38 VOLUME NO 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 Official publication of the SAIMC Cloud Solutions for Industrial Applications Oil & gas | IT in manufacturing | Process measurement Control systems | Data logging & recording
www.instrumentation.co.za September 2022 1 Control systems Data logging & recording VOLUME 38 NO 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 03 10 12 40 REGULARS Cover story 14 FEATURES Oil & gas IT in manufacturing Process measurement 16 23 30 35 38 News & events SAIMC news Automation professionals Product news Cloud solutions for secure access to machine and system data Beckhoff Automation, Nidec Control Techniques, Elemental Analytics, WIKA Instruments VEGA Controls SA, DRH Components, Instrotech, Oakleaf Investment Holdings 52 Gavin Halse, RJ Connect, Pepperl+Fuchs, Lance Turner Michael Brown Control Engineering CC, Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Endress+Hauser South Africa, R&C Instrumentation OUR COVER 14 38 VOLUME NO 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 Official publication of the SAIMC Oil & gas | IT in manufacturing | Process measurement Control systems | Data logging & recording Cloud Solutions for Industrial Applications Communication from the field level to the cloud can take different paths. In addition to the option of connecting applications via mobile radio, existing Internet access points at the location can be used (either wired or via WLAN). Making use of future-proof standard protocols like OPC UA and MQTT, systems can take advantage of Turck Cloud Solutions for integration into various cloud services such as Microsoft Azure, Alibaba or Amazon Web Services.
2 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za welcome VOLUME 38 NO 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements, inserts and company contact details are printed as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material. All rights reserved. Nopart of thispublicationmaybe reproduced, adapted, stored ina retrieval systemor transmitted inany formorbyanymeans, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recordingor otherwise,without thepriorwrittenpermissionofTechnewsPublishing (Pty) Ltd, RegNo. 2005/034598/07 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor should be addressed to Brett van den Bosch at [email protected]. Sending material to this publication will be considered automatic permission to use in full or in part in our Letters column. Be sure to include your name, e-mail address, city and zip code. We reserve the right to edit all letters. EDITOR Brett van den Bosch B Eng (Electrical & Electronic) [email protected] DEPUTY EDITOR Kim Roberts MSc Chem [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Brown BSc (Eng) (Rand), CEng MIEE MSAIEE Gavin Halse BSc Chem Eng Lance Turner BSc (Hons) Information Systems ADVERTISING Sales manager Jane van der Spuy [email protected] Tel: +27 83 234 5412 Heidi Hargreaves [email protected] Tel: +27 83 504 0436 DESIGN AND LAYOUT Technews Production Department SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES For address changes, subscriptions, renewal status or missing issues, email: [email protected] or write to: Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd, Box 385, Pinegowrie 2123 SUBSCRIBE ONLINE www.technews.co.za PUBLISHERS Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd, Box 385, Pinegowrie 2123 I believe one of the greatest gifts the scientific and engineering disciplines have given us is abstraction. Before you start thinking about abstract art (you are allowed to, just not right now), I’m referring to the act of thinking in terms of ideas, rather than events or tangible ‘things’. In fact, I would go so far as to say it’s one of the greatest gifts of mankind, full-stop. Kids abstract all the time, often without even being taught to. If you want proof, just give a child a smartphone or tablet PC and watch them play a game on it. Getting them to stop, now that’s a problem. Abstraction is so easy even presidents can do it – are required to do it in order to do their job effectively, I would argue. How else could they be expected to weigh the lives of people in danger of dying from a pandemic against the necessity of keeping the economy churning? Or the needs of a large, but largely low-skilled and unemployed, workforce against the prerogative of technological progress through automation, digitalisation, et al? And all while dealing with pesky questions over a silly little $4 million robbery on their farm. An example most readers will be familiar with is the 7-layered ISO-OSI model for electronic communications. When you’re working at Layer 7 (as most of us do), you really don’t need to know the physical mechanism by which a bit (which is, itself, abstract) changes state between 0 and 1, all the way down at Layer 1. Unless you’re designing down to the circuit board/IC/firmware level or troubleshooting a particularly tricky problem, you shouldn’t need to go further down than Layer 4, and even then there are test instruments that can do most of the work for you. Without alluding directly to this broader theme of the abstract, some points are raised which touch upon it in this issue’s articles written by our contributing editors, Gavin Halse and Lance Turner. In his article on page 23, Gavin makes the valid point that instrument and automation engineers are trained to be comfortable with physical systems, but not so much with systems involving people. Although it makes sense to abstract people out of our thinking because they’re so unpredictable and unreliable (compared to a machine), one does so at their peril, or rather at the peril of the people whose safety is jeopardised as a result. Lance, on page 29, explores the convergence (collision might be a more apt description) of the IT and OT worlds. Despite these two fields working at the same level of abstraction and using mostly the same skillsets, their objectives are divergent. The result is that what one might The future is abstract think would be complementary functions are in conflict with one another – it turns out that, besides being unpredictable and unreliable, people also have ‘feelings’ and don’t like to share. The automation industry is exceptionally good at most things, but not so good at dealing with disruptive change – after all, it is called disruptive for a reason. The aforementioned articles are just two examples of how such a rapid rate of technological advancement is testing the limits of our resilience and adaptability. So, being the innovators that we are, the next logical step is to create technologies that can do the resilience and adaptability for us. Enter artificial intelligence, the next frontier in our journey toward ‘cognitive manufacturing’. In a recent white paper, ResearchGate identified the most critical areas where AI can enhance manufacturing processes, as well as eight challenges that must be overcome to significantly increase the long-term resilience of manufacturing companies: complementing employees’ skills in manufacturing processes; increasing corporate agility and reducing procurement bottlenecks; reducing time to market; strengthening factory resilience and robustness; reducing complexity in data-based decision-making; intelligent risk assessment and mitigation; reducing cybersecurity risks; addressing ethics when using AI in manufacturing; and AI in product design. In all honesty, I’m torn between wonder and terror at what such an AI-powered future might hold. Wonder, because just imagine what we can achieve if we ever manage to make machines that can think like us; and terror, because just imagine the worst-case scenario if we ever manage to make machines that can think like us.
