Data capture and analysis from Schneider Electric SA.
A new solution for data capture and analysis in operating and monitoring applications for industrial plant has been introduced to South African industry by Schneider Electric South Africa.
“The solution combines the practical features of Vijeo Citect operating and monitoring software and the innovative context of PlantStruxure architecture to deliver key process insights that enables plant operators to handle alerts in real-time for increased productivity,” says Steve Gerber, automation product manager at Schneider Electric SA.
In the increasingly fast-paced industrial environment, plant operators need to access and capture process information and share it quickly and efficiently between all levels of plant architecture, from the process floor to the control room.
“The new PlantStruxure solution for monitoring and operating applications was designed precisely for this purpose,” adds Gerber. “Based on the powerful graphics and operational capabilities of Vijeo Citect, the PlantStruxure data visualisation system ensures fast access to key data including alarm, trend, and system diagnostics information.
“As it also has a process analyst feature, operators can easily combine trend and alarm data in one display for faster and more accurate analysis, which ultimately helps them to improve decision-making as well as overall control of their plant processes.”
Part of the PlantStruxure solution is the new, rugged Magelis BOX PC that can unify any number of HMI/BOX PC clients into a single, clustered scada system, maintaining large processes in the field to collect and monitor data closer to the processes. To maximise ease of operation, a FactoryCast HMI module enables read-only views of the programme inside the controller from any operator or maintenance station within the plant.
“The value of this is it allows the operator team to locate the reason behind a process disturbance quickly and reduce plant downtime. With the Web Client, they can also stay connected remotely to their HMI and perform level-one diagnostics without having to be onsite, by using an Internet-connected mobile device (such as a laptop or smart mobile phone) with a browser.”
PlantStruxure also helps operators to improve process security. Integrated into the scada screen, the video surveillance view complements the operational data, giving operators a bird’s eye view of ongoing processes as well as a visual validation of equipment, perimeter, zone or site.
“This significantly improves the quality of decision-making while the ability to detect potential security events also enhances the safety of field staff as well as the protection of valuable company assets and equipment,” says Gerber.
The integrated PlantStruxure solution for operating and monitoring applications is able to communicate with a large selection of PLCs, peripherals and other equipment – all from a single HMI terminal.
With the multiprotocol architecture, Gerber says users can adapt PlantStruxure into an existing system without performing a complete migration or modifying existing equipment. “There is no need to design an entirely new automation and control system from scratch. Operators also benefit from added mobility, ease of use and improved security of the application.”
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