Tarmac Cement & Lime Limited GB approached Saftronics as they became aware their current non-critical process water pumping MCC was dated and becoming unreliable.
This is quite typical of the projects we work on at Saftronics, and so we were more than happy to take on the challenge.
Along with the above, the new MCC we were tasked with developing had to integrate seamlessly with the existing DCS (Distributed Control System). Because of this, our software engineers had to write the Simocode programs used on the MCC to ensure flawless integration and communication between the two systems.
After speaking with the customer, we established that an industrial ethernet-based MCC, fully compliant with current legislation and standards (IEC 61439), would be the best approach for this project. Reliability is key as interruptions in a communication system such as this can be catastrophic for an organisation.
When developing the MCC the customer was very eager to ensure that it was future-proofed by making it Industry 4.0 ready using a Profinet architecture and integrating the MCC data into the existing PROFIBUS based DCS via a SIMATIC gateway. Also, as a by-product of the smart technology within, and the use of Siemens SIMICODE, the customer is now able to take advantage of enhanced monitoring and alarming – thus allowing them to plan maintenance and look for trends which could lead to failure.
We also provided training to the engineers at Tarmac Cement & Lime Limited GB to ensure that they fully understood the integration work we had done and were fully equipped to resolve any issues should the need arise in the future. The training itself was relatively straightforward; their engineers visited the Saftronics site for a morning and we ran through the operating process of the new panel and software.
As with most of our customers, the process of installing a new MCC means that there is a period of downtime for one or more sections of the business, and Tarmac Cement & Lime Limited GB were no different. Downtime for any business can have serious ramifications, and so we worked with them to establish a specific period in which we could remove the old panel, install the newly developed one, allowing for the on-site cabling to be carried out and then commissioning.
In total, the project took 10 weeks and was delivered within budget.