The Steel & Engineering Industries Federation of SA (SEIFSA) has warned that the outlook for the metals and engineering sector has shown a marked deterioration after a strong start to the year. The performance of this sector is indicative of the prevailing economic fundamentals. “It is also extremely sensitive to these prevailing global and domestic economic events. In fact, our estimates already point to production contracting by between 1,1% and 1,3% in the second quarter, with notable downside risks for the full-year outlook,” says SEIFSA COO, Tafadzwa Chibanguza. “During the first quarter, inflationary pressures were already building in the global economy. However, this was initially driven by aggregate demand increasing faster than supply Headwinds face metals and engineering sector Miguel Petersen has been appointed as Vega Instruments SA’s new marketing manager. He has been with the company for nine years, having worked his way up from internal sales to projects and external sales prior to his new promotion. He has earned certificates from the University of Cape Town for operations management, professional communication and office management and foundations of business management, in addition to his NQF3 certificate for freights and customs. Appointment chains could respond. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February set the proverbial cat among the pigeons in economic and inflationary terms,”he says. Chibanguza has identified the themes behind global and domestic economic fundamentals at present, which include the aggressive monetary policy tightening in the US in response to multiyear record inflation; the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war on the EU economy; and China’s aggressive zeroCovid-19 policy, which has impacted the country’s economic hubs of Shanghai and Beijing. “These themes will dominate the global economic narrative and the slowing of global economic growth. Steel production is highly correlated to growth and the early warnings signs of a slowing growth rate are evident in the decline in iron ore prices, a key ingredient in steel production,”he says. “A rising tide lifts all boats, but the inverse is also true. In a less supportive global economic environment, and with headwinds intensifying, domestic economic policy and reform have to do a lot of heavier lifting to support the economy. Domestic intervention to counter these headwinds and support the metals and engineering sector is essential,”concludes Chibanguza. For more information visit www.seifsa.co.za NEWS & EVENTS
NEWS & EVENTS 4 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za Delba Electrical was recently certified as an Approved Partner for Siemens large Drives Applications’ (LDA) high-voltage motor portfolio, which includes field and repair services in South Africa, East Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. It also obtained certification as a Service Delivery Partner for the repair of Siemens mobile mining rotating equipment. “Spanning a seven-year partnership, Siemens Large Drives is proud to have Delba Electrical on board as a trusted partner for this industry service. This qualification process requires stringent Partner certification assessments conducted by Siemens at Delba Electricals’ world-class facilities in South Delba Electrical secures Siemens LDA Approved Partner status Africa,” commented TimWalwyn, country chief executive officer for Siemens Large Drives in South Africa. “Delba’s certification is significant to the business, and we value their ongoing support and look forward to exploring new opportunities as part of our partnership.” Delba Electrical will benefit from ongoing service module training and support through the worldwide Siemens network in order to perform the authorised services, including full access to original spare parts and technical support. Dave Balocco, managing director of Delba Electrical, said, “We are proud to have been awarded this prestigious certification as an Approved Partner by Siemens Large Drives. Emerson and AspenTech announced the successful closing of the combination of Emerson’s industrial software businesses – OSI Inc. and its Geological Simulation Software business – with AspenTech to create a global industrial software leader which will continue to operate under the AspenTech name. With the close of the transaction, Emerson owns 55% of ‘new AspenTech’ on a fully diluted basis and AspenTech shareholders own the remaining 45%. “I am excited to announce the close of our transaction with AspenTech, which accelerates Emerson’s software strategy and creates an enhanced, high-performance, leading industrial software company with immediate scale and relevance in a fast-paced, evolving market,” stated Emerson and AspenTech join forces Lal Karsanbhai, president and chief executive officer of Emerson. “Today marks a significant milestone for Emerson and is a testament to our commitment to continue building a highergrowth, more diversified portfolio. Together with new AspenTech, we expect to realise significant revenue and cost synergies, while having the platform and flexibility to strategically deploy capital for growth through continued investment and mergers and acquisitions.” Antonio Pietri, president and chief executive officer of new AspenTech, said, “We have now begun a new era at AspenTech, expanding our global leadership in industrial software by providing capabilities that support the entire lifecycle of complex operations across a wide range of industry verticals. “With a comprehensive software portfolio, an expanded global sales channel and an even stronger balance sheet reinforced by Emerson, new AspenTech will be uniquely positioned to help our customers address the dual challenge of meeting the increasing global demand for resources in a sustainable manner. As we move forward, I am confident that new AspenTech is poised for significant growth and continued success as we deliver value for our customers, employees and shareholders.” For more information contact Emerson Automation Solutions, [email protected], www.emerson.com “This certification is proof that we are a trusted partner with the highest quality of repair, field service and maintenance support for the wide range of products offered by Siemens Large Drives in the field of high-voltage motor technology. Delba Electrical is committed to providing a high quality of technical service with its process-related expertise. We look forward to this solid partnership and to collaborating further with Siemens in delivering customer service excellence.” For more information contact Delba Electrical, +27 11 818 5955, [email protected], http://delba.co.za
