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All rights reserved. input #1 at www.plantengineering.com/information Bulk or Cut to Length shipped fast! 1-800-633-0405 the #1 value in automation The Secret to Keeping Electronics Cool! Benefits of Cabinet Cooler Systems NEMA 12 For large heat loads up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • Enclosure remains dust-tight and oil-tight • Measures 8" (203mm) high • Mounts top, side or bottom NEMA 4 and 4X For heat loads up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • Enclosure remains dust-tight, oil-tight and splash resistant • Suitable for wet locations where coolant spray or washdown can occur Type 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler® Systems • Less expensive to purchase than refrigerant A/C units • Less expensive to operate than refrigerant A/C units • Quicker to install than heat exchangers and refrigerant A/C units • Little to no maintenance For NEMA 4X applications available for heat loads up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • Resists harsh environments not suitable for Type 303/304SS • Ideal for food and chemical processing, pharmaceutical, foundries, heat treating and other corrosive environments Hazardous Location For use with classified enclosure purge and pressurization systems. Available for all Class I Div 1 environments up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • Maintain NEMA 4/4X integrity • Meet UL classified requirements • CE compliant • More reliable in dirty, hot, or remote environments than alternative cooling products High Temperature • Not affected by machine vibration which can cause refrigerant leaks • Ambient temperature does not affect performance like it will with alternative cooling products For NEMA 12, 4 and 4X applications. Available for heat loads in many capacities up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • Suitable for ambients up to 200°F (93°C) • Ideal for mounting near ovens, furnaces, and other hot locations Don’t Blow A Fan on an Open Cabinet! Non-Hazardous Purge It is an OSHA violation that presents a shock hazard to personnel. The fan blows hot, humid, dirty air at the electronics. Keep a slight positive pressure on the enclosure to keep dirt from entering through small holes or conduits. For use in non-hazardous locations. • Uses only 1 SCFM in purge mode • For heat loads up to 5,600 Btu/hr. • NEMA 12, 4 and 4X The Real Solution! Stop electronic downtime with an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System! The complete line of low cost Cabinet Cooler Systems are in stock and can ship today. They mount in minutes through an ordinary electrical knockout and have no moving parts to wear out. Thermostat control to minimize compressed air use is available for all models. All Cabinet Coolers are UL Listed to US and Canadian safety standards. input #2 at www.plantengineering.com/information If you would like to discuss an application, contact: 11510 Goldcoast Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45249-1621 TECHELP DIRECT! 1-800-903-9247 [email protected] GO TO https://exair.co/79_440 Automation made easy. The MOVI-C® modular automation platform combines fully integrated drive components, control electronics and automation software – all from one source – all designed to work together perfectly. www.seweurodrive.com input #3 at www.plantengineering.com/information Vol. 76 • No 4 Contents JULY/AUGUST 2022 p.21 8 VIEWPOINT 7 | About engines and motors The present and future for a most ubiquitous of technologies INSIGHTS 8 | Optimized performance, less downtime Petroleum Development Oman extends life of critical plant assets with timely tech up-grades 12 | Improving asset criticality with better decision making at the plant level Digitalization initiatives make it possible for industrial organizations to rely more on data patterns 17 | Impending regulation, common sense make the case for more energy efficient compressed air systems Eliminating leaks and energy recovery are two good places to start GOOD NEWS! We have invested in a 2022 magazine redesign to increase page size, include more images and graphs and add credible manufacturing content. Please send your feedback and ideas for future issues to [email protected]. SOLUTIONS ON THE COVER: Petroleum Development Oman is modernizing its sprawling Government Gas Plant in northern Oman. Photo courtesy Honeywell. 21 | IT/OT convergences moves automation markets forward Cloud-native data historian expedites data migration, insights 27 | Maintain uptime, drive efficiency and protect distributed IT assets with DCIM The next phase of data center management evolution will further optimize resources by providing real-time visibility p. 27 31 | In-depth understanding leads to decisive site selection Navigating site viability to meet multistakeholder goals requires clearly articulating needs and requirements 35 | Digital transformation tools improve plant sustainability and predicitive maintenance It’s in a facility’s best interest to prevent issues before they arise 41 | Five tips to avert the leading causes of failure in industrial edge computing p. 35 With adoption of industrial edge computing, there are several ways to support information technology/operational technology (IT/OT) convergence and Technology PLANT ENGINEERING (ISSN 0032-082X, Vol. 75, No. 4, GST #123397457) is published bimonthly by CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #310, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Periodicals postage paid at Downers Grove, IL 60515 and additional mailing of¬fices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PLANT ENGINEERING, PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. Jim Langhenry, Group Publisher /Co-Founder; Steve Rourke CEO/COO/Co-Founder. PLANT ENGINEERING copyright 2022 by CFE Media, LLC. All rights reserved. PLANT ENGINEERING is a registered trademark of CFE Media, LLC used under license. Circulation records are maintained at CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #310, Downers Grove, IL 60515. E-mail: [email protected]. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40685520. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: PO Box PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. Email: [email protected]. Rates for non-quali¬fied subscriptions, including all issues: USA, $120/yr; Canada/Mexico, $150/yr (includes 7% GST, GST#123397457); International air delivery $260/yr. Except for special issues where price changes are indicated, single copies are available for $30 US, $35 foreign. Please address all subscription mail to PLANT ENGINEERING, PO Box 348, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. Printed in the USA. CFE Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material contained herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com July/August 2022 | 3 TM ® Para-Flex ® A Proven Industry Problem Solver Reliably serving industry for 70 years. Dodge® Para-Flex is the renowned, high-performance elastomeric coupling solution recognized for keeping operations moving under the heavy strain of high demand—reducing downtime and maintenance so you can meet your goals. Industry-leading product life Withstands notoriously aggressive applications, which is key to application uptime Patented cording placement Locks in element ejection during peak torque and high-speed applications, extending element life Industry-leading misalignment capabilities Accommodates shaft misalignment better than other urethane elements Reinforced element split Reduces fatigue of element during shock loading, extending element life do Scan to learn more about how Para-Flex leads industry in reliability and durability. input #4 at www.plantengineering.com/information dg ei nd us tri al .c o m Vol. 76 • No 4 Contents JULY/AUGUST 2022 Newsletters Plant Engineering’s July newsletter articles are featured below. Our mission is to provide authoritative coverage of the use of technologies and best practices to improve productivity in the design, planning, installing and maintaining of plant systems, facilities and equipment. See www.plantengineering.com for more. u Optimizing equipment scanning Implementing and leveraging scanning technology enhances productivity and provides multiple benefits for project owners u Five tips for preventing material handling injuries Improving material handling can reduce costs associated with workplace injuries and labor turnover u Why automating AI-as-a-service is now mission critical AI-as-a-service (AiaaS) combines an AI-ready IIoT platform with automating deep learning intelligence to accelerate realization of the greater manufacturing mission u Four strategies for implementing machine monitoring equipment Setting objectives for machine monitoring, prioritizing machines, developing relevant performance metrics and continuously improving them u Fluid sampling best practices Neglecting the details can derail the best fluid analysis program and cause severe maintenance issues for companies u Simulation capabilities are critical for operations, as well as design Product changeovers that join the physical with the virtual u Five tips to avert the leading causes of failure in industrial edge computing With adoption of industrial edge computing, there are several ways to support information technology/operational technology (IT/OT) convergence u Long-range, low-power solutions improve remote operations Remote operations in manufacturing opens opportunities for facilities to leverage IoT-enabled technologies for everything from mobility to worker safety Upcoming Webcasts Register to attend these webcasts on the Plant Engineering website at www.plantengineering.com. September 14 November 3 Reducing a fan's speed by 20% can achieve energy savings of 50% Key steps to incorporate into your safety program October 17 – 21 November 16 Energy management with variable speed drives Virtual Training Week A rich mix of sessions on manufacturing best practices October 26 AC induction motors and power quality events Best practices related to short-term disturbances characterized by magnitude, duration and direction Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com Electrical safety Best practices for enterprise systems data management How best to make use of all the data being collected December 6 From connected assets to predictive analytics Does your plant have the maturity for predictive maintenance? July/August 2022 | 5 CONVEY DUMP FLEXICON Manual Dumping Stations allow dust-free dumping of bulk material from bags and other containers. Automatic reverse-pulse filter cleaning allows continuous, efficient operation. Available with integral bag compactors for total dust containment. FLEXI-DISC Tubular Cable Conveyors gently slide fragile foods and non-foods through smooth stainless steel tubing routed horizontally, vertically or at any angle, over short or long distances, dustfree. Single or multiple inlets and outlets. ® ® CONDITION BLOCK-BUSTER® Bulk Bag Conditioners loosen bulk materials that have solidified during storage and shipment. Variable height turntable positions bag for hydraulic rams with contoured conditioning plates to press bag on all sides at all heights. CONVEY SWING-DOWN®, REAR-POST and TWIN-CENTERPOST™ Bulk Bag Fillers can fill one bulk bag per week or 20 per hour at the lowest cost per bag. Numerous performance options. Available to industrial or sanitary standards. FLEXICON® Flexible Screw Conveyors transport free- and non-freeflowing bulk solid materials from large pellets to sub-micron powders, including products that pack, cake or smear, with no separation of blends, dust-free at low cost. No bearings contact material. Easy to clean quickly, thoroughly. DUMP TIP-TITE® Container Dumpers dump bulk material from drums (shown), boxes or other containers into vessels up to 10 ft (3 m) high. Dust-tight (shown) or open chute models improve efficiency and safety of an age-old task. USA [email protected] 1 888 FLEXICON BULK-OUT® Bulk Bag Dischargers unload free- and non-free-flowing solids from bulk bags automatically. Allow untying, discharging, retying and collapsing of bulk bags—all dust-free. Available with weigh batching controls. FILL CONVEY PNEUMATI-CON® Pneumatic Conveying Systems move a broad range of bulk materials over short or long distances, between single or multiple inlet and discharge points in low to high capacities. Available as dilute-phase vacuum or positive pressure systems, fully integrated with your process. UNLOAD +44 +61 +27 +34 +33 +49 +65 +62 +60 The FLEXICON® Lifetime Performance Guarantee* assures you of a successful result, whether you purchase one piece of equipment or an engineered, automated plant-wide system. From initial testing in large-scale laboratories, to single-source project management, to after-sale support by a worldwide network of factory experts, you can trust your process— and your reputation— to Flexicon. (0)1227 374710 (0)7 3879 4180 (0)41 453 1871 930 020 509 (0)7 61 36 56 12 173 900 78 76 6778 9225 81 1103 2400 10 282 2400 ©2022 Flexicon Corporation. Flexicon Corporation has registrations and pending applications for the trademark FLEXICON throughout the world. *See full Lifetime Performance Guarantee for details. input #5 at www.plantengineering.com/information KK-0319 UK AUSTRALIA SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN FRANCE GERMANY SINGAPORE INDONESIA MALAYSIA SUCCEED CONTENT INSIGHTS CONTENT SPECIALISTS/EDITORIAL VIEWPOINT KEVIN PARKER, Editor [email protected] GARY COHEN, Senior Editor [email protected] CHRIS VAVRA, Web Content Manager [email protected] About engines and motors AMANDA PELLICCIONE, Director of Research 860-432-4767, [email protected] MICHAEL SMITH, Creative Director [email protected] SUSIE BAK, Production Coordinator [email protected] EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD H. LANDIS “LANNY” FLOYD, IEEE Life Fellow [email protected] JOHN GLENSKI, President, Automation Plus [email protected] SHON ISENHOUR, Partner, Eruditio LLC [email protected] DR. SHI-WAN LIN, CEO and co-founder, Thingswise, LLC Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) board member [email protected] JOHN MALINOWSKI, Senior manager of industry affairs (retired), Baldor Electric Company DAVID SKELTON, Vice president and general manager Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing [email protected] BILLY RAY TAYLOR, Director of commercial and off-highway manufacturing The Goodyear Tire & Rubber [email protected] LARRY TURNER, President and CEO, Hannover Fairs USA [email protected] MARK WATSON, Senior director, manufacturing technology, IHS Markit [email protected] CFE Media Contributor Guidelines Overview Content For Engineers. That’s what CFE Media stands for, and what CFE Media is all about—engineers sharing with their peers. We welcome content submissions for all interested parties in engineering. We will use those materials online, on our Website, in print and in newsletters to keep engineers informed about the products, solutions, and industry trends. * www.plantengineering.com/contribute explains how to submit press releases, products, images and graphics, bylined feature articles, case studies, white papers, and other media. * Content should focus on helping engineers solve problems. Articles that are commercial in nature or that are critical of other products or organizations will be rejected. (Technology discussions and comparative tables may be accepted if non-promotional and if contributor corroborates information with sources cited.) * If the content meets criteria noted in guidelines, expect to see it first on our websites. Content for our enewsletters comes from content already available on our Websites. All content for print also will be online. All content that appears in our print magazines will appear as space permits, and we will indicate in print if more content from that article is available online. * Deadlines for feature articles intended for the print magazines are at least two months in advance of the publication date. Again, it is best to discuss all feature articles with the content manager prior to submission. LEARN MORE AT: www.plantengineering.com/contribute and Technology TM Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com I The service industry itself is n many ways, the internal comchanging, with private equity buying bustion engine defined the Unitup assets and consolidating the mared States in the 20th century. On ket. At the same time, electrification June 29, 1956, President Dwight trends convert many applications of D. Eisenhower signed legislation gas-driven engines to electric motors. funding the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. By the early 1990s, nearly 45,000 miles of Where it’s headed interstate highway were complete In a recent post, Blake Griffin, a and had transformed the senior analyst with Intercountry with its wholesale act Analysis, discusses some grant of mobility. interesting developments Globally, internal combusimpacting the transition tion engines are said to repfrom gas engines to electric resent the single greatest use motors. of power on the planet. Electric steel, used in The Electrical Apparaelectric motor manufacture, Kevin Parker, tus Service Association, Inc. is key to producing the Editor (EASA), which justifiably electro-magnetic field used styles itself “the electroto turn the rotor. mechanical authority,” is an interHowever, as electrical vehicle pronational trade organization of more duction continues to grow, so does than 1,700 electromechanical sales demand for the electric steel used and service firms in nearly 70 counin motors. The process used to protries. EASA held its annual convenduce electric steel is cold-rolled steel. tion in late June at the America’s Cold-rolled steel is a small portion Center Convention Complex. “The of overall steel demand and increases motor industry has an opportunity in capacity come slowly. The Federal to demonstrate it is about engineerReserve says the price of cold-rolled ing and not just commodities,” as steel grew 400% since 2016. one attendee put it. At the same time, the share of For many commodity markets, business held by commercial and it is easier to replace rather than industrial electric motor vendors repair a broken unit. For combusis being threatened by the automotion engines, given current suptive sector in the wake of widespread ply chain shortages, that picture is introduction of electric vehicles. changing, offering more opportuniInteract Analysis looked at the proties for service companies to prove duction of lithium-ION batteries as their worth. an indicator for the speed at which A vast number of engines are electric vehicles are being produced. oversized for their application. CorGiven the sharp uptick in battery shiprect downsizing will contribute to ments between 2021 and 2022, Intersustainability efforts. Condition act Analysis expects that over the next monitoring and predictive maintefive years, the gap between supply and nance will lead to operations and demand for electric steel will widen, process optimization. leading to shortage supplies. PE July/August 2022 | 7 INSIGHTS ADVANCED AUTOMATION Optimized performance, less down time Petroleum Development Oman extends life of critical plant assets with timely tech upgrades P ‘ Increased connectivity addresses challenges associated with constant change. etroleum Development Oman (PDO) is deploying technology to modernize and standardize the control system architecture of its Government Gas Plant (GGP) in northern Oman. PDO is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. “It’s about meeting customers’ latest requirements,” said Pramesh Maheshwari, VP and general manager, Lifecycle Solutions and Services, Honeywell Process Solutions. “Increased connectivity addresses challenges associated with constant change. We can use artificial intelligence technology to anticipate problems. We can support being proactive rather than reactive.” The plant modernization delivers sustainable and efficient gas processing operations that help PDO satisfy increasing demand for its gas. The installed solutions upgrade the gas plant’s supervisory control center. The scope of the overall technology upgrade includes moving all High-Performance Process Manager (HPM) controllers to a more efficient and sophisticated controller, the C300 and replacing the Fail Safe Controller with Safety Manager. An installed base “In the past, producers had multiple systems installed at multiple levels. The need today is to bring all that together and make not just the data, but also inferences from the data, generally accessible,” said Maheshwari. “The control system in the past was an operator’s console. Decisions on what to make, for example, were separate. Today we can bring more comprehensive data together to support decision making.” The changeover was completed while keeping the same input and output modules. The project also transitioned the plant’s supervisory control level to the latest Experion PKS R511 software ’ Petroleum Development Oman is modernizing its sprawling Government Gas Plant in Northern Oman. Photo courtesy Honeywell. 