Established in January 2000, engineering company Iritron has a team which boasts an extensive track record of successful implementation of plant infrastructure, reticulation, electrical and instrumentation designs and automation and information systems. “In more mature environments Iritron’s involvement tends towards engineering and operator training simulators and scheduling and optimisation systems,” says MD Alwyn Rautenbach. Clients include the cement, aggregates, mining, minerals processing, metals and utilities industries.
“We have a number of synergistic divisions within the company, including systems integration,” Rautenbach explains. “This division complements the operations of the electrical (motor control) and instrumentation (sensors and process control systems) design and engineering departments. The service offering is rounded out by our cabling supply and installation facility.”
In the Cape Iritron is an official distributor for Rockwell and Schneider products. Iritron is also a systems integrator countrywide for GE Intelligent Systems, Siemens, Adroit, Wonderware, Rockwell and Schneider products. “We are in fact one of only 10 systems integrators for Wonderware products in the country,” says Rautenbach. The company is ISO 9001/2008 accredited for quality systems, giving clients the assurance of the highest standards in product application.
Rautenbach points out that the company outsources the manufacturing of control panels and motor control centres and any installation work required. “We have a vested interest in Selepi Projects who are electrical panel manufacturers and also in Iritron Products for the automation side of our business.
“Iritron is focused on being as efficient as possible in terms of electrical and instrumentation design and as such we utilise the 1Des software in the form of FDES (Fieldbus) and EDES (electrical). We also use Rebus and INtools,” says Rautenbach. “We are constantly looking for innovative ways in which to service the needs of our clients. In a very exciting move, we have secured the sole agency for the DAD (Dynamic Asset Documentation) system which is already well known overseas.
“This revolutionary design package dispenses with reams of paper,” Rautenbach explains. DAD is an Australian software application that builds a virtual model for systems of connected components such as electrical power, instrumentation and control, communications and IT systems. It can store all related systems information securely and deliver a complete audit path for any work.
Rautenbach says that a virtual model is inherently more accurate and efficient than current documentation as each piece of information is stored only once. DAD tracks all changes but also maintains the very first drawing done so that it is still available even after subsequent changes.
“By using DAD you eliminate the need for drafting skills and CAD yet can continue to deliver standard graphical presentation of connections. The system is so versatile that it can be interconnected to a company’s existing design and engineering packages, including standard CAD software,” he explains. “DAD is flexible, so you can readily modify the model at any time to meet new requirements.”
Rautenbach believes that this software, developed by an instrumentation engineer, has amazing potential for the project management environment. “As a pilot test we are currently running the system on two projects and then we will launch it to the market. We have already sent a team of our engineers over to Australia for training on the intricacies of the system.”
Like other divisions in the Iritron group, Systems Integration maintains the philosophy of: ‘We don’t send out unproven systems’. In essence, this means that all software used or developed by the company is tested against an I/O simulation. “We take the third party software and reproduce the plant as it would be in reality. We test the scada and PLC systems against this virtual plant to ensure full compatibility, and therefore, full satisfaction for our clients,” Rautenbach concludes.
For more information contact Mariëtta Bettman, Iritron, +27 (0)12 349 2919, [email protected], www.iritron.co.za
| Tel: | +27 12 349 2919 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.iritron.co.za |
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