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NEWS & EVENTS 6 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za The advent of online purchasing has meant that consumers have access to a broader range of sales channels than ever before. However, according to Lionel Maasdorp, MD at Allmech (a leading South African manufacturer of boilers and supplier of water treatment components), there is still value in partnering with an authorised agent for certain purchases, including technical equipment and spares. “Although valves are now available through parallel importers and online retailers, if you purchase through those channels you miss out on any technical expertise or aftersales support, including on-site support, which is part of the benefit of buying from an authorised supplier,” he says. Maasdorp cites an example of a customer who called Allmech to a site to assist with a filtration system that was not functioning correctly. It turned out that the pipes had been installed back-to-front. “These systems can be complex if you’re not dealing with them every day,” he points out. “It’s easy to end up with the wrong size of valve or something that doesn’t meet the requirements of your particular application.” Allmech is the sole official agent in South Africa for Runxin water treatment systems, including softener and filter valves, and Maasdorp believes that the company’s relationship with the manufacturer yields Benefits of using an authorised agent for your water treatment needs value-add for customers. Allmech understands the Runxin ecosystem and technologies, stocks a comprehensive range of spares, and is able to customise plants through special requests directly to Runxin when required. Furthermore, Allmech uses test benches where Runxin valves can be tested for faults, leaks or damages under similar conditions to those found on site. Valves can then be repaired more cost-effectively without replacing the entire unit. Additional technical support is available via the Allmech WhatsApp group or through the Allmech website. “We’ve chosen to partner with Runxin for various reasons,” says Maasdorp. “We find their products reliable, user-friendly and costeffective, and they are continuously investing in new technologies and range extensions. We can pass all of that on to our customers.” A good example is Runxin’s patented ceramic ball valve, designed for applications ranging from sewerage treatment plants to chemical plants, paper mills and irrigation systems. They are safe to use with gasoline, compressed air, gas and most alkaline liquids and acids. Allmech stocks the ceramic valves because they are ideal for filtration and softener systems used in water treatment, and are available in two-wire, three-wire and three-way (L-shape) variants from DN 15 to DN 50 threaded or glued fitting options. They are easy to program and use, with simple, user-friendly displays. “We also choose Runxin because of the valves’ longer service life – some of our valves have run for more than 10 years with no maintenance required,” says Maasdorp. “There are time-controlled ball valves available, as well as adjustable ones with a positional feedback function. The degree and angle that the ball can be opened at can be determined by the PLC on these valves, and adjustments for flow, temperature and pressure can also be made.” One of the latest innovations in the Runxin range is a shut-off valve with a remote Bluetooth unit, which is designed for installation on incoming water lines in buildings, and can turn off water when a leak is detected or send an alert when a geyser is at risk of bursting. “We think these are great for residential applications as well as facilities management,” says Maasdorp. “We’re excited to be bringing them to the local market and currently have a demo unit set up at our premises for testing. We’re always looking for ways to improve our offering to customers, and we believe that’s why we’ve built such longterm relationships with many of them.” For more information contact Allmech, +27 11 849 2731, [email protected], www.allmech.co.za
NEWS & EVENTS www.instrumentation.co.za September 2022 7 www.rtsafrica.co.za — [email protected] — +27 (0)82 879 0734 Dust Free Instrumentation & Control Rooms RTS Africa Inertial Spin Filters No Maintenance – No Down Time – No Dust – Energy Efficient RTS Africa Engineering (Pty) Ltd TM The LI51XX series level sensor and the ‘multicover puck’ from ifm have received the renowned iF Design Award this year. The iF Design Award has been one of the most important quality seals when it comes to design and relevance in business and everyday life since 1953. The award is given once a year by the world’s oldest independent design institution, iF International Forum Design in Hanover, Germany. The iF label is internationally established as a symbol for outstanding design achievements, and honours all disciplines: product, packaging, communication and service design, architecture and interior design, as well as professional concept. LI51XX level sensors Martin Schmidt, who is responsible for industrial design and innovation strategy at ifm, explains what was so special about the LI Series development project: “Being closely involved from the first idea to series production, and being able to put my ideas into practice, was really special here. We evaluated our solution approaches in each decision-making process with the help of various versions of prototypes and proceeded with the best solution on a topic-specific basis. The final result is a really great team performance. Together, we were able to find the best compromise between economic Two ifm products receive iF Design Awards efficiency, feasibility, usability, and contextappropriate and formal design.” This is also reflected by the product, as the LI Series of level sensors aid production efficiently and sustainably. Efficiently, because it prevents empty or overflowing tanks, for example. Sustainably, as it prevents plant downtimes and increased maintenance; it maintains itself, so to speak, and can therefore be