NHP News Room Spring 2019 News Room FINAL | Page 4

IMPROVING EFFICIENCIES WITH REMOTE
ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
N
ew Zealand has a reputation for punching above its weight.

On the rugby field, the All Blacks have shown that it doesn’t take
a big population to achieve big things. The same determination and
ingenuity are just as evident in Kiwi businesses.
Pan Pac Forest Products Limited, New Zealand’s leading specialist in
sustainable radiata pine products, continues to prove that they are an
innovative and forward-thinking business.
Established in 1971, Pan Pac is a community-focussed company,
employing 400 permanent staff and about 450 contractors to assist in
the tree harvesting, production, engineering, and transportation of its
core forest products radiata logs, lumber, and pulp.
With one of the largest sawmills in New Zealand producing
around 2,000 cubic metres of sawn product per day, supported
by approximately 250 logging daily trucks movements to both
manufacturing plants in Whirinaki, Hawke’s Bay. A second, smaller
sawmill is located in Milburn, in the South Island. Both sites are
strategically located to provide the business with easy access to
shipping ports for exporting their products offshore.
Over the years, Pan Pac has prioritised the continuous advancement
of innovative technology to ensure efficiency across its entire supply
chain. This commitment to innovation has ensured the business now
has the capacity to export to over 17 countries around the world.
After a recent upgrade to the pulp mill, Pan Pac once again recognised
an area where they could improve efficiency by investing in an energy
management system which allows for regular monitoring. The idea
was to provide operators with the necessary information to identify
consumption trends, in order to become more energy and cost
efficient.
With two processing sites, a key objective when selecting the system
was the ability to log-in remotely to access real-time data at any time,
from anywhere. Another necessity was the ability to access records
and historical information and obtain the plant’s energy usage for
diagnostics. Pan Pac approached two local New Zealand companies to
assist with this New Zealand-first energy management system.
With a reputable track record of 46 years in business, the Napier based
switchboard team at Falcon was appointed to deliver the power
distribution centres in partnership with NHP Electrical Engineering
who designed and programmed the energy management system that
would allow Pan Pac to monitor data from each of the processing sites.
Complimenting the ACBs, Falcon implemented the Carlo Gavazzi
VMU-C web communication access master module, polling all local
ACBs via Modbus RTU on RS-485 for energy data, an Allen-Bradley®
Stratix® Managed Industrial Ethernet Switch, and an Allen-Bradley®
PanelView™ 800 Graphic Terminal to provide local visualisation of
all ACB operating alarm and energy parameters. Featuring built-in
dashboards, cost analysis, and real-time measurements, the VMU-C
Energy Management Controller allows Pan Pac to optimise its energy
and resource consumption and achieve significant energy efficiency
improvements.
“The VMU-C solution provides Pan Pac with the ability to reduce
their energy bill by negotiating network tariffs, reduce running and
maintenance costs, and identify cost savings where energy consumption
can be improved,” commented Brian Hemingway, NHP’s Business
Development – Power Distribution.
A Carlo Gavazzi EM2 server (non-subscription based) solution was
deployed on dedicated hardware located at the Pan Pac Napier site.
This was done to compile energy data from both the Milburn and
Napier power distribution centre VMU-Cs and provide visualisation of
energy performance over the Pan Pac WAN.
With integrated machine to machine functionalities, the VMU-C
is also capable of automatically transferring data via FTP, HTTP, or
MODBUS/TCP to a remote server. From here, a SCADA, BMS, or other
specific database software will be running, achieving a remote data
link between the seven power distribution centres as per the Pan Pac
specifications.
The result was real-time measurement of instantaneous variables,
including energy consumption trends and power variables shown
as graphics. This system also offered alarm controls with automatic
emailing and SMS management.
Combining the strengths of three local New Zealand companies, Pan
Pac was able to achieve the ultimate goal of receiving transparent
insights into its energy consumption to improve efficiencies in their
production processes through a powerful energy management
system.
“NHP and Falcon’s energy management system has exceeded our
expectations with the extent of the information it can extract and deliver
remotely,” said Kevin Burgess, Lumber Electrical Engineer, Pan Pac.
“NHP products in the marketplace have proven reliable and suit our
clients’ needs very well. NHP have provided us with top class service
and representation, locally and nationally, instilling confidence that we
have technical support behind the products,” said Mike Gower, Falcon’s
Switchboard Manager.
NHP, as the exclusive Rockwell Automation South Pacific distributor,
created a natural alignment partnering with Falcon. Falcon, being
both registered System Integrators with Rockwell Automation and
a CUBIC partner, was an easy choice as Pan Pac is largely a Rockwell
Automation and CUBIC site.
To meet Pan Pac’s key requirements, NHP worked with Falcon to
design and deliver seven smart power distribution centres. Falcon
designed, assembled and installed a CUBIC modular switchboard
system complying with New Zealand industrial electrical standards.
Compatible with this system, Terasaki TemPower 2 Air Circuit Breakers
(ACBs) were specified as they can be equipped with a range of
industrial communications options, allowing for easy integration. With
the option of the AGR31C over current relay, the ACBs have energy
metering functionality to provide information via EtherNet.
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(l-r): Mike Gower and Brian Hemmingway