8 | July/August 2022 Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com release, coupled with a refresh of workstation, server and network platforms. PDO is also implementing the Honeywell Trace solution for better monitoring of critical control assets. The Experion PKS (Process Knowledge System) is a new generation distributed control system meant to unify people with process, business requirements and asset management, i.e., maintenance and other supporting applications. Safety Manager is a modular, multi-fault tolerant safety system for emergency shutdowns and safety instrumented systems. The face of maintenance Honeywell Trace captures and records configuration data to enable users to track changes, identify engineering anomalies, eliminate errors and accelerate project planning. An intellectual property and patented data collection approach achieves data in hours versus days. “The face of maintenance is changing with mobility consoles equipped augmented reality, allowing immediate response. With predictive technologies, we have a window into what could go wrong before it happens,” said Maheshwari. Due to ageing sysOverall, PDO has seen a spectrum of benefits including tems and support consistent gas quality, reduced risk of unplanned downtime issues, our customers and enhanced lifecycle planning. The transformation was can face significant done while protecting PDO’s risk and unplanned intellectual property. “Our ability to meet gas downtime. demand across the Sultanate rests on our ability to process and produce it effectively and that requires modern control architecture,” said Ahmed Al Harrasi, senior control & automation leader for gas assets, PDO. “Due to ageing systems and support issues, our customers can face significant risk and unplanned downtime,” said Maheshwari. “Leveraging automation by upgrading to new technology while optimizing current investments is key. That’s the approach we’ve taken with PDO, and we’re excited to lead them through their digitalization journey.” PE ‘ ’ SHAFT GROUNDING SOLUTION PROTECT BEARINGS FROM VFD-INDUCED CURRENTS Helwig’s proprietary silver graphite brush provides a path to ground that diverts damaging currents away from motor bearings. Bearing Protection Kits are a maintenance-free solution that offers superiorbearing protection year-after-year. Call (800) 962-4851 for your BPK quote today! Constant force spring Variable frequency drives (VFD) used on AC and DC motors produce induced electrical currents on the motor shaft. This current seeks the path of least resistance to ground, which is typically through the motor bearings. When the current passes through the bearings, electrical arcs take place, leading to fluting, pitting, bearing damage, and eventual bearing failure. Heavy duty brass holder www.helwigcarbon.com Proprietary silver graphite brush input #6 at www.plantengineering.com/information Redtop absorbs vibration Advertisement How Should Your Compressor Supplier/Manufacturer be Supporting you? As the role of a supplier continues to evolve, it’s no longer just about product support and understanding the customer’s needs. You really should be a trusted advisor and a local expert. Paul Humphreys VP Communications and Branding, Atlas Copco Compressors. I spoke to a recent graduate student who has joined Atlas Copco, and his career path was leading him to become a financial planner — he’s now a high-performing service sales manager inside Atlas Copco. When asking the reason for his career change, he looked a bit puzzled. He expressed that it’s not a career change in many ways but instead a continued focus on stocks and capital investment. “I am advising customers how to manage assets and use all the tools to ensure that their compressed air system improves their contribution to the bottom line — I’m a financial compressed air planner!” A big part of this trusted advisor status is understanding what energy rebates are available for compressed air equipment. Here’s a real life example from a packaging supplier in the U.S. Project Numbers kWh Annual Savings: 933,791 Annual Electricity Cost Saving: $84,298.96 Annual Reduction in CO2 Emissions: 600 metric tons (equivalent to annual electricity usage of 112 average homes) Project Cost: $312,243.49 Energy Incentive: $140,068.65 NET Project Cost: $172,174.84 Payback Period: 2 Years Let’s state that again. The new compressor was so energy efficient that the local energy company wrote them a check for $140,068.65. Across the United States, trusted advisors are helping their customers achieve amazing things at the best possible cost. There are plenty of other incentives out there too, such as the Section 179 tax deduction program. input #7 at www.plantengineering.com/information The bottom line is important, but so is the top line. When we talk about the top line, we like to focus on CO2 emissions. The recent climate change report published in August from the IPCC was labeled ‘Code Red for Humanity.’ The one compressor change on the previous page reduced annual CO2 emissions by 600 metric tons. That’s a massive saving! We all have a role to play in climate change, and the compressor business can make a real difference —it’s win-win. Energy efficiency saves money and saves the planet. What else have we learned from the impact of COVID-19? Do I even need a compressor? It’s not a new trend, but as compressed air has always been discussed as the “fourth utility” inside a plant — more customers are considering purchasing air like gas, electricity, or water. So, in essence, buying air and not the actual compressor. For the right customer, this has several advantages, including not needing a significant capital expenditure at the start of the project and having no maintenance responsibility for the equipment, as that’s taken care of by the manufacturer. We have seen many customers where the monthly cost of the air compressor is way less than the monthly energy saving, resulting in money to the bottom line from day one and CO2 savings for the top line. Remote connectivity 24/7 connectivity is offered with just about all new compressors. This is not about being ‘tied’ to your compressor but instead giving you peace of mind to ensure you can always be in control – no matter where you are working. You can also think of remote monitoring as an ongoing audit that happens 24/7, offering the capability to identify any potential issues before they can become serious problems. Consolidation of suppliers The term “total-solutions provider” when it comes to our business is outdated. At Atlas Copco, we innovate in areas where we can add value and offer an outstanding payback. With this in mind, innovation means that we can provide compressors, blowers, vacuum pumps, dryers, chillers, and nitrogen and oxygen generators, and much more! The benefits are enormous when it comes to harmonized central connectivity, remote monitoring, service contracts, and operator familiarity. Imagine if all these pieces of equipment can be controlled in a uniform way? This is genuinely game-changing. Where can you fit my compressor? It’s a fact that modern compressors do not make a lot of noise, and there should not be a pool of oil or water surrounding them. With that in mind, and a lack of available space a genuine concern, we have seen more and more compressors fitted at the heart of the production facility. When you see this it’s a real sign that the compressor is low-noise, innovative and saving the company money. Building Flexibility Every plant manager across the country knows the cost of downtime. Building a system that removes the “all or nothing” approach is vital to success. Adding a second compressor or running two smaller ones instead of one large unit can often be the optimal solution. The pandemic has also highlighted how the supply chain can be affected quite quickly — from the manufacturing of goods to the ability of shipping companies to deliver based on capacity issues. This means that manufacturers cannot afford to ignore contingency planning for all scenarios. And one last thing, never neglect service and the need for preventative maintenance – it will catch up with you eventually! input #4 at www.plantengineering.com/information INSIGHTS KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Improving asset criticality with better decision making at the plant level Digitalization initiatives make it possible for industrial organizations to rely more on data patterns P —Mike Brooks, Global Director, APM Solutions, AspenTech —Mike Strobel, Solution Advisor, AspenTech. lant managers make complex decisions daily that impact an organization’s bottom line. It begins with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that define the operating performance of a manufacturing plant – the handful of key levers that ultimately control the business operation and lead financial performance. They can be separated into two clusters. First, the KPIs that express and protect the license to operate, which include safety, environmental, and compliance protections. If those aren’t done successfully, a manufacturer may not be allowed to operate. Figure 1 shows some critical KPIs for a manufacturing plant. The second cluster is all about the efficiency and optimal performance of the manufacturing operation: 1. Equipment availability – the percentage of time required to run the equipment FIGURE 1. Some critical key performance indicators for a manufacturing plant. 12 | July/August 2022 2. Energy consumption – the amount of energy used to support the equipment availability 3. High value product – the volume/value of product made with the availability and energy These KPIs are very general, sometimes expressed in similar ways, and can support any type of manufacturing, from oil processing to chocolate making or minivan production. Notwithstanding the earnestness in protecting the license to operate, this paper is focused on the pure operating performance aspects. In that respect, one can assert that equipment availability will always be the most important, because if equipment is not running, then energy and production have no consequence or bearing on performance. To put it simply, a manufacturing process takes raw materials and adds energy, in a regular, ordered process, to manufacture the products. However, there are elements that can encourage or constrain the time, efficiency and ultimately the profitability of the process. Decisions on how the process is planned, scheduled, and operated play a major part, and external influences can impart negative consequences. They can be seen in Figure 2, indicating the process steps from raw materials to products in the example of an integrated chemical manufacturing site. The process is designed up front and put in place with certain built-in constraints such as redundancy of equipment, the capacity of equipment / trains / units and of intermediate and final storage. Many items are adjustable, such as the operating logic, plans, scheduling and the approach to maintenance and logistics choices, such as shipping methods. However, some items that affect performance, such as market volatility, weather, logistics and shipping, are not predetermined. All these factors influence the ultimate plant performance and profitability. Some of the most significant factors are about the Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com mechanical equipment and availability to the operating plant. Equipment can fail or wear out, causing interruptions to production. Any time equipment is out for service maintenance, it can mean significant losses in production, which could amount to exponentially more than the cost of the maintenance and repairs. Critical decision making at the asset level With all of this in mind, there are many decisions to be made all the time about assets, performance limits and thresholds, maintenance strategy and timing, reliability expectations, and so on. In the past, decisions on asset criticality or risk analysis were unsubstantiated, with little to no mathematical methodology behind them. This is because analysis considered criticality and risk based on an isolated machine. However, every machine operates within the context of a process, and in relation to other machines. Manufacturing companies cannot separate the machine from the process, or the process from the machine, and they certainly should not be basing decisions on one machine in isolation. Previously, it was also common for decisions to be made based on the greatest reliability, which is not necessarily the optimum strategy. The most critical items may not only be what causes the greatest production interruption when they do fail. Critical items may not appear as important at first, so a more thorough assessment is needed to uncover them. In the end, the goal of criticality assessments is to set up the appropriate maintenance strategy for when and how to do inspections, service, and repair. If the underlying assumptions are incorrect, then what about the outcomes? Today, we can change this. The prior approach to determining asset criticality can be modeled in a digital twin and used to explore all manner of actions and consequences more comprehensively, with more strategic outcomes. First step is to understand how all assets are integrated together and establish the real constraints on the manufacturing process. This is where making decisions with the help of digitalization, such as Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM)-based simulations, can help. The benefits of RAM-based simulation Process and mechanical engineers often assess performance constraints and set them accordingly, which is wise when dealing with keeping equipment within safe operating and mechanical safePlant engineering — www.plantengineering.com FIGURE 2. Process steps form raw materials to products in an integrated chemical manufacturing site. FIGURE 3. Reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) chart indicates probability of performance outcomes showing the ikelihood of operating at varying production levels. ty limits. Often advanced process control and tools with objective functions can push operations to greater productivity. However, none of these are dealing with all the actual financial constraints that fully affect the bottom-line performance. The industry is beginning to see RAM applications that integrally highlight the real constraints, including the other operational and mechanical limits. A RAM-based simulation application provides fault-tree analysis, based on actual material flows through a manufacturing process, with stage gates, inventory modeling, load sharing, standby/redundancy of equipment, operational phases, and duty cycles. In addition, a RAM application can simulate expectations of various ran- Fast Facts uReliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) are three system attributes that are of tremendous interest to systems engineers, logisticians, and users. They are often studied together. Collectively, they affect economic life-cycle costs of a system and its utility. July/August 2022 | 13 INSIGHTS KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FIGURE 4. Figure illustrates, in ascending order, items that are most to blame for missing financial targets. dom events such as weather, market dynamics, supply/distribution logistical events, and more. In one logistics example, a coker unit’s bottom pump was thought to be undersized and constraining the unit production. Changing the pump to a larger size did not fix the problem, because further investigation showed insufficient trucks on the train to carry the product away would not let the unit operate at full capacity. Figure 3 is a typical chart from the RAM application. It indicates probability of performance outcomes that show the likelihood of operating at varying production levels. Figure 4 shows, in ascending order, the items that are most to blame for missing targets at that financial level. It is a clear indication of what’s most likely to happen and shows what’s most important to work on first. Such a result is far more useful than current criticality analysis based on an isolated machine or no mathematical methodology. With this information, efficient RAM applications are better equipped to support: • Superior, individual asset and full asset systems reliability analysis • A truer identification of the critical components and their effects on lifecyle return on assets • The right number of spares in inventory • The optimal process and mechanical operations to fully achieve success. 