used for real-time maintenance purposes. Multi-cover puck “The multi-cover puck [which is designed for position feedback on quarter-turn actuators] was one of the first projects that I was able to accompany from the product design department,” says Anna Küpker, who works alongside Martin Schmidt. “During development, we were able to draw on an already very well developed and designed product, which we have extended with functionalities for complex applications. From a product design perspective, the team particularly focused on the flexible indicator system.” Concerning the design, it was particularly important to the team to make installation as easy as possible for the user, and at the same time to allow adjustment during operation in order to be able to react to changing conditions in the plant. “To this end, we worked together with customers and were able to incorporate their needs into the design through targeted user surveys,” explains Küpker. The knowledge gained in this way was implemented through task-appropriate and self-describing user guidance during installation. The possible valve positions to be displayed are automatically determined by predefined stops in which the indicator elements are located. The ergonomic design of the indicators offers optimal operability for the user. “I am particularly pleased that, on the one hand, the indicator system has now been patented and we have thus been able to set a new standard in valve sensor technology; and on the other hand that, with the puck, a concept has been developed that makes its contribution to more sustainability through parts recycling and multifunctional applicability,” Küpker ends. For more information contact ifm – South Africa, +27 12 450 0400, [email protected], www.ifm.com/za
NEWS & EVENTS 8 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za The OPC Foundation (OPCF) and the FieldComm Group (FCG) have announced a collaboration to drive multi-vendor interoperability of instrumentation devices based on OPC UA and the extensions for the field level, named OPC UA FX (Field eXchange). This development will incorporate preliminary work by both organisations, and will ensure that the market will have only a single standard. The aim is to provide an interoperable interface between PLC/DCS and instrumentation devices, such as transmitters, instruments and actuators. The solution shall support different industries such as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, water and wastewater, and pulp and paper. To begin this work, a new OPC UA Instrumentation Working Group is being hosted by the OPC Foundation, under the leadership of the Field Level Communications (FLC) Initiative. Participation in the working group is open to members of the OPC Foundation as well as corporate entity members of the FieldComm Group. Many well-known manufacturers in the process and factory automation industries are represented within this working group to ensure a uniform, worldwide and coordinated standard for OPC UA-based instrumentation devices. In order to achieve inter-vendor interoperability of instrumentation devices, the working group will add to the UA FX base specifications the definition of interfaces and behaviours which are typical for instrumentation devices, including: • Commonly used interfaces and data types for the industries mentioned above, including functional safety. • Diagnostic information specific to instrumentation devices. Work underway on OPC UA Field eXchange profile • Operation modes of instrumentation devices. • State machines and timing models for instrumentation-specific functionality, where appropriate. The new instrumentation device profile specification will use PubSub and can be combined with different underlying communication protocols (e.g. UDP/IP) and physical layers (e.g. Ethernet-APL) to support all relevant use-cases in discrete and process manufacturing, including safety instrumentation based on OPC UA Safety and deterministic data exchange based on Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), where appropriate. The instrumentation facet shall be complementary to the jointly-owned OPC 30081/FCG TS10098 ‘OPC UA for Process Automation Devices (PA-DIM)’ and other companion specifications. The working group will also strive to manage overlaps with other information models already released or under development. Examples include the models for ‘Calibration’ (a Harmonization sub-group) and ‘Laboratory and Analytical Devices’ (a LADS working group). Thoralf Schulz (ABB), chairperson of FCG, said, “OPC Foundation and FieldComm Group joining forces in the Instrumentation Working Group is a significant milestone. This collaboration unifies separate volunteer initiatives previously underway in each organisation, and creates the basis for a broadly accepted single standard. It will harmonise device integration while supporting the transition of existing device technologies and their installations into the future. “Combined with FDI-based device management and the Advanced Physical Layer (APL) for the lower-layer connectivity, this is a major milestone towards a harmonised data exchange infrastructure, which will benefit both users of process automation as well as vendors of process automation products and solutions.” Thomas Hahn (Siemens), vice president of OPCF, added: “Digitalisation needs interoperability. Interoperability needs standards. Extending the OPC UA framework to include an information model for instrumentation devices is important to ensure cross-vendor interoperability and common semantics. No single organisation can achieve this alone! Therefore, cross-organisational collaboration is essential – from process automation to discrete manufacturing, from customer to provider, from machine tool builder to solution partners, and so on. Through this collaboration, an important step towards meeting the needs of our customers and the industry is achieved.” “Extending the OPC UA Framework with an information model for instrumentation devices is important to ensure – in combination with OPC UA Safety, Deterministic Communication, Motion and Ethernet-APL/SPE – cross-vendor interoperability and common semantics, not only for the controller-to-controller and controller-to-device use-cases in factory and process automation, but also supporting OPC UA as a fully scalable technology from the sensor across all levels to MES/ERP and also to the cloud,” stated Peter Lutz, director of the FLC Initiative at OPC Foundation. For more information visit www.opcfoundation.org/flc
