Second failsafe control system contributes to a safer SAPREF

September 2001 Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring

Efficient fire and gas detection in conjunction with spot-on emergency shutdown procedures in a petroleum refinery is critical to ensuring a working environment that complies with international occupational health and safety standards.

Assuring the lives of personnel whilst still maintaining optimal plant performance, Honeywell Safety Management Systems (HSMS), in collaboration with UIC Automation, has recently supplied another failsafe control (FSC) system to SAPREF Durban; this time on the fire and gas detection system. The new system is due to be fully operational and commissioned later this year. This is the second FSC to be supplied to SAPREF by Honeywell; the first will be used to monitor critical process parameters at the refinery's bitumen blending plant.

Overall plant control at the SAPREF refinery is achieved using Honeywell's TPS distributed control system. Tightly integrated with the DCS, the new FSC, which replaces an outdated shutdown system, will control all emergency shutdown procedures resulting from the detection of fire or gas.

The FSC will continuously monitor control system operation to ensure optimal response to defined process demands. Furthermore, the extensive system and field diagnostics will support plant operators in assessing the consequences of faults for process operation, and aid maintenance engineers in allocating and resolving detected problems efficiently and effectively.

"FSC is a modular system specifically designed for safety-critical applications that can be tailored to the needs of any application. The failsafe control (FSC) system is a microprocessor-based control system for safety applications. The system can be configured in a number of different basic arrangements depending on the requirement class of the process and the availability required. The safety of the FSC system is obtained through its specific design for these applications. This design includes facilities for self-testing of all FSC modules through software and specialised hardware based on a failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) for each module. I/O sections contain the modules that link the processors to the plant and, in the case of SAPREF, the use of nonredundant I/O sections made the project extremely economical thereby complying with the customers brief to us," says Vijen Beepath, a leading engineer at HSMS.

Adolf Stecher of UIC Automation added that the co-operation between Honeywell and UIC Automation in delivering a tailor made solution to SAPREF was facilitated by the easy integration of the FSC into the existing TPS control application. "Furthermore, having Honeywell engineers on site will enable fast, efficient training of SAPREF personnel on the finer aspects of the FSC system," he said.

Honeywell's FSC is a leading process safeguarding system used in safety-critical applications all around the globe. As an integrated part of Honeywell's TotalPlant Solution, PlantScape, or in standalone configurations, FSC-based safeguarding solutions form a comprehensive foundation for functional safety, providing protection of people, plant and the environment combined with optimum availability of plant operation.

Honeywell has dedicated extensive worldwide resources to supporting the automation needs of the oil industry. Its extensive experience and expertise in optimising refinery and petrochemical operations can help improve productivity and meet business objectives with less risk and capital.

Honeywell Southern Africa

(011) 805 1201

[email protected]

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