14 | of information and understanding. An expert in one area can optimize that specific process or maintenance strategy or design, but when considering the complex, integrated nature of the entire site, that local optimum may not lead to a global or site optimum because of upstream and downstream constraints. The use of such a RAM application to understand how all the parts, people and processes fit together will lead to focused improvements that drive greater value and protect the limited resources available. This has become transformative for improved decision-making for the plant, and ultimately, the business. The net outcome will be plant managers driving greater return on assets by: • Reinforcing their expertise by proving to leadership and other stakeholders that a complicated decision made on, not one asset in isolation, but consolidated performance of a group of equipment, is the best possible decision-making to optimize the overall business performance • Assessing risk in real-time and over a period of time for the data patterns that tell industrial organizations the risk they’re exposed to, day in and day out, so they can act accordingly • Understanding options and consequences, such as optimizing opportunities and proactively responding to an impending asset failure. For instance, a plant manager may decide to take an asset or equipment offline to coincide with another event, in order to lessen the impact of downtime or perform other maintenance tasks • Lessening decisions made based on “gut-feeling,” and replacing them with data-driven insights. When an alert suggests a machine is likely to fail within a few weeks, the RAM application can also advise when to take it out for service and repair to minimize operational losses and downtime, accommodate just-in-time spares, and build intermediate inventory to sustain the outage with less product delivery losses. For years, decisions about assets and equipment have been made in isolation or based on perceived criticality. Today, digitalization initiatives, such as RAM-based simulations, are making it possible for industrial organizations to rely more on data patterns to make smarter decisions about their assets. PE Decision making with data-driven inputs Manufacturers employ experts in certain disciplines and processes. This inadvertently creates silos Mike Brooks is global director, APM Solutions, AspenTech. Mike Strobel is a solutions advisor, AspenTech. July/August 2022 Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com input #8 at www.plantengineering.com/information Motion is a leader in delivering the services and supplies that keep essential industries up and running. input #9 at www.plantengineering.com/information ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS UTILITIES OPTIMIZATION Kevin Parker, Editor The case for more energy efficient compressed air systems Eliminating leaks and energy recovery are two good places to start U sers of compressed air systems in the United States have the means at hand to can save energy costs while supporting sustainability goals, according to a recent report issued by Atlas Copco. Doing so could mean an estimated $1 billion in annual energy savings and nine million less metric tons of CO2 released. With U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI, Atlas Copco is a multi-national provider of compressors, vacuum solutions and other type industrial equipment. The primary avenue for industry to achieve sustainability-based production focuses on reducing electricity consumption to both cut CO2 emissions and generate substantial savings for the enterprises that implement it. Further, the company believes optimized compressed air can be a big step toward making it happen. Atlas Copco Compressors took a more in-depth look at the U.S. market when it comes to compressed air. The market analysis concluded that U.S. manufacturing has a compressed air installed base of at least 15 million horsepower. It’s well known that industrial usage of compressed air wastes energy due to air-line leaks that go unattended and for other reasons. Based on looking at various air audits across different customer types, sizes and segments, Atlas Copco Compressor’s analysis concluded that the U.S. could save around 13 billion kWh annually in electricity associated with compressed air — which would save U.S. manufacturers over $1 billion in energy costs annually. As important, this would remove ~9 million metric tons of CO2 annually — equivalent to >1 million homes’ annual electricity usage. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com “With our European roots, saving energy has been a long-time concern of ours,” said Robert Eshelman, president and general manager, Atlas Copco Compressors USA. “What we see is an opportunity. There are still many inefficient systems out there. We want our customers to be aware as well.” Two good suggestions In fact, in a 2021 survey regarding compressed air usage of more than 50,000 engineers, contractors and plant personnel throughout the U.S., benchmarking compressed air systems for efficiency tied for second place among respondents’ leading concerns, with 16% ranking it as their top consideration. The Atlas Copco Compressors report included information on two additional possible methods for energy savings related to air compressor use. These include energy recovery and switching from a water-cooled to an air-cooled compressor. An already efficient air compressor system can be improved by utilizing energy recovery modules, which can now also be supplied built into the products. The potential for energy recovery lies in the fact that heat is formed when air is compressed. In most cases, the heat energy is extracted — and becomes waste heat — before the compressed air is distributed into a facility’s pipe system. But substantial amounts of waste heat, even representing as much as 94% of the energy supplied to a compressor, can be recovered via hot air or hot water, depending on whether the unit is air cooled or water cooled. This can provide a substantial return on investment for companies that capture the heat energy. Further, when energy is recovered via a closed cooling system, it enhances compressor operat- ‘ What we see is an opportunity. There are still many inefficient systems out there. ’ 3 Fast Facts u Within the industrial sector, manufacturing accounts for the largest share of annual industrial energy sector. u The combined energy use by six energy-intensive manufacturing subsectors— chemicals, petroleum and coal products, paper, primary metals, food, and nonmetallic minerals products—equaled 16.9 quadrillion Btu, or 87% of total manufacturing energy consumption. u The three largest energy consuming manufacturing subsectors—chemicals, petroleum and coal products, and paper— combined consumed nearly 70% of total manufacturing energy use in 2018. July/August 2022 | 17 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS UTILITIES OPTIMIZATION ‘ The U.S. Department of Energy has established soonto-be-enforced minimum efficiency standards for compressors. ’ ing conditions, reliability and service life thanks to — among other advantages — an equalized temperature level and high cooling water quality. Most major suppliers with their medium to large compressors now offer adaptations for fitting with standard waste heat recovery equipment. In addition, in applications where a company can switch from a water-cooled air compressor to an air-cooled compressor, the cooling water used by a water-cooled compressor can be eliminated. A water-cooled, 200-horsepower air compressor could easily use more than seven million gallons of water annually, and with treatment and processes could cost close to $50,000 per year. With air-cooled compressors there is no need for using gallons of water. Making the switch to an air-cooled compressors eliminates the need for cooling towers and water pumping skids, while eliminating maintenance of auxiliaries used for water. Of course, water-cooled compressors are essential for certain applications, and there are ways to optimize the process when this is the case. Back in the U.S. Here in the United States, to help ensure nationwide energy efficiency in the compressed air indus- 18 | July/August 2022 try, the U.S. Department of Energy has established soon-to-be-enforced minimum efficiency standards for compressors. Set to become mandatory in January 2025, the new regulations were established with input from all major compressor manufacturers. During the three decades starting with the first full year of their enforcement, it’s estimated the updated regulations will deliver a lifetime energy savings of more than 15 billion kilowatt-hours — which equates to the amount of energy needed to power 1.6 million homes for a year. In 2019, California’s state energy commission set its own new requirements for commercial and industrial air compressors, with the new rules becoming effective in January 2022. The new regulations effectively mimic the previously referenced federal regulations set to be enforced starting in 2025, more quickly setting stricter standards for any large, lubricated, rotary air compressors sold in California. Of course, water-cooled compressors are essential for certain applications, and there are ways to optimize the process when this is the case. PE Kevin Parker, editor, Plant Engineering. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com TODAY’S PLANT MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. As a plant manager, you have enough to worry about, the efficiency and reliability of your equipment shouldn’t be one of them. With a full range of processing equipment designed for efficiency, safety and reliability, Spiroflow can provide the right solution to fit your process needs. Backed by over 50 years of industry expertise, our team of engineers is here to help solve your complex processing challenges so that you can focus on what you do best - running your plant. 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VGP COMPLIANCE STATEMENT - LUBRIPLATE BIO-SYNXTREME HF Series Hydraulic Fluids are Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) according to the definitions and requirements of the US EPA 2013 Vessel General Permit, as described in VGP Section 2.2.9 INCLUDED AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE Lubriplate’s LUBRICANTS Newark, NJ 07105 / Toledo, OH 43605 / 800-733-4755 To learn more visit us at: www.lubriplate.com ESP Complimentary Extra Services Package COLOR CODED LUBE CHARTS & MACHINERY TAGS PLANT SURVEYS / TECH SUPPORT / TRAINING LUBRICATION SOFTWARE / FOLLOW-UP OIL ANALYSIS input #11 at www.plantengineering.com/information ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS HEADLINES FROM HANNOVER MESSE Kevin Parker, Editor IT/OT convergence moves automation markets forward Cloud-native data historian expedites data migration, insights H annover Messe 2022, held May 30th through June 2nd, was all about the latest news concerning IT/OT convergence for suppliers and users of automaton, motion and drives; energy markets; engineered parts and solutions; and digital ecosystems. IT/OT convergence melds information technologies (IT) with the operations technologies (OT) that control and manage industrial processes, machines and equipment. One pair of announcements at Hannover Messe brought together global services provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), process automation supplier GE Digital and advanced analytics for process manufacturing software supplier, Seeq. Available since April, GE Digital’s Proficy Historian for Cloud is said to be the world’s first cloud-native data historian available on the AWS Marketplace. “It’s clear that data infrastructures are moving to the Cloud. Companies are making decisions about what they need. We focus on bringing together various OT data, normalizing it and providing analytic workloads,” said Steve Friedrich, chief commercial officer, Americas manufacturing, GE Digital. “This data has been trapped on prem and hard to get into a data lake.” By moving core historian technology to the Cloud, “We enable OT data into the lake in an hour and see results in another hour. The significance of today’s announcement is that Proficy becomes an enterprise operations historian.” At Hannover Messe, Seeq announced its customers can expand use of Seeq by connecting to GE Digital’s Proficy Historian for Cloud. Seeq said it can connect to Proficy Historian for Cloud to access time-series process data withPlant engineering — www.plantengineering.com out moving or copying it. Seeq has strength in process and flow industries, including clients in the oil & gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, food & beverage, pulp & paper and other industries. Market background Enterprise systems, execution systems and analytics toolsets deploy in the cloud today. What’s been missing were easy ways to move OT data to the cloud at scale and affordably. Without consolidating transactional data with OT/process data the insights possible are limited. A cloud-native data historian makes it easier to send high-volume operational data to a data lake built on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to run big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) at scale. A data historian collects time-series data, alarms and events at high speed. With sensors transmitting signals every few milli-seconds the sheer weight of data is prodigious, with encrypted OT data streaming to the cloud at up to 150,000 values per second per interface. Store-and-forward capabilities protect against data loss. Compression combines with file-based storage for cost effectivity. Native interfaces to data lakes and other analytics platforms deployed in a virtual private cloud (VPC) simplify data integration. Friedrich said asset models also are important for putting data into contexts ripe for analysis. “Normalizing operations data may involve built-in engineering unit conversion, while contextualization makes transparent the nomenclatures used in labelling tags,” he said. Seeq's strategic partnership with AWS, “enables industrial organizations to easily access advanced analytics capabilities to improve production and NOKIA announced an expanding portfolio of Nokia Industrial user equipment. The wearable devices give manufacturers July/August 2022 | 21 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS HEADLINES FROM HANNOVER MESSE ‘ AWS offers infinite storage capabilities and that allows our customers to move data as they require. We build standard solutions to their ’ custom problems. FESTO presented the PhotoBionicCell at the Hannover Fair – a bioreactor that enables the efficient and largescale photosynthesis of algae. Image courtesy CFE Media. 22 | business success,” said Megan Buntain, VP, cloud transformation, Seeq. “We’re thrilled to sponsor and participate in the AWS exhibit at Hannover Messe and demonstrate the benefits of this partnership to the greater Cloud community.” Another company found in the AWS booth at Hannover Messe was Radix Engineering and Software, an IT/OT consulting company. “AWS offers infinite storage capabilities and that allows our customers to move data as they require,” said Elliot Bell, a program director at Radix. “We build standard solutions to their custom problems.” Radix engagements may involve moving data into AWS S3 or routing data to Pi System, now part of Aveva, to build a reliability dashboard, Bell said. “We use AWS technology as a migration partner for building data lakes.” “We typically have three levels of solutions for users, said Bell, “including real-time, short-term problem solving; midterm weekly or monthly data for quality or accounting purposes; and addressing longer-term enterprise challenges.” July/August 2022 Welding function quantified How the industrial internet of things is impacting use of pneumatics, hydraulics and other types of manufacturing activities, including welding, is becoming increasingly apparent. Festo is a multinational industrial control and automation company with revenues of more than 3.1 billion euros in 2018. The company produces pneumatic and electrical control and drive technology for factory or process automation. Besides automation, the company has industry sector expertise. And with the acquisition of software company Resolto, it has access to competencies in advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. “The Festo Automation Experience, or Festo AX for short,” said Dr. Oliver Niese, VP, digital business, Festo, “boosts the performance of machines and systems.” Dr. Niese is also managing director of Resolto Informatik GmbH. Festo AX addresses demand for digital solutions in machine building, Dr. Niese said. Mechatronic systems, such as for resistance spot welding, process large amounts of data and compress it for use as maintenance diagnostics. Predictive maintenance based on artificial intelligence offers possibilities not found with traditional condition-monitoring approaches. Equipment data will merge with process data for use in analysis models and cloud-based solutions. Festo AX allows users to extract maximum value from data produced by its equipment. “With modules for predictive maintenance, predictive energy and predictive quality, we implement our customers’ individual solutions together with them,” Niese said. One leading car manufacturer has relied on Festo servo-pneumatic welding for years and today Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com YASKAWA’S Motoman robots are heavy duty industrial robots used in welding, packaging, assembly, coating, cutting, material handling and general automation. Image courtesy CFE Media. has more than 2,500 welding gun robots in its body shops. Using Festo predictive maintenance, the company reduced downtime 25%. The car maker now schedules welding gun repairs in non-productive times, increasing equipment availability. Automated repair orders and even “life cycles” for welding guns can be created. Filter functions enable comparisons. Early leak detection saves energy. Telecoms & industrial devices “Private wireless is likely to dominate OT critical connectivity needs over time, but Wi-Fi is likely to remain part of the connectivity mix used in industrial plants for a long time to come. The recent evolution to Wi-Fi 6 and 6E helps make Wi-Fi more deterministic,” Michele Mackenzie, principal analyst, Analysys Mason, recently said. Given this environment, ahead of Hannover Messe, telecommunications provider Nokia announced expansion of its industrial-grade private wireless solution with Wi-Fi to provide more connectivity options for manufacturers and other industries ahead of the event. “The applications being developed in the operations space require increased connectivity and flexPlant engineering — www.plantengineering.com ibility. There is real demand for wireless technology because running cable is a pain and an expense,” said Stephan Litjens, Nokia Enterprise Solutions The Digital Automation Cloud Wi-Fi Solution unites Wi-Fi 6, 6E for connecting non-business critical use cases and private 4.9G/LTE and 5G to support critical Industry 4.0 applications. A single cloud management interface manages all wireless connectivity layers. The launch of Nokia DAC Wi-Fi offer flexibility for industries connecting assets as part of their digital transformation. The Wi-Fi connectivity solution will be available in the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) end-to-end industrial-grade digitalization platform. With the introduction of the Nokia DAC Wi-Fi solution, organizations tap into license-free spectrum to augment their networks and support OT workflows, such as connections to access machine maintenance data. Wireless connectivity for some will start with Wi-Fi 6/6E to cover their IT and non-business critical OT operations, with a seamless evolution option to private wireless at any point as the need evolves. Nokia MX Boost for private wireless running 2 Fast Facts u Hannover Messe 2022 included 75,000+ visitors, 2,500+ exhibitors and 8,000+ products and solutions. u Hannover Messe 2023 will take place April 17 through April 21 next year. July/August 2022 | 23 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS HEADLINES FROM HANNOVER MESSE over Nokia MXIE can further improve connectivity depending on the use case requirements. Nokia MX Boost allows companies to aggregate different radio technologies, such as private wireless and Wi-Fi, to get maximum performance benefits from all radio layers. Other Nokia announcements involved IoT Gateways, wearable devices and integrated cameras, digital twinning, and an update to the Nokia MX Industrial Edge platform, giving manufacturers and producers more ways to securely connect people and machines. ‘ Market chatter tends to center around things like artificial intelligence and advanced software applications, and less about the central role sensor technology plays in enabling ’ IIoT-based analytics. Hardware and software platform The Yaskawa Electric Corp. is a multi-national manufacturer of servos, motion controllers, AC motor drives, switches and industrial robots. i³ CONTROL is Yaskawa’s new automation platform, which it characterizes as an ecosystem turned IT concept. The Yaskawa controller is a technically coordinated overall solution for industry-specific controllers — including everything from engineering software and controller hardware to integrated chip technology. Of the i³ CONTROL portfolio, the software environment, i³ Engineer, and the first machine controller of this new platform – the iC9210-PN – are planned for market launch by the end of the year 2022. i³ Engineer software provides access to the entire platform, offering openness, flexibility and scalability based around a Linux operating system. Programming languages pursuant to IEC61131-3 and PLCopen function blocks are supported as well as the script languages C#, C++, Python or MATLAB Simulink. This introduces new opportunities for application development, including global teams. 