NEWS & EVENTS www.instrumentation.co.za September 2022 9 Supporting excellence in automotive automation From optimising your processes for assembly to key vehicle components, OMRON has the expertise and technology portfolio to maximise productivity. industrial.omron.co.za automotive_automation_105x148mm_ad_enza_01_d01.indd 1 9-08-22 13:54 Most companies don’t have a strong culture of safety, according to a Fluke survey. To build a strong culture of safety, you first need to create a climate of safety. A climate of safety allows for changing and adapting more quickly. It influences the culture of safety, which is harder to change because it is ingrained into the overarching company culture. If you want to change a company’s culture of safety, you need to start with the climate of safety. Over the years, that strong climate will create a stronger culture. Safety culture expert at Predictive Solutions, an Industrial Scientific company, Chuck Pettinger (Ph.D.) has seen three key changes help in creating a successful climate of safety that will grow into a successful culture of safety: 1. Communicate Part of any successful business is how we communicate with one another. When looking at a climate of safety, communication can include things like goal-setting and incentive programmes. Dr Pettinger suggests that, instead of tracking metrics based on accidents and injuries, an organisation should focus on the positive. Focusing on accidents and injuries “drives a lot of safety reporting ‘under the ground’, and it may unintentionally hurt the culture.” Instead, try focusing on tracking the quality of the safety inspections, or how many employees participate in a safety initiative. In general, people are more motivated when they are trying to improve something, rather than trying to avoid or reduce something (such as injuries). Instead, focus on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely), which are more useful and create a positive effect on the company’s climate of safety. Dr Pettinger says, “[The goal] should be an actionable, observable behaviour that you’re reinforcing, versus, you know, ‘Do your best’. So, make it specific. Make it achievable. Make it relevant to the people around you, and not just important to you. And visualise it, get people to appreciate it.” It is also important to be aware of how you talk about certain processes. This can also impact how the climate is perceived throughout the company. Dr Pettinger gives an example of how the climate can negatively influence employees: “If you hear ‘We have to get this machine up and running’, you know there’s time sensitivity. There’s a little bit of pressure, and no one’s actually telling you, ‘Take shortcuts’, but you’re feeling that pressure from the climate, versus other cultures that say, ‘I don’t care how long it takes. Take your time. Do it safe. Don’t get hurt’.” 2. Make it personal Creating a plan that makes safety about the individual helps keep it top-of-mind throughout the workday. Dr Pettinger has seen success in changing how shift startup meetings are conducted, and tailoring the training more. Getting employees more involved in shift startup meetings has had a positive effect for many companies. Instead of just focusing on what needs to get done and where the previous shift left things, Dr Pettinger suggests taking the time during each meeting to discuss potential risks and how to mitigate them. “Elicit those responses from the people in your group. As a good manager, trying to get them to come up with the solution is the key,”Dr Pettinger said. When it comes to training and teaching, there are multiple different ways of approach. A Fluke customer, Michael Brooks, has seen success with one-on-one training at his company, Great Southwestern Fire and Safety – taking the time to walk through the safety steps and ensure Three key principles to build a strong culture of safety that the knowledge and experience one employee has is translated to the next. According to Brooks, “What they’ve learned, they’ve been able to translate that to somebody else new. It’s not the same people teaching and learning and growing all the time. We’ve worked really hard to try to keep this positive attitude amongst our workforce.”This has not only helped to keep the employees safe but has helped the company grow over the years. 3. Keep building Many companies fall into what is called the ‘venomous cycle’. In this cycle, new initiatives start out strong, but eventually lose momentum, and after a while will be ignored completely. Then another new initiative is started and the cycle repeats. However, no real change is seen from these initiatives and both the climate and culture of safety remain the same. Instead, companies need to find a way to get into the ‘virtuous cycle’. This is all about patience and perseverance. “Culture is something that’s very hard to impact. It’s something that takes three to five to ten years to change sometimes,”Dr Pettinger said. Once a new initiative is started, set short-term goals so it feels more like progress is being made. Not only will individual employees feel like they’re able to make more of an impact, but management can also track what changes have started to happen. Once people see the value of the new process, it will become self-sustaining, ingrained, and help your organisation create a culture of safety. For more information contact Comtest, +27 10 595 1821, [email protected], https://bit.ly/3BYG5Ye
