Electricity + Control May 2018

ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION

The Heartbeat of a Plant’s Processes Self-diagnostics and Predictive Maintenance

Information provided by Endress+Hauser

Take Note!

The advantages of in- struments with self-di- agnostics are evident. Plants run more cost-ef- fectively and safely without interruption. You are always in con- trol of your measuring point and verification efforts are significantly reduced.

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Imagine a production process where devices can diagnose themselves: They would realise when something is wrong or unusual and send an alarm?

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W hen, for example, excessive build-up occurs in silos and tanks the devices with this capability would just signal the need to clean a process. An Endress+Hauser (further referred to as ‘the company’) customer in the Copper Mining industry, experienced the ad- vantages of self-diagnostics. It is as if your field measurement device has a heartbeat: It will react like an additional member of your workforce with spe- cialist knowledge to steer the pro-

The advantages of instruments with self-diagnos- tics are evident: Plants run more cost-effectively and safely without any interruptions. You are al- ways in control of your measuring point, and veri- fication efforts are significantly reduced with doc- umented in-situ verification. A simple, predefined procedure guides the person responsible for main- tenance through the verification procedure and, at the end, the verification results are documented in an unambiguous manner.The SIL test according to the safety manual and documentation saves time and reduces costs, too. An automatically gener- ated verification protocol supports the evidence demanded by regulations, laws or plant standards. The data acquired through self-diagnostics fa- cilitates trend recognition for predictive mainte- nance. A combination of instrument and process parameters provides all the important information for the next steps in maintenance or targeted pro- cess optimisation. It is a prerequisite to finding the right strategy for predictive maintenance. The challenge at the Copper Mine The Copper Mine wanted to test a smart sensor. There were two clear objectives for their changes in level measurement: to increase production by higher ROM bin capacities and to reduce mainte- nance costs. To do so, the Copper Mine wanted to use the maximum fill heights of a ROM bin used to store unprocessed copper ore. To accommo- date this increase in fill heights, the existing radar level sensor had to be relocated to a new position, where it would unavoidably get covered in dirt. The danger was that the strength of the measuring sig- nal emitted and received by radar level transmit- ters – a critical factor for precise measurements

Micropilot FMR6x radar level transmitters.

cess in an effective way so that you avoid costly downtime. You just run the plant and the processes and do not have to spend time check- ing how the instruments are working. The devices would tell you directly if a problem occurs. Processes that can take their own pulse are already a real-

ity with Heartbeat Technology in many level, flow, temperature and analytical instruments. Since 2012, self-diagnostics has been stand- ard in several of the company’s flow devices, and the portfolio has just been expanded to include level, temperature and analytical de- vices. Instruments with Heartbeat Technology excel by permanent process diagnostics and extensive in-situ diagnostic functions. Processes are no longer interrupt- ed if verification is needed; it

happens directly in the measuring point with- out any dismantling.

10 Electricity + Control

MAY 2018