24 | July/August 2022 The software is tailored to the performance range of the Yaskawa components. This guides the user to the optimal solution for maximum performance without requiring detailed product knowledge. The iC9210-PN PLC is the first hardware product under the umbrella of the new platform. It has a Profinet interface and an RS485 interface for the smart and cost-effective connection of Yaskawa servo and frequency inverters. HMIs can be connected via an OPC UA server. Sensor for compressed air Market chatter tends to center around things like artificial intelligence and advanced software applications, and less about the central role sensor technology plays in enabling IIoT-based analytics. Emerson says consumer products leader Colgate-Palmolive is pursuing a net zero carbon target with Emerson’s smart sensor technology for compressed air monitoring. Emerson’s sensors and analytics help Colgate-Palmolive save energy and optimize production processes in manufacturing and product packaging facilities. Armed with data from Emerson’s advanced sensor technologies and analytics, Colgate has already seen a 15% reduction in energy usage on several toothpaste and toothbrush packaging lines and expects even greater energy savings as the technology is rolled out more widely. The project is part of Colgate’s digital transformation program and uses AVENTICS pneumatic sensors and IIoT-enabled software architecture to monitor compressed air flow to identify leaks, optimize pneumatics and improve air flow. Given the heavy reliance on pneumatics in large-scale consumer goods production, reducing the amount of energy associated with compressed air contributes not only to sustainability efforts, but also to overall equipment health and reliability. In Colgate’s implementation, Emerson’s AVENTICS AF2 Smart Flow Sensor calculates air usage data with integrated software that displays trends and anomalies on analytics dashboards, allowing operators to easily regulate supply pressures and detect leaks. PE Kevin Parker is the editor of Plant Engineering magazine. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE GIVES YOU THE EDGE. While uncertainty in the marketplace can present new challenges, some plant operators have found a way to rapidly adapt – and even thrive in the new business environment. Now, you can take condition monitoring to the next level with the RedRaven IoT platform. Discover what predictive maintenance can do for you. flowserve.com/iot Predict. Act. Protect. input #12 at www.plantengineering.com/information 365 DAYS A YEAR WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED. www.necatdealers.com/standby Whether you’re in need of assistance for a scheduled plant shutdown or routine maintenance, we’ve got you covered. We offer standby, emergency, and prime power maintenance programs with monthly, quarterly, or annual service options. Or we can build a completely customized plan to meet your budgetary and application needs. Why choose your Northeastern Cat® dealer? Our main goal is keeping our customers up and running. Over the years, we have set the standard for power systems service, thanks to our outstanding field service capabilities, expertise, labor-saving equipment, and computerized diagnostic tooling. » Planned Maintenance Service Agreements Available » Ready 24/7/365 » Strategically Located Near You » Largest Mobile Service Fleet in the NE » Factory-trained and Certified Technicians NOR T RONG ST ST A E H H.O. PENN D CLEVELAN INC. BROTHERS FOLEY, OCA T MILTON CA Contact your Northeast Cat Dealer or visit www.NECatDealer.com/standby TIO N S T MILTON CA 5 3 C O N V E NIE N TL input #13 at www.plantengineering.com/information Since 1923 SINCE 1948 Cleveland Brothers Serving Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia www.ClevelandBrothers.com 844-720-4CAT SINCE 1957 Foley, Incorporated Serving New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware and Staten Island www.foleyinc.com 732-885-5555 SINCE 1923 H.O. Penn Machinery Serving Connecticut and southern New York www.hopenn.com 844-CAT-1923 SINCE 1960 Milton CAT Serving Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and upstate New York www.miltoncat.com 866-385-8538 © 2022 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, LET’S DO THE WORK, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Corporate Yellow”, the “Power Edge” and Cat “Modern Hex” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. www.cat.com / www.caterpillar.com ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS EDGE COMPUTING Adam Compton, Schneider Electric Maintain uptime, drive efficiency & protect distributed IT assets with DCIM The next phase of data center management evolution will further optimize resources by providing real-time visibility N ow that companies have fully entered – and even embraced – the digital age, enterprises are forced to reconsider their business models and priorities. In this new extremely connected, yet broadly distributed world, business leaders must recognize and value the role that data processing plays in the modern customer experience. Regardless of where customers or employees are located, a business’ infrastructure must be capable of processing massive amounts of data with little to no latency, if they wish to remain competitive in this new business environment. Perhaps the most effective way businesses are accommodating this newfound demand for data is by establishing edge-computing facilities that take some of the load off their central data processing centers while also reducing latency of data transfers regardless of the location of the end-user. For example, if your central data processing center is in Florida but customers are in Oregon, any actions taken by those customers on an app or website must travel all the way to Florida and back. The distance of this data transfer alone would result in latency which would cause lag for the customer experience – and as we know, our attention spans are becoming much shorter, and expectations are becoming much higher among consumers. In this example, if you were to establish edge computing facilities in California or Nevada the distance between the end-user and the processing center is much shorter, which means it will be much faster. In addition, there are considerations of Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com data haul costs, data protection, and fast computation processing that require data process functions to occur closer to the user and application. That is the value of edge computing. Despite its benefits, the dispersed nature of edge computing can cause stress for engineers, maintenance techs and facility managers alike as they are unable to be on-premise at every single center to physically maintain and monitor each asset themselves. Furthermore, enterprises can have hundreds or even thousands of edge computing data centers, many of which are completely unmanned. ONE OF THE main benefits of cloud-based data center infrastructure management is visibility by means of around-theclock monitoring with full visibility of the environment anytime and anywhere. Image courtesy Schneider Electric July/August 2022 | 27 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS EDGE COMPUTING A HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE, highly modular Remote Power Panel (RPP) with NF panelboard for small, medium and large data centers and colocation facilities. Image courtesy Schneider Electric To ensure uptime, monitor and optimize energy usage and maintain the physical security of these edge facilities, facility managers must include data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tools in their edge computing strategy. When DCIM was first introduced, it delivered capabilities such as real-time monitoring and task automation to reduce the hardware footprint and improve uptime in core on-premise data centers – making the facility’s administrator’s job significantly easier by driving new efficiencies. Fortunately, there have been many improvements made to these tools over the last few years expanding on both the capabilities and the aforementioned benefits to facility managers. Next-generation DCIM is the next phase of data center management evolution and will further optimize resources by providing real-time visibility across distributed IT environments. 3 Fast Facts u The world’s data is expected to grow 61% to 175 zettabytes by 2025. u The origin of edge computing is linked back to the 1990s to introduce nodes at locations geographically closer to the end user. u DCIM improves capacity planning and gives companies more time to plan asset additions to the plant. 28 | Evolution of DCIM Modern data processing facilities are equipped with huge amounts of sensor-enabled equipment to provide insights into how efficiently they are operating. Managing the compute responsible for this massive amount of processed data is unrealistic and largely inefficient for modern facility managers. DCIM makes managing this information easier and more efficient by using software, hardware and sensors to monitor critical systems from a central dashboard in real time. DCIM enables facility managers to have eyes on all assets at all times in all locations which optimizes predictive maintenance, energy usage, and back-up energy storage, while also maintaining physical security. Simply put, DCIM is the proactive eyes and ears on site, regardless of the location of the actual computing. Predictive maintenance and energy usage DCIM enables administrators to respond to problems more quickly – which prevents downtime July/August 2022 – but in some cases an outage is unavoidable. With next-generation DCIM, however, the ability to prevent unplanned downtime increases substantially. The main difference between DCIM and next-generation DCIM is that the new versions run in the cloud. As such, it is especially suited to running distributed IT environments that include centralized, regional edge and local edge computing environments. One of the main benefits of cloud-based DCIM is visibility. Now, administrators get around-theclock monitoring with full visibility of the environment anytime and anywhere. It also means being able to manage more with less and providing data center managers with greater knowledge (product information, historical data, product usage profiles, etc.) so they can have better operational control. Analytics on power usage and environmental conditions are also factored into DCIM so administrators can make adjustments that reduce power consumption and protect equipment. And because the solution is cloud-based, it helps reduce footprint. Through data collection, next-generation DCIM tracks threshold violations and issues alerts when action is required to avoid an outage. Another innovation that has been made to next-generation DCIM is the ability to not only flag potential failures, but also to deploy a trained technician to replace the faulty equipment the next day. Again, this new capability provides peace of mind for data center managers who have assets deployed at the edge and ultimately increases resiliency and uptime. Maintaining physical security To continue the theme of omnipotence, monitoring environmental conditions enables administrators to essentially be in every room of their centers at the same time. Next-generation DCIM incorporates environmental monitors to provide real-time alerts for temperature, humidity, moisture, unlocked doors/windows, motion sensors, sound sensors, perimeter breaches and any other physical threats. As our IT environments become increasingly distributed, physical security monitoring should be a non-negotiable part of any diverse IT strategy. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com For example, instead of having technicians or security personnel patrol from room-toroom trying to manually spot security vulnerabilities, facility managers will be alerted of any anomalies in real-time and are able to pinpoint exactly what piece of equipment in which room needs to be addressed. This directly impacts a business’ bottom line as they don’t need to hire security personnel for each floor or area of their facilities. It’s also important to note that threats to physical security are not always malicious human actors but can also be environmental threats. If your facility does not have smart security technology in place, DCIM can still be applied as it monitors environmental factors as well. For example, one sparsely staffed co-location data center was alerted that a server room was running hot through their next-generation DCIM. When they deployed their engineer to investigate the issue, they discovered that the door was left open, and it was the middle of August. If this environmental threat was not monitored this situation could have resulted in physical damage to their equipment and unplanned downtime. At the end of the day knowledge is power, and when it comes to the efficient use of power that knowledge is discovered through real-time data insights. Thanks to these innovations in DCIM technology facility managers can sleep well at night knowing that their assets are always on and protected. PE Adam Compton is director of strategy, Schneider Electric. Does This Look Familiar? WE WON’T LEAVE YOU HANGING!! • No Flow Interruption • No Bags • No Cleanup • No Downtime • No Kidding Filtration Down to 2µ 100% AUTOMATIC SELF CLEANING WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS input #14 at www.plantengineering.com/information 2672 S. La Cienega Bl vd, Los Angeles, C A 90034 USA (800) 336-1942 (310) 839-2828 www.t ekleen.com inf o@t ekleen.com DATA CENTER cooling is accomplished using a close-coupled cooling solution for edge and enterprise. Courtesy Schneider Electric AFTERMARKET SERVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL FANS REPLACEMENT PARTS AND BLOWERS Full service field technicians for startup and troubleshooting Retrofits improve performance and increase longevity Repair or replace any manufacturer’s equipment Fan sensor systems for remote monitoring TRUST THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS WITH OVER 130 YEARS EXPERIENCE C O N TA C T N Y B T O D I S C U S S Y O U R A P P L I C AT I O N 800-208-7918 input #15 at www.plantengineering.com/information nyb.com ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS SITE SELECTION By Cole Williams, Goodwin Mills Cawood, Inc. In-depth understanding leads to decisive site selection Navigating site viability to meet multi-stakeholder goals requires clearly articulating needs and requirements S ite selection for a new corporate headquarters, distribution facility or manufacturing plant can be a daunting task for stakeholders, selection teams, and end users. The process poses a series of challenges and requires navigating many different levels and sources of information. A well-organized site selection process can provide an efficient, and more competitive, process among the different communities while minimizing operating costs and risk. Here are key challenges, insights and solutions to ensure a successful site selection strategy that strikes the right balance between granular data and strategic goals. Understand the Impact of NDAs Recognizing that confidentiality is a critical factor in selecting a new site, Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are standard protocols for all parties involved in the site selection process. However, be aware that the strict parameters of NDAs can constrain the process unnecessarily. Due to fears of information leaks, often only generalized information is shared, resulting in insufficient information regarding utility needs, building configurations, employee counts, the daily number of trucks, required trailer storage, and so forth. Having an appropriate level of detail allows site selection consultants and engineers to accurately evaluate potential locations. To ultimately select an optimal site, vital information must be shared from all involved parties to execute and even accelerate the process. With speed to market being a critical factor in today’s environment, it is a given that site selection has become more time-sensitive and, as businesses react to ever-changing markets, site selection "inner Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com circles" are more willing to share information on the front end to keep the process moving in an effort to avoid mistakes and costly delays. Navigating site viability to meet multi-stakeholder goals requires clearly articulating specific needs and requirements, and making communication the key to success. Even though parameters are fluid from stakeholder to stakeholder, consensus regarding the crucial parameters and significant priorities is important. These include the breadth and depth of the overall project, such as utility needs and required capacity on water and sewage, available capacity of power and gas, accessibility (road and rail), required speed to market (how fast the project needs to move to completion), site constraints/configurations, and the nature of the facility. A clear and concise project understanding is crucial for the site selection process. Research local utility capacity A key priority in site selection for a manufacturing facility is how a specific site can accommodate industrial discharge. FIGURE 1: Site selection for a new corporate headquarters, distribution facility or manufacturing plant can be a daunting task for stakeholders, selection teams, and end users. Courtesy Goodwyn Mills Cawood. Fast Facts u Some of the items that should be part of a site selection checklist include the following: u Land/Building u Zoning Designation uRequired Set Back u Offsite Improvements (streets, storm drains, curbs, street lights, etc.) u Land Topography/ Drainage u Soils Conditions/Water Table/Toxic Issues uSite Configuration July/August 2022 | 31 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS SITE SELECTION FIGURE 2: Navigating site viability to meet multi-stakeholder goals requires clearly articulating specific needs and requirements, and making communication the key to success. Courtesy Goodwyn Mills Cawood. FIGURE 3: Detailed information regarding project parameters and priorities are critical if an accelerated site selection process is desired. Courtesy Goodwyn Mills Cawood. 