10 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za From the office of the CEO Johan Maartens. National Members SAIMC NEWS In August 2022, ECSA (the Engineering Council of South Africa) asked me to provide a feasibility study on the sustainability of an automation engineering discipline for South Africa. Automation already forms part of some engineering disciplines, so what it boils down to is, should automation form part of each engineering discipline in which it is employed, (which would mean that companies in every applicable engineering field should have automation-trained staff?) Or should automation be a separate engineering discipline providing services to the other engineering disciplines? During my tenure as IT manager at Mossgas (now PetroSA), we had a severe shortage of staff with knowledge of SAP payroll software. This led us to ask ourselves, should we appoint financial staff and train them as SAP programmers, or should we select SAP staff and train them in the application of SAP software? Because no SAP staff was available (they moved abroad or moved around for more lucrative offers), we chose financial individuals. We trained them in SAP, which was a much faster process to obtain sufficient expertise for our situation. SAP training has always been excellent – having a specialist team available to train our staff formed the backbone of our decision. In the case of automation, there is no such facility available. With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, automation is the keyword. However, South Africa has no qualification with automation as its focus. Considering that there are predictions of 12 million jobs in danger of disappearing in Europe by 2040 due to ageing populations, competition and cost-cutting, South Africa needs to change its focus. Which country is best for automation? According to the International Federation of Robotics, the world´s top 10 most automated countries are (from first to tenth): Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, USA, and Belgium and Luxemburg (which are combined in the statistics). The results of my survey produced the following results: Industry involvement: • 16,3% end users. Automation as a separate engineering discipline • 10,2% suppliers. • 16,3% system integrators. • 24,5% consultants. • 12,2% education and training. Should automation be a separate engineering discipline? • Yes: 71,4%. • No: 20,4%. Which strategy should tertiary education follow? Education should investigate providing fit-for-purpose modules (this is similar to the electrical discipline which has electronic and heavy-current modules in its curricula). Modules could include building automation, factory automation or process automation specific, according to 85,4% of respondents. When you entered this industry, name three of the most important areas of skills that could have been provided through education (theory): • Programming: 31%. • Control: 20%. • Automation: 10%. • Networks: 16%. • Instrumentation: 16%. When you entered this industry, name three of the most important practical skills that could have been provided through education if the right equipment were available (practical): • Hands-on experience and fault finding: 82%. Yours in Automation, Johan Maartens
www.instrumentation.co.za September 2022 11 SAIMC NEWS The Durban branch of the SAIMC held its August technology meeting on 3 August at the Premier Splendid Inn in Pinetown. The new venue is proving to be a hit, with easy access from both Durban and the upper highway, great food and attentive service. Paul Sikhakhane of Mzukulu Technologies gave a very interesting presentation on Poka-Yoke implementation on a seat assembly line, from a system integrator’s perspective. It goes without saying that avoiding high costs associated with rework, waste of production material, recalls and tarnishing the company’s image are of paramount importance in any project. System integration involves integrating existing, often disparate systems in such a way that focuses on increasing value to the customer. Paul took the attentive audience through a series of case studies of the implementation (with the emphasis on the sensors and controllers used) of a Poka-Yoke system on an automotive production line. The first case study looked at an implementation of a ‘pick to light’ system using Durban branch The newly formed Gqueberha branch of the SAIMC is looking for new members and support from the industry as it gears up to start organising regular technology meetings and opportunities to network. The branch is headed by Professor Theo van Niekerk, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mechatronic Engineering at Nelson Mandela University. Prof. van Niekerk manages and provides academic leadership to the Nelson Mandela University’s Siemens Certified Training Centre, which runs Siemens-accredited courses in factory automation, drives and control systems for the manufacturing and related engineering industry within the Eastern Cape. If you are interested in joining the Gqueberha branch, please email branch secretary, Zandra Joubert, at [email protected] Gqueberha branch Phoenix Contact played host to the SAIMC Johannesburg branch on 17 August, with a thought-provoking presentation given by the company’s own Cameron Taylor. As the business unit manager for power solutions, Cameron put to educational use his seven years of industry experience specialising in the field of surge and lightning protection. He went into detail about the three main categories of surge and lightning events, namely ESD (electrostatic discharge – low energy), SEMP (switching electromagnetic pulses – low to medium voltages) and LEMP (lightning electromagnetic pulse – high energy, in fact high everything… very high in many cases). Videos filmed at Phoenix Contact’s test laboratory in Germany illustrated these effects in graphic, destructive detail. The protective device types (Type 1, 2 and 3) and the differences between them were examined, as were the coupling mechanisms Johannesburg branch employed, those being inductive, galvanic and capacitive. The primary takeaway was that a single protective device, or a single device type, is usually not sufficient to cater for most surge and lightning events. Instead, a cascaded approach is the wisest, and safest, course of action. Questions from the audience included South African regulations and the confusion caused by various government bodies having their fingers in the same pie, as well as considerations for the growing solar photovoltaic (PV) market. Although the same electrical principles apply, complexity is compounded with PV installations since both AC and DC circuits need to be protected, as well as the batteries that store the solar energy. Thanks go out to Cameron and the Phoenix Contact team for their hospitality and slickly presented, informative session. Branch Secretary John Owen-Ellis (left) thanking Paul Sikhakhane for his interesting presentation. Modbus, and the second looked at the use of camera inspection as an aid in quality control. The Durban branch would like to thank Paul for his presentation.
