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Differing
Methodologies... |
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To
illustrate our straight-line
approach, the following describes the
steps normally followed during the course
of a conventionally designed automation
project and the way Buchart-Horn combines
the efforts of different organizations
to streamline the project approach,
saving time and money as well as increasing
quality.
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Go
Back
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Step
1: Design |
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The
design phase of a project begins with
the engineer evaluating control and
instrumentation requirements to develop
a method of operation and a control
philosophy. A technical specification,
description of operation and drawings
are then published for bidding by qualified
contractors. Buchart-Horn begins
each project by first determining the
most feasible process options and then
choosing the correct process control
system based on our experience with
systems currently available in the process
control market.
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Step
2: Implementation
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After
the successful bidder has been awarded
the contract to construct the project,
the contractor (often a subcontractor)
will purchase the control system from
a manufacturer. The manufacturer then
develops the control hardware and software
based on their interpretation
of the engineer's description of operation
and control philosophy. Often, the intent
of the engineer is misinterpreted, or
the system development is compromised
by efforts to save money or shorten
delivery time.
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This
potential tragedy can be avoided when
the engineer responsible for the control
philosophy, and the end product, does
the hardware configuration and software
programming in-house. Who better to
develop the control software than the
engineer who defined the control requirements?
After
the hardware configuration and control
system software have been completed,
a witness test takes place. In
a conventional approach, the engineer
visits the manufacturer's facility and
confirms the manufacturer's control
philosophy is acceptable and that all
functions required by the process control
system have been included. These tests
can be very lengthy and costly. By the
engineer implementing the control requirements
in-house, the intended control stradegy
is inherently guaranteed and testing
at the manufacturer's facility is no
longer necessary.
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Step
3: Startup and Commissioning
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After
the system hardware and software are
installed at the project site, the next
step is to make everything work in the
real world. In a conventional
approach, the manufacturer assigns yet
another group of people to this task,
increasing the chances of the intent
of the original control philosophy being
misapplied or misinterpreted. Utilizing
Buchart-Horn's straight-line
approach, startup problems are greatly
reduced; by this point in construction:
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Comprehensive QA/QC measures for
field instruments and hardwiring
have already been put into place.
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The
control system has already been
debugged under test conditions.
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The
field installation has been
monitored by Buchart-Horn's
Construction Management Division,
ensuring that all required components
are installed and ready for
connection.
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These
coordination efforts ensure that
field instruments and hardwiring
will properly interface with the
process control system hardware
and software.
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Step
4: Maintenance and Field Service |
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This
is the most critical part of any automated
facility. What happens when all the
experts are gone? What do the people
who were trained to use the process
control system do when they run into
problems? Many facilities with high-end
process control systems do not have
technical personnel available to maintain
and troubleshoot them. A process control
system is like any machine - occasionally
it needs attention in order to keep
it operating properly.
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Buchart-Horn
offers a unique service called “Remote
Engineering.” This innovation
allows our engineers, who are familiar
with your process control system, to
remotely connect to your system. Via
a remote dial-up direct link or secure
Internet connection, Buchart-Horn can
observe your control system without
process interruptions. By
using this service, we can quickly and
economically troubleshoot most systems
and greatly reduce travel expenses and
down time.
In a conventional approach
to construction of an automated process
control system there can be four (or
more) unrelated companies involved.
This not only increases the overall
cost but causes problems ranging from
missing components to control systems
that never work properly. Buchart-Horn's
straight-line approach streamlines
the automation development and installation
process by using an engineering staff
with over 35 years of experience in
automation system design, implementation, startup
and field service... A straight
line from start... to finish... and
beyond.
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Process
and Instrumentation Diagrams (PID)