32 | July/August 2022 While the manufacturer may pre-treat the discharge, the local sewage receiving entity must have sufficient average daily flows for dilution and capacity to process the additional discharge. This means the size and the capacity of the sewage treatment, along with the line travel distance from the plant, are critical points to ensure that the local POTW’s infrastructure and treatment facility won’t be negatively impacted by and can discharge from the process stream. The end-user can always treat more before they discharge, but in seeking to minimize the infrastructure costs on their processes, they often push the limits with the receiving utility. In turn, the receiving utility doesn't want to take on more risk of an environmental failure because state and federal agencies will cite them should a failure result due to discharge from the manufacturer. The utility is seeking to balance a revenue stream from the industry, help the local area attract the manufacturer to their community, while minimizing any risk of an environmental failure. Research must be conducted into capacities and the calculations must be Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com accurate for both the discharge from the manufacturer and the processing capacity from the utility and the challenge is synthesizing the two. Investigate environmental impacts Local environmental constraints can pose significant challenges, particularly if a US Army Corps of Engineers permit is required or the project is federally funded. The needed documentation is complex and local environmental codes can conflict with or supersede federal codes. Local politics often come into play and local codes are often waived, especially when multiple communities are vying for a project. While most cities and municipalities will make accommodations for large industries, not all do, making the understanding of state and local permitting processes and approvals crucial. Remember to review corporate environmental ethics statements, as they can influence the site selection process. Tax implications are another example of a parameter that is a factor as corporate tax structures can affect site selection. Though it doesn't impact making the project work on the potential property, it can be a significant consideration for the end-user especially when some municipalities charge taxes on stock stored for a lengthy period of time in their facility. Consider the people factor While access/delivery of raw materials and distribution capabilities of finished product are critical drivers in the site selection process, workforce availability and community amenities often are at the top of the list for many companies looking for a new site. One leading national distributor considers locations based on the availability and size of potential employee pools, making population heat maps significant in their site selection. Recognizing July/August 2022 | 33 the need to recruit and retain top talent, this company researches where potential employees live, how they will get to work, making public transportation a decisive factor in their site selection matrix. Detailed information regarding project parameters and priorities are critical if an accelerated site selection process is desired. Stakeholders must articulate their needs, describe their processes, and provide crucial information at the beginning of the process to speed up site selection. The ability to speak to their highest priority and articulate the parameters helps site selection and other consultants zero in on a preferred site. Identify key milestone/ target dates such as date to close, date to break ground, date of completion, and the date of opening — are crucial to the permitting, design, and construction process. Experienced site selection teams are able to quickly understand the parameters articulated to them, allowing such teams to expeditiously evaluate and address sites under consideration. Site selection teams can leverage this data to accelerate the site selection process and avoid costly delays. A smooth site selection process can be achieved through clearly defined parameters, good communication and excellent analysis. The team should be made up of a cross section of skill sets that include expertise in real estate, environmental issues, engineering, construction, tax law, logistics, and financing. While the process may be challenging, with the right team, it can be a rewarding and decisive experience. PE Cole Williams, P.E., is Vice President Engineering, Alabama, with Goodwyn Mills Cawood, Inc. He can be reached at [email protected]. FACTORY DIRECT ERGONOMIC WORKBENCHES Price your requirement then place your order online. Use our secure shopping portal to calculate your quantity discount and place your order today! Factory Direct Your order ships in 5 days or less. Quantity Discounts Available Built in the USA Our most popular model. Other models including height adjustable, pack benches, lab benches and cantilever designs are available. workbenchmarket.com (800) 739-9067 input #16 at www.plantengineering.com/information Need to get up? Go over? Go on top? www.okeeffes.com | [email protected] | 888.653.3333 input #17 at www.plantengineering.com/information ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS ENERGY MANAGEMENT By Amit Patel, Emerson Digital transformation tools improve plant sustainability and maintenance It’s in a facility’s best interest to prevent issues before they arise M any manufacturing segments are paying critical attention to energy consumption, sustainability and effective use of digital transformation tools to control costs and eliminate wasteful energy usage. It’s been estimated that some industrial facilities spend nearly a third of their energy use budgets to generate compressed air for a broad range of applications. Unfortunately, poorly maintained and operated systems can allow a measurable portion of that compressed air to leak away — wasted rather than used to actuate processes. A component allowed to degrade over time, or whose setup isn’t fully optimized, can cause compressed air leaks. In turn, processes that have insufficient pressure can consume more compressed air than they need, resulting in negative impacts on process repeatability and quality. One way to address this challenge is through predictive maintenance practices that identify components that may be about to fail or start leaking before they fail. Preventive maintenance can locate leaks early and calculate proper pressure ratios while maintaining cycle time. To do this requires having the right information at the right time. However, many operations don’t know where to start, because they may not have resources or tools in place to access that information at any time, let alone the right one. Operators, technicians or third-party maintenance contractors may manually collect periodic measurements of equipment condition, but this information may not be timely and runs the risk of human error. If the manual reporting is accurate, the resulting spreadsheets or one- Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com FIGURE 1: A comprehensive portfolio of devices, connectivity tools and analytics capabilities enable digital transformation across a machine, system or an entire facility. Courtesy Emerson off reports are often stale by the time they’re used to make decisions. As a result, the actual condition of their assets may never be accurately documented, allowing leaks to go undiagnosed and air conJuly/August 2022 | 35 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS ENERGY MANAGEMENT FIGURE 2: A flow sensor can continuously monitor airflow in pneumatic systems, providing operators with clear, actionable insights regarding flow, pressure and temperature. Courtesy Emerson ‘ Through the digital transformation of pneumatic systems, compressed air consumption can now be monitored in real time. 36 | ’ sumption to increase unchecked. When maintenance is performed, it’s “breakdown maintenance,” or fixing equipment when it fails or replacing components on a time rather than health basis. This approach virtually always incurs higher costs and unplanned downtime and negatively impacts a plant’s overall energy efficiency and sustainability goals. Technology now exists that offers a better way. Through the digital transformation of pneumatic systems, compressed air consumption can now be monitored in real time to provide valuable, actionable data and insight facilities can use to optimize pneumatic processes and guide effective predictive maintenance efforts. By using intelligent technologies to make better decisions and take immediate action, compressed air consumption can be significantly reduced, better predictive maintenance can be implemented and sustainability efforts can be improved. Pneumatic technology transformed Digital transformation is still new to some and may seem abstract or ambiguous. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Digital transformation is a process that a facility, systemw or piece of equipment undergoes that allows end users to see real-time data, make decisions based on it and act based on those informed decisions — creating smarter machines and sys- July/August 2022 tems to enable smarter operations. Quite simply, digital transformation places the right information in front of the right expert at the right time. It eliminates guessing about process parameters or waiting for equipment to fail. The industrial internet of things (IIoT) is one mechanism of digital transformation, enabling users to unlock trapped data by integrating and connecting smart sensors and instruments that allow processors to run smarter and more efficiently than ever before. For compressed air systems, it can be as basic as adding a sensor that measures consumption or as elaborate as connecting an entire line or floor. Both cases open previously inaccessible levels of compressed air data and asset condition, affording operators a clearer understanding of the current, past and possible future state of their pneumatic system. This expertise empowers them to confidently make informed decisions and take quick action. By using technology to automate and optimize operational processes in this way, facilities put a continuous cycle into motion. This cycle has three stages: See, Decide and Act. In compressed air applications, different smart solutions automate each stage. See Stage: This stage sets off the cycle, starting at a sensor that creates the appropriate data in a continuous, repeatable and reliable way. In pneumatic systems, this process includes capturing the acceleration and cycles of pneumatic valves and cylinder actuation, as well as measuring the volumetric flow rate, pressure, temperature, mass flow rate and flow velocity of compressed air. Such real-time data provides around-the-clock information about the actual health of a facility’s assets and energy consumption and is the foundation for timely, informed decision-making. Decide Stage: In this stage, the sensor delivers the collected data to a controller or gateway device that continuously aggregates that information in real time and presents trends through an easy-to-interpret visualization tool. At-hand expertise like this empowers operators to make quicker, smarter decisions that drive faster, appropriate actions. Act Stage: Mobility tools used in this stage send notifications to specific personnel that prescribe clear, necessary actions to take based on the current Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com FIGURE 3: This dashboard for pneumatics applications offers a picture of a facility’s pneumatic system performance in one screen, enabling quick, informed decision-making that makes predictive maintenance possible. Courtesy Emerson state of operations. This can include which cylinders are approaching end of life, have an increase in acceleration over time or have already moved past their targeted cycle time. These directives enable personnel to resolve issues before they can slow or shut down operations. Together, these stages offer valuable analytics; their endless cycle generates a technology loop that enables predictive maintenance while continuously improving expertise and energy efficiency. Prevent unplanned downtime Maintenance is inherent to all industrial facilities. In pneumatic systems, valves wear out over time, causing leakage that leads to excessive compressed air consumption. Some systems can have many valves, which can make identifying a faulty one challenging. Leak troubleshooting can be time-consuming and, with the ongoing labor shortage and skills gap, maintenance personnel may already be stretched thin. There may not be enough staff to keep up with what must be done, and historical knowledge may not exist. When production Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com must stop for repairs, it can be very expensive. For mid-sized food and beverage facilities, unplanned downtime costs around $30,000 per hour. It’s in a facility’s best interest to prevent issues before they can arise. That’s where predictive maintenance comes in. Predictive maintenance can significantly decrease operations and maintenance costs and eliminate unplanned downtime. Now that we know how the See-Decide-Act cycle works, it’s easy to imagine how the digital transformation of a pneumatic system makes predictive maintenance possible. Let’s consider pneumatics maintenance in food and beverage processing, where compressed air is heavily used to actuate auxiliary and hygienic valves through discrete pilot valves or valve systems. Auxiliary and hygienic valves can be used to heat, cool, dose or fill additives and ingredients to sanitary valves that transport consumable goods or beverages. Connected smart sensors, controllers and edge gateways capture a more complete picture of valve health, enabling the system to detect when valves are worn or nearing the end of their service 3 Fast Facts u According to Wikipedia, pneumatics is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located and electrically-powered compressor powers cylinders, air motors, pneumatic actuators, and other pneumatic devices. July/August 2022 | 37 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS ENERGY MANAGEMENT ‘ life. If such a valve is detected, the system immediately sends an alert to maintenance personnel, who schedule planned maintenance. The ability to predict potential problems before they occur helps reduce unplanned downtime while real-time root-cause analysis clearly prescribes the appropriate action to take. Automated troubleshooting and analytics further reduce maintenance time, increase equipment availability, improve productivity and, in the case of leaks, save energy. A low-barrier approach to digital transformation can focus on one key domain or challenge — even one machine — then use lessons learned to scale up. ’ Sustainability goals, optimizing energy Today’s smart pneumatic devices provide a more complete picture of pneumatic system performance. This gives facilities a better understanding to effectively control energy use by locating and diagnosing leaks and optimizing compressor system pressure. Compressors consume a lot of energy to operate, and that amount is often more than needed for normal operating conditions. It’s estimated that 20% to 30% of a typical facility’s energy consumption goes to producing compressed air. When mid-sized facilities often spend $2.5 million a year on energy, any reductions in compressed air consumption can equal substantial savings. The more a facility can track leaks and balance an operated valve, the greater control it has over its energy use. Optimizing the compressed air a valve consumes while still achieving the required cycle time limits the amount of work the compressor must do and allows it to only consume the energy it truly needs to do it. By digitally transforming their pneumatic systems to diagnose leaks and calculate proper pressure ratios, facilities can typically see a reduction in compressed air consumption and energy costs. Moving forward Digital transformation should be an ongoing process. No matter how much smart technology a facility has introduced into its production sys- 38 | July/August 2022 tems, upgrading systems to the latest generation of digitally enabled pneumatics lays the groundwork for better insight and control of compressed air usage. One way to move forward with pneumatics transformation is through a workshop with a comprehensive pneumatics solutions provider that offers proven expertise, sensors and hardware. Expert solutions providers can work with a facility to identify issues and prioritize solutions to implement. Each production system and facility is different; digital transformation works best when it’s developed on a case-by-case basis, working closely with a proven provider. Some operations may resist or postpone moving forward with digital transformation due to perceived cost and disruption concerns. The answer to those concerns is: “start small, scale fast.” A low-barrier approach to digital transformation can focus on one key domain or challenge — even one machine — then use lessons learned to scale up. There are technology providers that offer complete, vertically integrated solutions that combine components, sensors and controllers, as well as analytics packages designed to enable facilities to benefit from digital transformation at the level that best fits their unique requirements. For facilities that are farther along, providers offer solutions that combine existing sensor and controller infrastructure with edge analytics, too. Digital transformation can rapidly offer significant return on investment through better information and decision-making. Using a SeeDecide-Act pragmatic approach helps facilities kickstart their journey. The result: real-time information is collected and converted into useful analytics and insights to guide and improve predictive maintenance practices and optimize energy use. PE Amit Patel is the senior marketing manager for digital transformation within the Fluid Control & Pneumatics business at Emerson. He focuses on driving the marketing direction and strategic vision for the Fluid Control & Pneumatics business segment. Amit earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt for Process Improvement using statistical methodologies. Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com FOCUS ON YOUR JOB - WE GUARANTEE YOUR TOOLS WILL WORK. The Dewesoft 7-year warranty applies to our data acquisition systems. You buy it, own it, use it, and our warranty keeps you covered. The 7-Year warranty comes with no extra charge. Enjoy this unique add-on to Dewesoft quality products and services. We know that quality is not just what we put into the product, but what you get out of it. We know that your work depends on the reliability of your tools. That’s why we design and produce to give you a product of high performance and efficiency. We build our equipment to last. We guarantee you that your hardware will be free from defects and functional. Our warranty covers that the instruments function as promised for a period of 7 years from the day of the delivery. When you buy our data acquisition systems, we make sure they work. Enjoy this unique add-on to Dewesoft quality products and services! input #18 at www.plantengineering.com/information DEWESoft, LLC 10730 Logan Street Whitehouse, Ohio 43571 [email protected] | dewesoft.com +1-855-DEWE-NOW (339-3669) Read more about the Dewesoft 7-Year Warranty here: EDUCATION for ENGINEERS SUPPLY CHAIN ONLINE COURSE: How to specify motors for more efficient HVAC systems SUMMER EDITION Plant Floor Safety SUMMER EDITION One (1) certified professional development hour (PDH) available for all attendees. Register today! www.plantengineering.com/webcasts | www.plantengineering.com/research | www.plantengineering.com/ebooks | cfeedu.cfemedia.com August 23, 2022 11AM PT | 1PM CT | 2PM ET August 16, 2022 11AM PT | 1PM CT | 2PM ET Best practices for effective automation applications One (1) certified professional development hour (PDH) available upon successful completion of an exam. ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT SUMMER EDITION How to Reduce Fugitive and Vented Emissions in Your Processes and Equipment Attendees Qualify for a Certificate of Completion 5 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS EDGE COMPUTING By Madhu Gaganam, Dell Technologies Tips to avert the leading causes of failure in industrial edge computing With adoption of industrial edge computing, there are several ways to support information technology/operational technology (IT/OT) convergence. A large chemical manufacturing plant employs a heterogeneous mix of diverse assets. The asset diversity includes functional differences — such as heat exchangers, distillation columns and centrifuges — as well as asset age (a range 5 to 25+ years of age) and varying levels of modernization. For the sake of argument let's say that this week, customer demand is high, and the chemical plant is operating at capacity to fulfill orders and meet delivery commitments. On Tuesday, three hours into production, the reboiler on the distillation column fails, bringing the entire production process to a halt. It took eight hours to recover from this unplanned downtime event and restart production. After that, it took another two hours to recalibrate the plant’s output to the required quality levels. The costs to the plant and the business increase quickly: estimated at US $260K per hour. In other words, those 10 hours of lost production time incurred $2.6 million in losses. The big question Could this unplanned downtime event have been prevented? Although hypothetical, this scenario is based on real-world events. It showcases the critical – and vulnerable — nature of assets and production processes in chemical manufacturing. No manufacturer – in automotive, mining, pulp and paper, oil and gas and beyond – is exempt. Unplanned downtime costs manufacturers an estimated $50 billion per Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com year. A solution to proactively mitigate these industrial losses is vital. Across manufacturing, edge computing and its many use cases hold great promise to mitigating a multitude of production vulnerabilities, including unplanned downtime. Industrial edge computing can enable more flexibility, increase cost-effectiveness and boost global competitiveness. Early results using edge and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as enablers of Industry 4.0 show impressive results and hold potential for the future. The challenge to achieving an effective industrial edge capability lies in the successful convergence of informational technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), a concept that is easier said than done. These two functional areas are grappling with the heterogeneous environments that are a reality in manufacturing. Industrial environments often employ multiple technologies from multiple vendors and use a legacy core that may be 5 to 25 years old. It is imperative to efficiently modernize and transform storage and computation to realize positive outcomes from edge computing. As IT professionals and data scientists explore industrial edge, it is crucial to understand OT perspectives before deploying edge-based solutions. People play as important a role as the technology itself. Five classifiers to IT/OT convergence Let's look at five relevant principles for harnessing the power of industrial edge computing 3 Fast Facts u Historically, according to the website Wonder, tthe following is known about the installed base of computers: u In 1955, mainframes had an installed base of 240 in the United States. By 1965, the installed base was 21,600... u In 1975, PCs had an installed base of 500,000. By 1999, the installed base of 439 million. u In 2015, smartphones had an installed base of 2.222 billion. July/August 2022 | 41 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS EDGE COMPUTING models should encompass situations where there could be less data, more data, new data, missing data, protected data, manipulated data, dark data and synthetic data. This data could vary in degree of quality and quantity based on a real-time situation and may or may not conform to a given set of optimal rules that were pre-defined based on past classifications. 2 2. Recommendations must be easily THE CONVERGENCE of information technology and operations technology enables new capabilities in process control and production management. Courtesy: Dell for bridging the IT-OT gap and expediting IT/OT convergence, specifically for IT professionals and data scientists. Understanding these classifiers and exploring the different perspectives will chart better collaboration – and thus better outcomes – at the edge. This collaboration can include edge strategy, the data fabric for artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), infrastructure modernization, transformation of people, process and technologies, governance, data security and management of deployed hardware and software solutions. In essence, these are all the factors needed to set up a successful edge compute platform. 1 1. Edge-based computing platforms must be adaptable to uncertainties. IT perspective. When embarking on a modernization or transformational project related to Industry 4.0, IT professionals and data scientists tend to leverage existing data, infrastructure and available information as empirical input. Technology requirements are based on a fixed and known set of rules and relationships to predict outcomes with high probability (90+%). OT perspective. By contrast, the industrial edge is governed by OT professionals and their realworld production environment. Diverse OT professionals use different rules, relationships and weightings based on data that may encompass a specific process or an asset. Thus, OT’s input may not serve to optimally design and deploy edge computing for an entire factory. The solution. To bridge this gap, employ a scalable-based approach that is adaptable to the uncertainties of the industrial edge. For example, AI/ML 42 | July/August 2022 understood by diverse personae. IT perspective. Inherently, IT professionals and data scientists do not speak the language of OT professionals. Therefore, a common, clear, collaborative communication mechanism must be created to ensure any design and deployment of edge computing solutions are based on consensus and done with clarity. OT perspective. Data and information provided by the edge compute platform must be “trustworthy” and “timely” so that it can be used to take actions that advance production. Actions can pertain to material flow, asset management, people management, process control, product quality and productivity. OT’s two primary uses of data are 1) to monitor current processes and address out-ofspec incidents and occurrences and 2) to evaluate outcomes that guide investment in continuous improvement. The solution. It is mission critical to understand how people at the industrial edge interact with existing OT and enterprise IT systems for the continuous improvement and on-going optimization of processes and production. 3 3. Heuristic knowledge is essential for accuracy, simplicity and predictability. IT perspective. Three information sources help predict the future status of a “thing”: current data, historical data within the operational system and heuristic or experiential knowledge embodied within the minds of OT professionals. While IT professionals and data scientists are often familiar with patterns around data-based sources, it’s likely they will not be familiar with OT’s capabilities. OT perspective. OT professionals often possess deep knowledge and expertise based on rich, real-world experiences. This is known as heuristic knowledge. When that knowledge is shared Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com with data scientists, it helps to identify simpler and highly effective algorithms for predicting the future of a thing. Similarly, when shared with IT professionals, heuristic knowledge can help deploy cost effective, resilient and scalable infrastructure to meet the needs of edge computing. The solution. When designing and deploying edge computing solutions, experiential knowledge within the minds of OT professionals must be integrated into IT evaluations to enable successful edge deployments. 4 4. Prescriptive recommendations are an expected outcome at the edge. IT perspective. Edge platforms and their use cases employ artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to help enable “prescriptive” solutions. These solutions address risk or uncertainty in the situation at hand. IT professionals and data scientists may view prescriptive recommendations as “optimal.” However, they may not be viewed that same way by OT professionals. OT perspective. OT professionals consider execution of prescriptive recommendations after incorporating additional criteria such as resource availability, trustworthiness of recommendations, time to execute, situational complexity, sensitivity and specificity. Thus, while prescriptive recommendations are an edge compute requirement, they will be tempered with other variables based on the operating environment. The solution. When working on the data fabric at the industrial edge to prescribe recommendations, both IT professionals and data scientists should consider: a) The difference between risk and uncertainty when applying AI/ML models; and b) those prescriptive recommendations will not be optimal until additional parameters are factored into them. 5 5. At the industrial edge, transparency drives increased productivity. IT perspective. Using data plane and control plane logic within an edge compute platform requires a degree of transparency to establish OT’s trust and adoption. AI/ML algorithms demand mathematical sophistication to achieve accuracy. In the process of achieving this accuracy, there will be a point of diminishing returns, Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com where complexity growth will outweigh any expectWhen deploying edge ed benefits. To build consensus, this sophistication computing solutions, should be explainable so that it can be readily underexperiential knowlstood by OT. OT perspective. Given edge within the minds the advanced, busy environments of real-world of OT professionals industrial operations, OT professionals are visualmust be integrated ly driven. By incorporating transparency at the edge, IT into IT evaluations. professionals and data scientists can choose to avoid complex and opaque stochastic models with less diminishing returns and instead adopt simpler use cases with better value propositions at the edge. The solution. IT professionals should consider each use case and weigh the accuracy “pay-off ” achieved for increased mathematical complexity. This way, overcomplications can be avoided or minimized. As a result, transparency — a key component for OT trust and edge user experiences — can be realized. Additionally, transparency enables IT and OT professionals to make appropriate and on-going adjustments to rules governing data ingestion and the inferencing that governs command and control. ‘ ’ Next steps At the chemical manufacturing plant, the unplanned downtime event could have been mitigated by using industrial edge computing’s predictive maintenance use case to prevent impending failure at the lowest possible cost to repair. Manufacturing has much to gain by leveraging the industrial edge. However, preparing for an effective edge deployment requires strategic intention to share perspectives and collaborate across IT and OT. Using the five classifiers outlined for IT professionals and data scientists should help guide that collaboration and support successful implementation at the edge. PE Madhu Gaganam, engineering technologist, smart manufacturing, Dell Technologies July/August 2022 | 43 Engineering is personal. So is the way you use information. CFE Media delivers a world of knowledge to you. CFE Media is home to some of the most trusted names in the business. Personally. www.controleng.com www.csemag.com www.oilandgas.com www.plantengineering.com MEDIA SHOWCASE FOR ENGINEERS Quality ● Performance ● Value Find Leaks Compressed Air Any Refrigerant Any Gas Vacuum Diagnose Faults Valves, Motors, Pumps, Bearings Steam Traps Electric Arc Corona Accutrak® VPE-2000 www.SuperiorSignal.com/PT Input #100 at www.plantengineering.com/information Education and personal development are vital to the advancement of the engineering community. We invite our readers to explore and utilize the educational efforts of this year’s participants in our annual Educating Engineers program. Input #101 at www.plantengineering.com/information ABB Motors and Mechanical AutomationDirect Assured Automation Dewesoft Digi-Key Corporation Dodge Industrial Eaton’s Bussmann Division Flexicon Flowserve pe202208_leadHLF_EduEng.indd 1 Input #102 at www.plantengineering.com/information Green Cubes Technology LobbyFox Lubriplate Motion New York Blower Company O’Keeffe’s Inc. Sensata SEW Eurodrive Inc. Spiroflow Tekleen 7/29/2022 9:22:25 PM E lectric motors use up to 45% of the world’s electricity – the motor you choose has a great impact on your energy efficiency. Did you know that most HVAC systems operate at 80% load or less, and they do that more than 99% of the time? Traditionally, dampers, valves and other mechanical means are used to regulate a motor’s power or speed to operate fans, pumps and compressors in HVAC systems. Highly efficient components and insulated bearings provide a combination of performance and protection. To reduce electricity consumption and optimize energy efficiency, operators should ensure variable frequency drives (VFDs) are integrated into the motor operation, as doing so can save 20 to 60% in energy costs. VFDs help match energy consumption to actual energy needs, eliminating wasted energy. Without proper wiring and grounding techniques, shaft currents induced by VFDs will find the path of least resistance, typically through the motor bearings to the ground. The damage caused by this electrical discharge can lead to catastrophic failures to the motors. However, there are many ways to mitigate shaft current issues, including insulated bearings as well as shaft grounding devices that direct current away from the bearings. While using a VFD to control your motor has many benefits, it can also present some challenges. Modern, high-efficiency motors, paired with variable speed drives, are designed to be flexible and input #19 at www.plantengineering.com/information reliable. Yet above all, they are extremely efficient, offering significant reductions in power consumption compared with older systems. Highly efficient motors do more than reduce electricity consumption and lifetime cost. They are also more sustainable than a motor that needs constant maintenance or needs to be replaced often. Motors designed for reduced electricity consumption help extend the life of the driven equipment and increase sustainable operations. 