12 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za AUTOMATION PROFESSIONALS Abacus Automation supplies innovative, custom-developed technical solutions using standard PLCs, drives, scada and motion control equipment and is Siemens approved for crane automation. With 23 years in the industry, this award-winning and internationally acclaimed company has highly qualified, experienced and professional staff. It operates out of offices in KwaZulu-Natal. Tel: +27 31 702 5767 [email protected] www.abacus-automation.co.za Abacus Automation Control Software Solutions - CSS Customer-centricity allows CSS to attain a high percentage of repeat business from its growing customer base.With a solid 17 years’experience in designing customised C&A solutions, CSS partners with customers in relationships thriving on information sharing and open communication enabling them to enhance customer operations. Supplier Certification provides customers with the assurance that the CSS team is completely up to date on current trends and technology as indicated by a number of prestigious awards. Tel: +27 31 914 0040 [email protected] www.cs-solutions.co.za Moore Process Controls Moore Process Controls provides process automation and optimisation solutions to realise the maximum potential of your plant and assets. Its offerings include DCS, PLC, scada, compressor control solutions, MES, production management and predictive maintenance systems, control loop optimisation, alarm and energy management systems, plant security and access management systems, Matrikon OPC, OSi Soft, dashboards and historians, wireless and data solutions including digital twin, process simulators and training simulators and cloud-based IIoT solutions. Tel: +27 11 466 1673 [email protected] www.moore.co.za Consulting engineers, systemintegrators &project houses EHL Consulting Engineers offers comprehensive C&I services across all industries including control system design, software development and system integration; legacy system upgrades and replacements; process automation and optimisation; and IS and SIL services. Tel: +27 11 370 7400 [email protected] [email protected] www.ehl.co.za EHL Consulting Engineers Autotronix is a recognised leader in industrial automation design and implementation having attained its ISO 9001 certification. Autotronix offers its clients turnkey control system integration services for energy management, PLC/HMI/scada/VSD, manufacture of control panels, applications for water distribution and manufacturing. The company operates from offices in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Tel: +27 31 705 0400 or +27 16 422 7644 [email protected] www.autotronix.co.za Autotronix Iritron is a newmillennium technology company providing quality solutions in the fields of electrical instrumentation and control systems engineering, MES systems integration and simulations. It has a proven ability tomanage projects efficiently and produce high quality results. It has an extensive track record of successfully implementing plant infrastructure reticulation, designs, and automation and information systems. Iritron, aTUV accredited ISO 9001:2015; ISO 14001:1015 and ISO 45001:2018 as well as a GAMP®5: ARisk-BasedApproach toCompliant technology company, can offer its clients PLC, DCS, MES and scada software and hardware, as well as electrical and instrumentation design, engineering, project management and commissioning services. Tel: +27 12 349 2919 [email protected] www.iritron.co.za Iritron
www.instrumentation.co.za September 2022 13 AUTOMATION PROFESSIONALS Systems Automation and Management is a supplier of data acquisition systems and innovative automation solutions and is one of the leading integrators of PLC, scada and fieldbus systems in South Africa. The company’s comprehensive range of capabilities includes industrial networks, automation and control, scada, custom solutions, information delivery, data warehousing, hardware and software, BMS, MIS and MES. Tel: +27 11 803 0570 [email protected] www.sam.co.za SAM – Systems Automation and Management Process Dynamics specialises in industrial automation and process control. The company is one of Africa’s leaders in turnkey automation projects and specialises in the integration of scada (WINCC, PCS7, Wonderware, Citect and Ignition) and PLC ( Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell and Festo) as well as MCC and control panel manufacturing and installation. Process Dynamics is ISO 9001:2015 accredited as well as a registered CIDB company. Tel: +27 11 394 5412 [email protected] www.process-dynamics.co.za Process Dynamics Saryx Engineering Group PCS Global Philco Systems At PCS Global we understand that you’re ultimately in business tomaximise profits. This means reduced cost of ownership, increased uptime, consistent results and ultimately a solution that not only fits your budget but lets your business work whilst you’re at home with your family. To us that means providing a hassle free, customised engineering solution that exceeds your expectations. Are you ready to take your business to the next level?We are! Level 2 BBEEE , ISO 9001:2015, CIDB. Siemens, Schneider, Wonderware and Rockwell certified. Automation Innovation, it’s the new AI. Tel: +27 11 466 4172 [email protected] www.pcsglobal.com Saryx is an-award winning company whose focus lies in offering its clients the best solutions and services, taking into account their business objectives, current infrastructure and product knowledge investments. Its solutions are delivered at a value that makes sense to the client, by bringing forth industry standard best practices, intellectual capability, knowledge and infrastructure. Saryx is a BBBEE, 7EP CIDB and ISO accredited company. Tel: 086 099 5105 [email protected] www.saryx.com Proconics is a locally based multi-discipline engineering company that executes projects to improve and extend the life of factories. Proconics specialises in multi-discipline, short-term turnkey projects, featuring brownfield replacement projects as well as renewable grid connections. Tel: +27 16 982 7880 [email protected] www.proconics.co.za Philco Systems provides turnkey industrial automation solutions that are tailored to the client’s individual application, with 30 years’ experience in industrial automation design, drafting panel building, software