Process, specialty and intermediates
Chemical & process
Chemical plants are continuous or batch processes where the control system is central rather than supporting, and where alarm quality has a direct relationship with safety. The engineering standard here is higher, and the consequences of getting it wrong are not commercial.
What goes wrong
Typical problems in chemical
If more than two of these are familiar, there is a first project here worth doing.
- 01
Alarm floods during upsets, causing operators to ignore alarms generally
- 02
Batch records assembled manually from several sources
- 03
Process conditions logged but never analysed for yield or quality correlation
- 04
Environmental parameters reported periodically rather than monitored continuously
- 05
SCADA running on an unsupported operating system with no upgrade path defined
What we build
Solutions for chemical
- 01
Alarm rationalisation
Every alarm justified by consequence and required action, with priorities and deadbands set to eliminate chatter. Usually the highest-value improvement available on an existing system.
- 02
Batch and recipe control
Recipe-driven sequencing with parameter enforcement and a complete, automatically assembled batch record.
- 03
SCADA modernisation
Migration from unsupported platforms with history preserved and cut-over phased area by area.
- 04
Environmental and emissions monitoring
Continuous monitoring with alerting and reporting suitable for regulatory submission.
- 05
Process data analysis
Yield, quality and energy correlated against process conditions, which is where the improvement opportunities in a stable process usually are.
Technology
What is typically involved
- SCADA and DCS integration
- Batch control structured to ISA-88 concepts where appropriate
- Historian design for process trend analysis
- Coordination with safety instrumented systems, engineered by a qualified safety engineer
- Continuous emissions and effluent monitoring
- Segmented OT network architecture
Outcomes
What changes
Described rather than quantified — we do not publish numbers we have not measured for you.
- Alarm rate reduced to a level operators can act on
- Batch records assembled automatically
- Process history usable for yield and quality investigation
- Environmental reporting produced from continuous data
- A supported, maintainable supervisory platform
Capabilities
Most relevant here
- SCADA DevelopmentSCADA design, implementation, migration and integration.
- Industrial AutomationControl system design, panel engineering, machine and line automation.
- Edge Computing & GatewaysIndustrial gateways, protocol conversion and processing at the plant.
- Predictive MaintenanceCondition monitoring and early warning on critical assets.
- System IntegrationConnecting plant systems to ERP, MES and the rest of the business.
Questions
Chemical — common questions
Do you work on safety instrumented systems?
We coordinate with them; we do not design or certify safety functions unless the engagement explicitly includes a qualified functional safety engineer. The basic process control system and the safety system must be independent, and we design to preserve that independence. We are explicit about this boundary before contracting rather than during commissioning.
How much difference does alarm rationalisation actually make?
On systems that have never had it, a great deal. Plants commonly run at alarm rates far above what a person can process, which means the alarm system has stopped functioning as a safety layer. Rationalisation is largely engineering analysis rather than new equipment, so it is also one of the least capital-intensive improvements available.
Tell us about your chemical plant
What runs on your floor, and what you cannot currently answer. We will tell you what is readable today and what a first phase would involve.