suppliers or some testing organizations because it shows they understand and support the need for a certifying body. The system suppliers really appreciate being included in the discussion right from the beginning to capture the wealth of expertise and perspectives everyone brings.

The landscape around system security or the environment around system security is maturing rapidly and it is important that process manufacturers and suppliers work together and work quickly to address issues around cyber security. This group has set an ambitious time frame for kicking off this consortium and becoming fully functional.

Also, the scada security blog (to subscribe) has a nice wrap up of the Process Control Security Forum.

Tags: cyber security | automation system | control system | security testing foundation | Process Control Security Forum |

June 14, 2006 in Cyber-Security | Comments (2) | Trackback (1)

We discussed improvement of multi-fuel boilers in an earlier post. Similarly, pulp and paper manufacturers often wrestle with chemical recovery boilers because of the complexity of the combustion process. This complexity is largely driven by the variability in the "fuel" (black liquor) and often by swings in production rate.

The variation in the BTU content of the incoming black liquor can cause difficulty in meeting the emissions restrictions, can lead to fouling of the boiler, may impact boiler efficiency, and can limit liquor throughput. Safety is also a major concern around a recovery boiler process.

Bob Sabin, a consultant in Emerson's Industrial Energy Solutions organization described the challenge as maximizing liquor throughput while minimizing the fouling of the upper boiler and maintaining optimal unit thermal efficiency. This can be done if the boiler combustion controls are configured to compensate for liquor BTU changes.

The process Bob and the team follow with pulp and paper manufacturers typically begins with an analysis where they measure the mills operating performance and compare it with world class performance. Some benchmarks include: maintaining excess oxygen at 1.5% to maximize unit efficiency, maximizing liquor throughput to either permit or steaming limits, minimize fouling to require one water wash per year, and running the recovery boiler in fully automatic mode more than 95% of the time.

Through this benchmarking process deficiencies and mechanical design limits can be identified and corrected. The economic benefits of process improvements can also be calculated.

Next a detailed field audit of valves, instrumentation, wiring, and control system performance is performed to find areas requiring attention.

With this assessment completed a complete cost estimate and return on investment calculation and justification can be developed to improve the performance of the recovery boiler. The expertise of the team has been packaged into a SmartProcess Recovery boiler solution which encompasses design, installation, commissioning, start-up, and operations personnel training.

Pulp and paper manufacturers typically experience project payback in three to six months through increased liquor throughput, better thermal efficiency, water wash reductions, and reduced variability in green liquor reduction.

Tags: recovery boiler | combustion | pulp | paper | liquor throughput | thermal efficiency |

June 13, 2006 in Energy Management, in Pulp & Paper | Comments (6)

Given competitive pressures, process manufacturers put great pressure on project teams to bring projects on-time, on-budget to capture revenue and payback the outlay of capital sooner.

Engineering efficiency is one of the keys to success. This efficiency is measured in output per cost and in the ability to shrink task timelines on the project plan.

I spoke with lead engineer Brian Crandall in our Life Sciences industry organization to gain insight on what areas can help drive engineering efficiency. You may remember Brian from an earlier post.

Brian boiled it down to three areas: design & implementation standards, project execution methodology, and project design tools. I've addressed standards and projection execution methodology based on the S88 model in earlier posts so we've focused this post on project design tools.

Tools can help eliminate the repetitive and low-value tasks. They can also reduce risk and improve quality by eliminating errors associated with manual tasks.

Brian likes to think about these tools in distinct stages of the project. In the detailed design phase, documentation tools automate the system configuration work to come later. As an example, the Life Science project teams use DeltaV Control Studio as a design interface to generate textual and graphical description of how code should be implemented. This generates Visio diagrams for process visualization and Word documents to help detail further actions required. Documentation tools can also provide easily-readable summaries of the automation system configuration for use in project reviews, and in the case of non-GMP projects, provide the final documentation deliverables.

Coding tools are those that help in the implementation phase of the project. The project teams' see engineering efficiency gains in both batch and continuous elements of the project implementation including: units, phases, composite modules, recipes, equipment module sequence logic, module database elements, and I/O database elements. Using XML and SQL data standards helps move information between the external databases and the automation system configuration database. Tools like DeltaV Bulk Edit and other ones created by the Emerson project teams have increased efficiency during this implementation phase.

