TAKING SMART CONTROL
HOW INTELLIGENT CONTROL SYSTEMS OPTIMISE OPERATIONS
Removing dependency on individual operators
Sophisticated control ensures the same product quality and throughput regardless of who operates the plant. This both removes potential bottlenecks and / or quality concerns if certain key staff are unavailable and also avoids these staff frequently being required to work long hours, with unwelcome effect on long-term health / well-being.
Allowing operation from mobile plant
Most producers strive to achieve optimum output from their production units and reduce their operating costs whilst taking care of and retaining staff and meeting health and safety standards.
Cantech’ s extensive range of intelligent control and monitoring systems help in meeting all these aims, by:
Operating plant( s) remotely from central control rooms / offices
This often allows control of two or more process plants to be conducted by one person and provides clean, safe operating conditions away from the hazards of the plant itself, as shown above:
This frequently results in production operators working alongside other personnel( eg distribution staff) who can watch over the plant operation during breaks: this also reduces the risk of communication errors between sales and production staff and helps prevent a‘ them and us’ culture developing.
Improving throughput from existing plant
Measuring the response of important process variables eg feed / flow rates in response to changes in the raw material fed into a plant, along with monitoring plant parameters such as motor currents, pressures etc allow input into particular sections of the process to be continuously adjusted to run at optimum rate whilst minimising any tendency to overfeed, so also meaning reduced downtime( and less stress for staff) by reducing stoppages through overloads, blockages, spillage etc.
Wireless workstations allow key sections of the process to be operated from the cabs of forklifts, loading shovels, dumper trucks etc.
Eg. notifying the driver of the levels in a set of plant hoppers allows him / her to conduct other tasks on a site until a hopper level is seen to run low, rather than having frequently to return to the plant to top up; and in blend / loading operations the shovel driver can start feeders / conveyors from the cab as the vehicle arrives on the site, allowing the plant to be run without a full-time operator; and removing the need for a driver having frequently to climb in and out of the cab minimises the risk of injury from slips / falls or from other heavy vehicle movements and reduces long-term health risks which can arise from exposure to dust, fumes, noise and similar hazards in the industrial workplace.
Sending email alerts of potential issues to technical / management staff
Continuous monitoring allows comparison against expected tolerances both for the product itself( eg achieved weights, temperature or colour) and of plant items( eg motor currents, valves which do not close fully, etc).
The system records these details( with product outside expected limits highlighted, as below) and sends email alerts to nominated personnel, with different priorities reflecting severity of the issue and the responsibility of the specific individual, emphasis being on the system to alert busy personnel to problems rather than having to look for them.
A typical example( shown opposite) involves varying the feed of raw material and water flow into a washing and separating plant used to process coal, ore or gravel, to achieve both optimum throughput and effective separation.
To discuss how Cantech can achieve similar benefits for your process contact: Email: sales @ cantech-controls. com Web: www. cantech-controls. com Tel: 01491 413182
44 AUTOMATION, CONTROL & ENGINEERING