479.646.4711 Baldor.abb.com A utomationDirect provides free online PLC training to anyone and everyone with no purchase necessary. As the world around us becomes more and more automated, an understanding of electrical control systems becomes more and more vital. Because of this, the demand for training in industrial controls has grown exponentially over the years. Luckily, AutomationDirect has decided to meet this demand head-on by offering absolutely FREE online PLC training – no purchase necessary! This online video training course encompasses various levels of training from entry level programming to advanced PLC functions, and is available 24/7/365 so you can learn at your pace and at your convenience. Some of the general topics covered include: • Logic circuits • Basic switches • Sinking and sourcing • PLC scan time • I/O fundamentals • PLC memory addressing A wide variety of free training videos can be found at automationdirect.com. Also available are over 200 videos specifically covering AutomationDirect PLCs and include topics on how to use their rung editors, logic instructions, internal control relays, subroutines, communication, data view windows and many other functions. • • • CLICK PLC Family Video Library Do-more\BRX PLC Family Video Library Productivity PLC Family Video Library This training is provided by AutomationDirect’s education and training partner Interconnecting Automation who has been training automation professionals for more than 20 years. Interconnecting Automation’s instructors pride themselves on providing a “no hype”, “no sales pitch” type of instruction and aim to thoroughly help others learn about PLC products so they are ready to use these products to their fullest potential. To get unlimited access to the FREE online PLC training or to see more about what is provided, head on over to www.automationdirect.com/plc-training. input #20 at www.plantengineering.com/information K eep it simple? Is it possible that automation can be streamlined and therefore simplified without compromise? Reliable, consistent, and accurate are three words that you encounter more often than any others, particularly when there are automated processes involved. It isn’t surprising, the last thing anyone wants is a system with limited or no supervision to be anything less, but to create and maintain this you need expertise, well informed engineers, and technicians. Education and experience are key to achieving these! DEWESoft has adopted a unique approach to this by using a multi-faceted approach. The first is simplification, making interactive software both friendly and intuitive, this reduces the time taken to become comfortable and confident. The software streamlines features such as creating visualizations which include, both video and static images with Al Hoge Automation Application Engineer overlays more straightforward, ultimately making monitoring of specific components in the process easier. In addition, training, and support resources both on-line and in person are made readily available and supported by experts from many different disciplines. Devices available from DEWESoft are very flexible, very reliable, very accurate and consistent and support protocols and external sources such as OPCUA, Modbus, RS232, Ethernet, EtherCAT and CAN with ease and comply with the same philosophy as the software. They are kept as simple as possible, but capable of dealing with multiple simultaneously while adding flexibility to guarantee that the right use case could almost be any and every use case. In addition, the systems and software support common needs internally such as 4-20mA loop power, sensor excitation and broad connectivity while sensor and device configuration are simplified. Industry experience is vital for anyone involved in automation, we have gathered a team of experts and leading developers who help design, develop, deploy, and support systems. [email protected] • +1-855-339-3669 • www.dewesoft.com input #21 at www.plantengineering.com/information D igi-Key Highlights Advancements in Automation and Control in Three-Part “Factory Tomorrow” Video Series Innovations in automation and control across robotics, sensors, connectivity, and more, are driving the digital transformation of manufacturing, with the end goal of improving the safety, quality, and reliability of products, productivity, and efficiency across industries. To educate and inspire engineers around the world, Digi-Key Electronics developed “Factory Tomorrow,” a three-part video series focused on advancements in automation and control. The series showcases the latest innovations in industrial automation and cuttingedge manufacturing technologies. Join Digi-Key as we explore how factories are becoming smarter and more complex to meet the rising demands of an ever-evolving world. Episode 1: Manufacturing at the Edge In the first episode, we look at the rise of edge computing, which is bringing complex technologies like machine learning to the point of data capture, enabling faster and more responsive Digi-Key’s Factory Tomorrow video series highlights advanced automation systems like those in the company’s newly constructed Product Distribution Center expansion. reactions to the data generated by sensors across the factory floor. Episode 2: The Rise of Robotics In our second episode, we chronicle the rise of robotics in the manufacturing industry and how new designs collaborate alongside human workers on the factory floor to create new, high-quality job opportunities across the industry. Episode 3: The Intersection of AI and IoT In the final episode of Factory Tomorrow, we look at how artificial intelligence applications can unlock the true potential of IoT and edge applications across manufacturing. Find out how real-time analytics, connected sensors, predictive maintenance, supply chain automation, and other process advancements are propelling the manufacturing industry forward into a new era. Digi-Key’s Factory Tomorrow Resource Center provides all three episodes, as well as featured products from leading suppliers, additional technical content, a product selector, and more. To watch Digi-Key’s Factory Tomorrow video series, visit the Factory Tomorrow Resource Center at www.digikey.com/en/resources/ iot-resource-center/future-factories. [email protected] • 1-800-344-4539 www.digikey.com input #22 at www.plantengineering.com/information Y our solution for quick and easy remote troubleshooting. Dodge Virtual Support is an engineer’s secret weapon for troubleshooting complicated issues from the field. Designed for convenience and collaboration, it allows users to directly connect with a Dodge expert and find a solution—all from their laptop, tablet, or smartphone. With Dodge Virtual Support, you can: • Speak directly with a product subject matter expert • Share pictures, files, and audio • Share a real-time video of the issue or problem area • Draw and point on your screen to show where you’re looking Reduce downtime and confusion with a solution that gets you the answers you need fast. That’s the power of Dodge Virtual Support. Explore how Dodge Virtual Support can help you resolve issues from anywhere! ® Scan the QR code to learn more. info.dodgeindustrial.com/virtualsupport input #23 at www.plantengineering.com/information A rc Flash Safety Training from Eaton Bussmann Arc Flash Safety Services are also available For an arc flash risk assessment, our team completes all five services. To update an existing arc flash risk assessment, we can perform any number or combination of these: • System one-line diagram • Fault current analysis • Overcurrent protective device analysis • Arc flash hazard analysis With ever-increasing requirements of NFPA® 70E, NFPA 70 (NEC®) and OSHA for a safe workplace, we’re here to help you. Our training options are ideal for maintenance staff, machine operators, electricians, supervisors, or facilities staff. • 2-hour training – virtually only. • 4-hour training – virtually or in-person, with Professional Development Hours (PDHs) given upon completion. • 8-hour training – in-person only, with PDHs given upon completion. Enhance your knowledge of electrical safety and circuit protection. Click here to learn more about Bussmann series training opportunities. • Arc flash hazard label production plus, additional services including: Power system studies, Power quality and reliability studies, Selective coordination review, and more. Get complete details on our services, training and products at Eaton.com/bussmannseries/ arcflash. 1-855-287-7626 [email protected] www.eaton.com/bussmannseries input #24 at www.plantengineering.com/information M oving bulk material? Understand the fundamental differences between Flexicon Flexible Screw Conveyors, Tubular Cable Conveyors and Pneumatic Conveying Systems Several conveyors can move your bulk material, but only one is likely to offer the greatest efficiency, dependability and cost effectiveness for your requirement. Flexible Screw Conveyors can move the greatest diversity of bulk materials, including those that pack, cake or smear, with no separation of blends. Economical to purchase and maintain, they convey at any angle over short to medium distances in low to medium capacities. The removable inner screw is the only moving part contacting material, and is driven above the point at which material exits the conveyor, eliminating contact with seals. Tubular Cable Conveyors gently slide fragile food and nonfood products through smooth stainless steel tubing routed at any angle over short or long distances in low to high capacities using low-friction polymer discs attached to stainless steel cable. Flexible Screw Conveyors, Pneumatic Conveying Systems and Tubular Cable Conveyors from Flexicon offer unique attributes relative to individual requirements. These conveyors are available with single or multiple inlets and outlets, prevent the separation of blends and evacuate material from the tubing circuit, preventing waste and allowing rapid cleaning. Dilute-Phase Pneumatic Conveying Systems with single or multiple inlets and outlets move bulk materials vertically and horizontally in low to high capacities over short to long distances using pressure or vacuum generated by a blower. Material enters the system through rotary airlock valves, pick-up adapters and wands (vacuum systems), and is separated from the airstream using filter receivers or cyclone separators. Material exits the system through rotary airlock valves or fill/pass valves, or discharges directly into process vessels—with no residual. While these generalizations may help narrow your conveyor choices, Flexicon recommends running your material in its test laboratories equipped with full-size conveying systems and upstream/downstream equipment to simulate your process. +1 888 353 9426 [email protected] www.flexicon.com input #25 at www.plantengineering.com/information R edRaven is ready for predictive maintenance. Are you? In addition to oil and gas applications, recent deployments include aerospace fueling, pulp and paper, municipal water suppliers, and more. As a plant operator, you already understand the increasing need to monitor, analyze and predict the performance of pumps, seals and valves. These components make up a large part of the collective lifeblood of your plant’s operations, and RedRaven can help you run your business at peak levels — as close to full capacity as possible. your equipment’s performance — variations that can indicate a problem is looming. You won’t just receive data, you’ll also get real insights needed to make more informed decisions for improving your plant’s efficiency, productivity and bottom line. RedRaven is helping a diverse set of operators across the globe in this way. RedRaven, Flowserve’s predictive maintenance solution for pumps, seals and valves, is a connected platform of smart products, software and services including: • Condition monitoring, enabling you to capture asset performance data for analysis • Predictive analytics, applying data analysis software and algorithms to help you diagnose equipment problems Most Flowserve fluid motion and control equipment is RedRaven Ready — designed and built to accept RedRaven wired or wireless sensors, using cloud architecture for condition monitoring and predictive analytics services. RedRaven Ready equipment securely connects to an IoT platform that includes hazardous area-certified equipment sensors, secure communication, performance analytics and trend reporting tools — all tailored to your plant’s unique needs. With access to advanced analytics and trend data, you can often detect even the slightest changes in For more information on RedRaven, contact your Flowserve representative or visit www.flowserve.com/redraven input #26 at www.plantengineering.com/information L eading the Charge toward Electrification on the Plant Floor: Green Cubes Technology Offers Clean, Connected & CostEffective Power Solutions Lithium SAFEFlex is a comprehensive battery solution designed to meet the cost, performance, durability, and safety required in plant environments. Green Cubes Technology is leading the transition to modern electrification on the plant floor, providing the most advanced Lithium-Ion batteries and chargers to enable Motive Power to all electric Material Handling Equipment (MHE) classes 1-3. Since its inception 35 years ago, Green Cubes has gained considerable experience minimizing the environmental impact of its deployed batteries. This positive impact will be amplified with a system of second life batteries, where the installed base of first use batteries is redeployed when they reach a certain age limit. The Lithium-ion cells used in Green Cubes batteries are non-toxic and are currently recycled and reprocessed at their end of life. Going forward, these cells can be repurposed into less demanding second life applications such as backup energy storage. Green Cubes offers SAFEFlex, comprehensive Material Handling battery and charging solutions designed to meet the cost, performance, efficiency and durability requirements of the rugged warehouse environment. It includes application-specific cell chemistry and intelligent battery management electronics. FBP-1000 series 24V Lithium SafeFlex Material Handling battery systems are high cycle life maintenance free solutions for industrial vehicles with fully customizable features to fulfill the most demanding requirements. The drop in replacement batteries make upgrading from Lead Acid to Lithium simple. The batteries are sized to fit the standard motive power lead acid battery, along with meeting the truck battery weight requirements. To learn more, visit our Resources page, use our ROI Calculator or request a quote today! 502-416-1060 • info@ greencubes.com • www.greencubes.com input #27 at www.plantengineering.com/information W hy are visitor management systems important to the manufacturing industry? A visitor management system (VMS) is a software that monitors every contractor, vendor, or delivery person who visits your facility. A VMS kiosk in the lobby automates the steps each visitor must take upon entering a facility to receive the precise amount of information needed in a comprehensive orientation. Manufacturers are unique in that every visitor to a facility requires some semblance of visitor orientation to inform them of the safety guidelines and present dangers for that particular facility. The safety briefing that a visitor needs to receive, as well as documentation of completion, can be difficult for a staff member to effectively convey repeatedly. VMS automates the orientation process by serving videos, forms, documents or quizzes, relevant to the reason for their visit. The VMS maintains a permanent log of all visitor information presented and collected, including time stamped documents and full visit details. Automating this process allows members of Powered by your staff to focus on other tasks while having access to visitor records that are securely stored through the software. A VMS is beneficial for increasing employee productivity, enhancing compliance and safety, reducing legality and audit risks, eliminating human error and paperwork, all while streamlining efficiency for the visitor. Can you say with 100% certainty that everyone who enters your facility has filled out all the correct paperwork, is properly identified with an ID badge prior and that you know exactly who is in your facility at any given time? Can you notify every person in your facility in the event of an emergency? Learn more about how a visitor management system can benefit your facility. Try LobbyFox with a 90 day FREE trial, ZERO obligation. Full access to all features and free hardware included. 1-855-622-9369 • [email protected] www.lobbyfox.io input #28 at www.plantengineering.com/information I nformation on Industrial lubricants for your plant operations at… www.lubriplate.com... FREE Log on to our website and find all the information you need about industrial lubricants. From mineral based greases and oils to the latest high grade synthetic fluids, the data is compiled in our Lubriplate Lubrication Data Book that you can download at no cost to you. Also available in digital format are important specification and product information sheets on H1 Food Machinery Lubricants, Environmental Lubricants and more. Complete data on drop points, cold tests, viscosity indexes, ISO grades, AGMA numbers, etc. is included. There is lubricant information available regarding compressor fluids, hydraulic fluids, If you have a specific question you bearing lubricants, power transmission may also talk with a lubricant fluids, specialty lubricants, high grade representative at 1-800 733-4755 or greases and more. e-mail [email protected] LUBRIPLATE LUBRICANTS CO. Newark, New Jersey 07105 Toledo, Ohio 43605 input #29 at www.plantengineering.com/information H ow to Keep Your Engineering Staff Current and Impactful Engineers fill a crucial need to keep manufacturing operations running as efficiently and profitably as possible. Engineering departments are tasked with identifying problems, designing problem-solving equipment, overseeing the installation and optimizing the result. All these areas require specific skillsets that can gradually become outdated, and the last thing any competitive organization needs are employees without proper skills. Fortunately, there are easy opportunities to keep your engineering staff current with the latest trends and solutions: 1. Develop a mentoring program that matches seasoned engineers with recent college graduates. The technical learning from school is best combined with the “school of hard knocks.” Having an experienced engineer share experiences and guide earlycareer employees will accelerate the latter’s development, making them more productive. In return, It is important to provide learning and development opportunities to your engineers. the seasoned veteran will hear a new perspective from someone fresh out of school who might spark new ideas through the reverse mentoring process. Ultimately, the mentee, the mentor and the company win by sharing different views and experiences. 