executive corner | Tip and Strategies for Managers
Benefits of integrated process,
power automation
By Mark Taft
F
or those who feel they have optimized complicated mapping of information from cal devices to automation systems, pro-
just about everything they can, there the devices. This leads to increased project cess plant owners have the opportunity
are still real opportunities for improve- execution cost and risk, long commission- to create a unified environment.
ment in process manufacturing facilities. ing cycles, finger-pointing, and difficult Integration of process and power automa-
Integrating the electrical equipment in and expensive lifecycle support. In addi- tion systems provides a single point for ERP
a plant to the process automation systems tion, organizational barriers exist between access, a centralized data historian, common
is the next frontier in delivering productiv- the automation and electrical disciplines at alarm and event lists, in addition to one op-
ity improvements. process manufacturers as well as engineer- erational view of the process. Potential re-
turns from a unified view to the process and
One thing is certain: All facilities can benefit from the use of power automation systems include:
n Reduced engineering and commission-
added intelligence available from today’s electrical devices ing time for integrated projects
to reduce maintenance costs and improve energy efficiency. n Reduced investment and operational
costs through reduction of duplicate
Industry is the number one consumer of ing firms and suppliers. equipment, more effective deployment
power, consuming roughly 1/3 of the energy Today, quite a few of the technical of staff, and lower training costs
used in the U.S. The creation of a unified en- challenges have been addressed with n Increased productivity and decreased
vironment to monitor and control the pro- the emergence of new technologies and downtime by quickly identifying and
cess and the electrical systems that provide standards for the integration of intelli- reacting to degradation that may lead
the energy as a raw material to the process gent devices on the plant floor. One such to process upsets
allows operations to make decisions based technology standard for integration and n Optimal results from maintenance ac-
on dollars and cents as opposed to being cross communication of intelligent electri- tivities through deployment of condi-
limited to temperatures and voltages. cal devices is IEC 61850. This standard, tion based asset monitors for all elec-
Process manufacturers i