engineering, field construction, commissioning and legacy migration. Philco Systems integrates a vast array of PLCs, VSDs, HMI, scada and instrumentation into custom solutions, which align with industry standards. At Philco we pride ourselves on building long-lasting customer relationships and have an excellent reputation for providing service and support to the clients’ automation systems. Tel: +27 35 751 1363 [email protected] www.philco.co.za Proconics What we are offering (an anually renewable subscription): South Africa’s only dedicated process control and factory automation publication. Whether you are a consulting engineer, a system integrator or a project house, we have the perfect marketing platform to put you in touch with nearly 4500 relevant control and automation practitioners in the automotive, food & beverage, mining, petrochemical, power, pulp & paper and water & wastewater industries. Name, contact details, logo and brief description of your business solution will appear in each issue of SA Instrumentation & Control magazine. Two A4 in depth editorials OR, two half page display advertisements – content of your choice. All articles will also be hosted on our website and appear in a prominent position in one of our electronic newsbriefs. PDF copies of the articles (to be used for your own purposes) will be provided after publication. Your listing will be published in a new“Choose Your Automation Professional” section of the annual SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers’ Guide and a link to your company web page in all directory listings. Contact: [email protected]
14 September 2022 www.instrumentation.co.za COVER STORY Cloud solutions provide flexible access to storage, computing power or software since data is not stored on local IT hardware, but on servers. This allows users to access information or initiate actions from different web-enabled devices, regardless of location and time. Unlike business or private clouds, industrial clouds are highly specialised. They need to address vertical integration within specific industries, support standardised communication protocols with bidirectional information flow, and meet high-security requirements. In order to process data frommachines and sensors in the cloud, filtering at the ‘outer edge’ of a local network is an important process. With edge controllers, users can define what information should be transferred to the cloud and what should remain in the OT environment instead. This reduces the data density on the servers. Communication from the field level to the cloud can take different paths. In addition to the option of connecting applications via mobile radio, existing Internet access points at the location can be used (either wired or viaWLAN). Future-proof standard protocols are OPC UA and MQTT, allowing components alongside Turck Cloud Solutions to be integrated into various clouds such as Microsoft Azure, Alibaba or AmazonWeb Services. Many companies prefer to determine the location of hosted data according to their particular needs. With Turck Cloud Solutions, users can choose to use either the infrastructure of large data centres, or their own IT capacities. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides system performance and 24/7 support for professional data centres with a selectable server location. In a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model, the cloud is instead hosted on a company’s own servers; a private cloud like this does not necessarily have to be connected to the Internet. By using Turck’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud hosting option, operations can be started quickly without exorbitant expenditure Cloud solutions for industrial applications Additional data for preprocessing Turck Cloud Solutions generates additional data in sensors and fieldbus modules. These are preprocessed in the fieldbus modules using the "Field Logic Controller" (FLC) functionality and the web-based programming environment ARGEE. What's the use? ■ Wear and aging forecasts ■ Plagiarism protection and ordering of spare parts ■ Machine performance indicators ■ No additional load on the control system Your added value! ■ Higher system availability ■ Fast remote diagnostics ■ Predictive maintenance User data with added value Turck Cloud Solutions provides pure user data on different channels. These can be analysed independently of the automation task and form a "digital shadow". What's the use? ■ Continuous data analysis ■ Creating a digital shadow ■ Traceability Your added value! ■ Efficient plant/system monitoring ■ Fast error diagnosis ■ Identifying optimisation fields Additional data for preprocessing Turck Cloud Solutions generates additional data in sensors and fieldbus modules. These are preprocessed in the fieldbus modules using the "Field Logic Controller" (FLC) functionality and the web-based programming environment ARGEE. What's the use? ■ Wear and aging forecasts Plagiarism protection and ordering of spare parts ■ Machine performance indicators No additional load on the control system Your added value! ■ Higher system availability Fast remote diagnostics Predictive maintenance User data with added value Turck Cloud Solutions provides pure user data on different channels. These can be analysed independently of the automation task and form a "digital shadow". What's the use? ■ Continuo s data analysis reating a digital shadow Traceability Your added value! ■ Efficient plant/system monitoring Fast error diagnosis Identifying optimisation fields of time and money. This effectively removes the need for industrial facilities to host their own data centres, with the added benefit and convenience that maintenance and support functions are taken care of. The Turck Cloud Solutions ecosystem offers an on-premises cloud server – either in IP20 guise for installation in a control cabinet or IP67 for installation in the field – directly on the machine. Current machine data and states can be visualised on a dashboard such as the Turck Cloud Portal. This also allows users to perform various settings and, for example, set a notification via email or SMS in case of a threshold being exceeded. The interface can be individually adapted and designed to a company’s corporate style, if desired.
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