During the test phase of the project, execution tools can help the testers rapidly access and manipulate large amounts of parameter values to verify that proper the actual control matches the design. Excel spreadsheet templates connected to the system with an OPC-based Excel Add-in provide the ability to read and write large amounts of data and capture this data for historical viewing and analysis.

A final point Brian made is that these same tools can extend engineering efficiency beyond project commissioning. The combination of standards, methodology, and tools make ongoing changes and testing more streamlined and reduce the overall maintenance costs over the life of the plant operations.

Tags: engineering efficiency | project risk | detailed design | project implementation | test phase | commissioning | GMP |

June 7, 2006 in Life Sciences, in Project Services | Comments (2) | Trackback (1)

Congratulations to Praxair's Geismer, Louisiana methane reforming production facility for winning Chemical Processing magazine's Plant Innovation Award.

Praxair’s innovations were the result of their objectives to reduce energy (natural gas) usage while meeting the production demands for CO, H2 and steam much of which is exported to customers’ neighboring plants. The Geismar facility is comprised of four steam reformer plants of different age. The key challenge was to allocate load based on current plant performance and product slate.

I spoke with Chris Hawkins, a Senior Consultant and Technology Manager in Emerson's Asset Optimization organization. The AO team worked with Praxair to design advanced site optimization using the AMS Optimizer to calculate values for key process variables in real-time to increase the energy efficiency and consistency of each of the individual units. This work was combined with some model predictive control strategies implemented by the Praxair project team.

Working with the Praxair team, AO team members developed detailed models in the AMS Optimizer for each of the operational components of the site. The models compare the current plant operation and customer demands to determine the most economic set of production setpoints across the multiple units. These setpoints are automatically sent to the lower level control systems to keep the process running at optimal efficiency.

Chemical Process magazine reported the following results from the project:

Individually, the MPC systems increased in the carbon monoxide recovery on the cold boxes an average of 5-8% across multiple units, and much more consistently running of the units during production changes and load disturbances. Full implementation of this approach cut energy usage by over 1.0% for the facility. While that may not seem like a large percentage, for a site of this size, such a reduction equates to several hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in savings and provided a project pay back on the order of 2 years.

Tags: methane reforming | model predictive control | AMS Optimizer | process optimization | energy efficiency |

June 5, 2006 in Chemical, in Process Optimization, in Project Services | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)

As process manufacturers grapple with high fuel costs to create the steam for their processes, they often look to increase the use of biomass and alternate fuels in their boilers.

The key measurement is typically the cost per pound of steam. This can be reduced by maximizing the use of cheaper fuels like wood, stoker coal, and other forms of biomass while minimizing the use of natural gas and oil.

I spoke with Chip Rennie in Emerson's Industrial Energy Solutions organization on the control challenges of operating boilers when running non-fossil fuels. These fuels can vary in moisture, consistency of particle size, BTU content, combustion air requirements, and boiler emissions performance limits.

From Chip and the consulting team, well operating multi-fuel boilers can often generate 90% of the plant's steam, operate in automatic control over 95% of the time, minimize carbon in ash, and maintain emissions to specified levels.

Chip stresses the key to optimizing the operation of these boilers begins with an assessment of the mechanical components and instruments. Optimum business results cannot be achieved if these underlying components greatly limit performance. Examples of issues to be resolved include include fuel conveyor changes, fuel bins and distribution equipment, overfire or undergrate air system modifications, fan upgrades, or damper improvements.

Chip and his team have bundled their expertise on multi-fuel boilers into a SmartProcess application and call it SmartProcess Boiler. This application provides complete automatic control of the boiler at all times including start-up, automatically adjusts for changing fuel BTU per volume, and the system allows a multi-fuel boiler to be used as a swing boiler while burning least cost fuels.

The application automates many functions that are often done manually and allows a higher percentage of steam to be generated with biomass or alternate fuels.

Projects are typically done as a turnkey including design, installation, commissioning, start-up and training of the operations staff to run the boiler using the newly optimized equipment, firing methods, and control tools. Given the high costs of fossil fuels today, payback on the entire project is typically 3 to 6 months.

Tags: energy usage | boiler control | multifuel | boiler | biomass | fossil fuels | alternate fuels |

June 1, 2006 in Boilers, in Energy Management, in Pulp & Paper | Comments (10)