2. Seek learning and development opportunities from your supplier partners or equipment manufacturers. Many suppliers offer technical training on specific products and processes, plus custom modules based on customer needs. While some of these classes are open to anyone willing to attend, in many cases, you can arrange a class limited to your employees to discuss specifics relevant to your typical application(s). If you attend a class open to engineers from other companies, be sure to develop relationships with them and share best practices. Continuous Learning is Key It is important to regularly provide learning and development opportunities to your engineers. Maintaining and enhancing skills throughout a career is easier than waiting until a critical need arises. For more information, visit www.Motion.com/plantengineering and MotionIndustries.com/learning-development. This article was written by Billy Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Motion. He has over 30 years of experience in human resources with companies such as Overhead Door Corporation and Lockheed Martin. He is passionate about talent management and data analytics. input #30 at www.plantengineering.com/information T he New York Blower Company – Using Technology to Better Serve our Customers The New York Blower Company is the industry expert with over 130 years’ experience specifying, designing and manufacturing industrial fans. Technology has changed a lot over the years, and nyb focuses on using the latest advancements to better educate and support their customers. Fan to Size - This online selection program was designed with the user in mind. Fans can be selected by product line, application, or fan type. Once selected, drawings can be easily downloaded or sent to others to review. Drawings on Demand - Retrieving drawings for a fan has never been easier. Included are the abilities to select the fan’s rotation, discharge position, accessories, motor frame size and u-base. Once selected, a complete drawing package is available to print, save, or view. Ordering Replacement Parts Replacement parts can be ordered online, by phone, or via email. The shop number will need to be referenced in order to buy components, included but not limited to wheels, bearings, motors, housings, and more. Mobile App - Version 2.0 of the app is available for free in both Apple and Google Play stores. In the app, users can access a simplified version of the fan selection program, convert units from imperial to metric, and access their fan documentation using a file number. There is also a fan law calculator and the ability to bookmark fans for future use. benefits including reduced operating costs, improved fan efficiency, and minimized power usage. Educational Webinars - Earn PDH credit while learning about fan basics through introductory and intermediary level courses. Each hour long webinar reviews fundamentals, terminology, equations and applications. Learn more about these programs and services on New York Blower’s website: www.nyb.com Fan Sensor Systems - Remote monitoring devices can have many [email protected] Toll-free: 800.208.7918 www.nyb.com input #31 at www.plantengineering.com/information O ’Keeffe’s Offers Free Online and On-Demand CEU on Standard and Custom Commercial Ladders O’Keeffe’s Inc., manufacturer of the most specified aluminum ladder in the USA, is pleased to offer CEU credits for its program “Standard and Custom Fixed Commercial Aluminum Ladder Design.” This free educational program is available online and on demand from the O’Keeffe’s website, okeeffes.com/continuing-education. This course explains the methods and advantages of using aluminum for ladders, the many ways ladders can be configured to create the safest and most comfortable usage, the various optional accessories available, and the codes and standards that govern and inform their design. After taking this course, participants will be able to: • Select of design a fixed commercial aluminum ladder to address every access requirement • Specify the design of rungs, rails, safety enclosures, platforms, fall protection systems, and other options to create the safest and most usable ladder that will comply with current codes and standards (OSHA, ANSI, etc.) • Recall the advantages of aluminum when choosing ladder materials • Discover the importance of multi-functional fire resistive glazing products providing additional performance features such as hurricane, blast, ballistic, forced entry and more. Case studies will be highlighted • Design custom ladders such as stairs, platforms, crossovers, etc. using lessons from various project examples After successfully completing this course, participants are eligible to receive the following credits: • 1 AIA LU/HSW • 1 ACIA RCI CEU • 0.10 ICC • 1 AIC CPD Hour • 1 AIBD CE Hour • 1 FBPE PDH • And much more! You can also visit the Resources section of okeeffes.com to check out our articles, videos and BIM Library. If you need assistance with any current or upcoming project, don’t hesitate to reach out to our ladder experts at 888.653.3333 or email us at [email protected]. input #32 at www.plantengineering.com/information S ensata Delivers Plant-Wide IoT Asset Monitoring with Sensata IQ Sensata’s Predictive Maintenance Solution Drives Value - Sensata IQ delivers the most cost effective, easy-to-install asset monitoring solution that enables factory managers and maintenance engineers to drive predictive maintenance programs and intuitively monitor their assets from anywhere. Other industry solutions have been plagued with issues with connectivity, installation, and data interpretation, leaving many companies stuck monitoring equipment with manual walkarounds – or not at all. With Sensata IQ, plant managers get reliable and easy-to understand alerts before equipment assets fail, reducing unplanned downtime and optimizing their maintenance strategies to minimize labor and parts expenses. Multi-Modal Sensors Deliver Reliable Insights - Sensata leverages its decades of sensor experience to deliver a wide range of multimodal sensors to deliver reliable, actionable insights about companies’ machine assets. To identify machine anomalies within rotary equipment, such as motors, pumps, blowers, fans, or compressors, the wireless 6VW series IoT sensor uses AI to simultaneously monitor each asset using six sensing modalities — vibration, temperature, acoustic emission, speed, humidity, and magnetic flux. The sensors are designed for easy retrofit onto a wide range of assets regardless of brand or manufacturer with no changes to the company’s hardware or control platforms. The 6VW sensor series is an easy-to-use, self-install solution with a mobile app for device configuration, making setup possible in less than five minutes. Sensata also offers several other connected IIoT sensors to help monitor temperature, pressure, electrical current, and more. Built for Flexible Deployment - The Sensata IQ platform is built for the flexible IT infrastructure of today’s factory settings, with reliable connectivity that runs in parallel to the control architecture for simple deployment. Customizable dashboards deliver reliable insights directly to the plant floor, and the platform also comes with an Open API allowing companies to pull their predictive maintenance insights into other business platforms as they choose. 1 855 SENSATA • [email protected] • www.sensata.com/iq input #33 at www.plantengineering.com/information W ant to learn about engineering topics pertaining to gearmotors? We have the information at your fingertips! Tired of looking up multiple sources for answers to common engineering questions about gear units or gearmotors? We have the solution. SEW-EURODRIVE’s online Technical Notes can be a real life-saver when you need answers. Technical Notes provide quick access to many engineering topics such as how to properly mount a torque arm, how to determine and design for inertia, or how to properly design your machine to use a hollow shaft gear unit. Need answers on how the speed, mounting position, environment, and duty cycle can affect the thermal rating of a gear unit and how to protect against too much heat? That’s one of many in-depth documents you can find by visiting www.seweurodrive.com and clicking Technical Notes. Whitepaper Our technical white paper, Maximizing Gearmotor Speed Range shows you how to operate VFDs above 60Hz to widen speed range, improve stability and reduce cost. In this white paper, you’ll learn why it can be a good idea to operate gearmotors above 60Hz. Through a common example, we will show you how to select the proper gearmotor that will significantly enhance performance in the following ways: • Increase stability by reducing inertia mismatch • Widen the available speed range • Eliminate a costly ventilator fan at low speed • Eliminate motor overheating at low speed • Enable the use of a smaller motor Visit www.sewwhitepapers.com/vfd to download the PDF. [email protected] 864-439-7537 www.seweurodrive.com input #34 at www.plantengineering.com/information T he Bulk Bag Filler Customization Guide A step-by-step guide to selecting bulk bag filler components Not all FIBC Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container bulk bag fillers are created equal. Spiroflow Systems has released a complete bulk bag filler customization guide to educate engineers on the key variations and customizations available in today’s bulk bag filling market. Included in this guide are control systems integration options for maintaining filling accuracy while achieving maximum fill rates. From standalone, simple frame designs to high volume semiautomated filling systems with densifying vibration tables, bulk bag filling systems can be custom built to meet a wide range of budget and filling requirements in the material processing setup. Semi-automated bulk bag filling solutions with integrated controls can recover revenues up to 25% via savings on shipping costs, storage, and operator costs. The guide includes the following steps to choosing a bulk bag filling configuration: 1) Narrow Your Selection to a Simple Frame or Sophisticated System: First, choose between a bulk bag filler frame or station. 2) Define Bulk Bag Filling Requirements: Before starting to specify filler type, options, and customizations, consider the material, process needs, and bag requirements. 3) Select Bulk Bag Filling Station Components: Based on your requirements definition, start to select the components of your BBF station. 4) Customize Bulk Bag Filling Station with Additional Options: Additional options such as static grounding and control systems integration may be needed for your application. 5) Test, Test, Test: Before purchasing bulk bag filling equipment, it is recommended to first run the material on the equipment in a manufacturer’s test lab. Spiroflow Systems Inc. launched the Bulk Bag Filler Customization Guide to educate plant operators and engineers on the features that are available when choosing a bulk bag filling system. To download the full guide, scan the QR code. [email protected] • 704-215-4624 spiroflow.com input #35 at www.plantengineering.com/information Actuated Valve Training Program – Making Valve Automation Easy! A BIG part of “Making Valve Automation Easy” is providing our customers with easy-to-understand training materials. The Assured Automation Actuated Valve Training Center is intended to do just that. Here you will find a complete training course that covers major topics included in valve automation. This course is broken into easily digestible “lessons” starting with basic overviews and moving to more detailed lessons on each topic. ce202208_EDengHLF_assuredAuto.indd 1 A short quiz and downloadable course materials are offered at the end of each lesson. Customers and educators have used the course as training materials for new employees and students. We hope you enjoy the academy. More importantly, we hope you learn everything you need to know about automated valves. [email protected] 800-899-0553 https://assuredautomation.com/actuated-valve-training/ input #36 at www.plantengineering.com/information 7/6/2022 3:05:35 PM The Tekleen Automatic Backwash Filter The ABW series features automatic, self cleaning screen type water filters. The filtration system consists of a filter body with a first stage coarse screen and a second stage fine screen, flushing valve, and an electronic controller. Pressurized water enters the filter inlet and travels through a perforated stainless steel coarse screen where large particles are pre-filtered. The water then passes through a fine mesh screen where small contaminants are filtered out. The clean water then exits through the outlet of the filter. When the fine screen becomes contaminated, a pressure differential is sensed causing the automatic controller to open the flush valve. When the flush valve opens, an atmospheric pressure path is established, causing the clean water to reverse flow at the point of suction across the filter element. This removes contaminants from the screen, sending dirty water through the nozzles and dirt collector mechanism and out the flush valve. The water passing through the hydraulic motor creates an axial rotation of the dirt collector. This movement, combined with linear advancement, allows the dirt collector to vacuum the entire screen element. The cleaning cycle takes approximately 4-12 seconds. Even during the flush cycle, the filtration process continues uninterrupted. 310-839-2828 • info@ tekleen.com • www.tekleen.com ce202208_EDUengHLF_tekleen_MOCK.indd 1 input #37 at www.plantengineering.com/information 7/28/2022 11:05:38 AM Publication Sales Publisher/Midwest Matt Waddell 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Account Manager Robert Levinger ® COMPANY Advertisers' Index PAGE# RSN WEB ABB Motors US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4 . . . . . . . . .39 . . . . . . . . www .abb .com/motors&generators Atlas Copco Compressors . . . . . . . 10, 11 . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . www .atlascopco .us AutomationDirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2 . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . www .automationdirect .com Bussmann by Eaton . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . www .Eaton .com/bussmannseries/arcfl ash . Caterpillar - Northeast . . . . . . . . . . 26 . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . www .necatdealers .com/standby DEWESoft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . . . . . . . . . .18 . . . . . . . . www .dewesoft .com Dodge Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . www .dodgeindustrial .com Exair Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . www .exair .com Flexicon Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . www .flexicon .com FLOWSERVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . . . . .12 . . . . . . . . www .flowserve .com/iot HELWIG CARBON PRODUCTS, INC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . www .helwigcarbon .com Lubriplate Lubricants Co . . . . . . . . 20 . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . . . www .lubriplate .com MOTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . www .Motion .com O'Keeffe's Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . www .okeeffes .com SEW-EURODRIVE, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . www .seweurodrive .com Spiroflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . . . www .spiroflow .com TEKLEEN Automatic Filters Inc . . . . 29 . . . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . . . . www .tekleen .com THE NEW YORK BLOWER COMPANY . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . www .nyb .com Workbenchmarket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . . . . .16 . . . . . . . . www .workbenchmarket .com Yaskawa America, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . C-3 . . . . . . . . .38 . . . . . . . . www .yaskawa .com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION about products and advertisers in this issue by using the www.csemag.com/information link and reader service number located near each item. If you’re reading the digital edition, the link will be live. When you contact a company directly, please let them know you read about them in Consulting-Specifying Engineer. [email protected] 312-961-6840 [email protected] 630-571-4070 x2218 West, TX, OK Aaron Maassen Integrated Media Manager [email protected] 816-797-9969 Northeast Richard A. Groth Jr. [email protected] 774-277-7266 12 Pine Street Franklin, MA 02038 Director of Content Marketing Solutions Patrick Lynch [email protected] 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Marketing Consultant Brian Gross 847-452-1191 [email protected] 630-571-4070 x2217 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Publication Services Jim Langhenry, Co-Founder and Publisher, CFE Media [email protected] Steve Rourke, Co-Founder, CFE Media [email protected] McKenzie Burns, Marketing-Events Manager [email protected] Courtney Murphy, Marketing and Events Manager [email protected] Paul Brouch, Director of Operations 630-571-4070 x2208, [email protected] Rick Ellis, Audience Management Director 303-246-1250, [email protected] Michael Smith, Creative Director 630-779-8910, [email protected] Michael Rotz, Print Production Manager 717-766-0211 x4207, Fax 717-506-7238 [email protected] Maria Bartell, List Rental Account Director Infogroup Targeting Solutions 847-378-2275, [email protected] Claude Marada, List Rental Manager 402-836-6274, [email protected] Letters to the Editor: Please e-mail your letters to [email protected] Letters should include name, company, and address, and may be edited for space and clarity. Input #104 at www.plantengineering.com/information Information: For a Media Kit or Editorial Calendar, go to www.csemag.com/connect/advertising Marketing consultants: See ad index. Custom reprints, electronic: Paul Brouch, [email protected] and Technology TM Input #103 at www.plantengineering.com/information 64 | July/August 2022 Plant engineering — www.plantengineering.com PUMP UP PRODUCTIVITY F P 60 5 I N D U S T R I A L FA N & P U M P AC D R I V E ives PFP605 dr M A K E T H E C O M P L I C AT E D S I M P L E You will get pumped up when you take a look at Yaskawa’s FP605 industrial fan & pump drive. The FP605 is a versatile drive that saves time and resources on installation and programming, while maximizing efficiency for peak energy savings and the return on your investment. • • • • • • • Enclosure options: IP20/UL Type 1 or IP55/UL Type 12 Narrow footprint for side-by-side mounting Induction, PM and synchronous reluctance motor control Supports all major industrial network communications Pump control features that maximize drive and pump life Mobile-friendly setup with optional Bluetooth keypad Programmable without main power supply connected IP20/UL Type 1 Need to optimize your industrial fan and pump operations? Call Yaskawa today at 1-800-927-5292. IP55/UL Type 12 IP55/UL Type 12 w/Switch IP55/UL Type 12 Backside Flange For more information, visit: https://www.yaskawa.com/fp605 Yaskawa America, Inc. 1-800-YASKAWA Email: [email protected] | yaskawa.com input #38 at www.plantengineering.com/information — ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor motors that let you know when it’s time for a service. ABB’s new condition monitoring solution revolutionizes maintenance for low voltage motors. ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor monitors key parameters and sends the data to a secure server for analysis. Users can access detailed status reports from their smartphone or PC. The solution enables proper maintenance planning for longer motor lifetimes, lower energy consumption and big reductions in downtime. www.abb.com/motors&generators input #39 at www.plantengineering.com/information ABB_Plant_Eng_BAL ABB Smart Sensor ad .indd 1 6/23/22 1:47 PM
