Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrader

Transcription

1 White Paper Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrader Executive Summary Field instrumentation supporting digital technologies like the HART Communication Protocol have become essential for the operation of process plants. HART is the global standard for sending and receiving digital information between a wide range of smart devices and control or monitoring systems. The 2011 expansion of Shell s Scotford Upgrader at its refinery and chemical plant in Alberta, Canada, is a good example of the relationship between a plant and its instrumentation and control system provider. During the project, Honeywell worked hand-in-hand with Shell, employing Honeywell s Field Device Manager (FDM) and Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS). The expansion won the HART Communication Foundation Plant of the Year Award for Honeywell s FDM was the first solution of its kind to enable unmodified use of both Device Description (DD) and Device Type Manager (DTM) technologies as provided from device vendors, a feature that contributed to enormous time savings during the Shell Scotford project. FDM conforms to industry open standards such as HART and other digital network protocols, and does not require additional files or programming to support devices or access device-specific features. This whitepaper looks at the inner workings and applications of various HART devices and equipment, and the technology itself. It also details the process by which Honeywell worked with Shell on the upgrader expansion, offering valuable lessons that can be embraced by energy companies around the world seeking to expand and upgrade their plants.

2 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 2 Table of Contents Background... 3 Understanding FDT/DTM technology... 3 HART multiplexers for legacy systems... 4 Modern DCS implementation... 4 Shell Leverages HART Technology... 5 Project Considerations... 6 Aggressive schedule... 6 Pre-commissioning... 6 Loop function testing and simulation... 6 Safety cause-and-effect testing... 7 Device monitoring and maintenance... 7 Safety and reliability... 9 Keys to Success... 9 Conclusion Table of Figures Figure 1: Loop function testing and process variable simulation done through HART device methods using FDM Figure 2: FDM can simulate HART devices through the FDM client and provide a device configuration report serving as a baseline configuration... 7 Figure 3: HART device status delivers important information, such as Device Malfunction, Device Insimulation and Device Variable Saturated. Most importantly, the device now has more status available Figure 4: Maintenance graphics are custom on the Experion station, offering ease of device status at a glance. A real-time diagnostic with robust status information directs maintenance to troubleshoot the device in detail.... 8

3 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 3 Background Manufacturers are increasingly turning to instrument asset management systems (IAMS) to improve their process efficiency, reduce maintenance requirements, and enhance productivity. Plants can significantly lower operating costs and limit production downtime by using a smart asset management strategy. Since most manufacturing revenue is budgeted for maintenance, these savings contribute considerably to a company's bottom line. Field devices and equipment supporting digital technologies have provided benefits to typical process plants. Digital devices deliver much useful data about the operating environment and can be utilized to prevent production losses or disruptions, enhance quality and reliability, and reduce maintenance costs. One reason for the popularity of digital device technology has been the broad adoption of the HART Communications Protocol, which provides an open standard for digitally enhanced 4-20 ma communication with smart field instruments. Most modern distributed control system (DCS) solutions include integrated HART input/output (I/O) modules that connect to smart devices. This I/O is essentially a hybrid; part of it handles the conventional 4-20 ma signal and looks very much like the old non-hart I/O, while the other part handles the digitally encoded HART signal. In any DCS, integrating an asset management system requires a means of connecting the asset management software to the HART I/O and on to the devices. While the basic protocol is similar in all control systems, the mechanism for integration is normally proprietary, with each vendor choosing an implementation approach that works best for them. At the same time, there s lots of room for some secret sauce to make better use of the limited bandwidth imposed by the HART protocol. Despite the lack of an open standard for integrating HART I/O within a DCS, automation end-users expect certain features in all DCS platforms. For example, the I/O should be able to utilize the instrument-range information from the smart HART side to automatically inform the analog side how to range the 4-20 ma output. In addition, standard HART information such as engineering units, digital process variables, and alarm information should be available to the DCS for control purposes and also be accessible from every field instrument without knowledge of the specific characteristics of the device. The HART Communication Protocol has universal commands for obtaining this information. Understanding FDT/DTM technology Many automation equipment suppliers now utilize Field Device Technology (FDT) Device Type Manager (DTM) solutions so they can present more meaningful device information. DTMs are software components that contain device-specific data, functions, presentation, and logic elements. They can range from a simple graphical user interface (GUI) for setting device parameters to highly sophisticated applications that perform complex calculations for diagnostics and maintenance purposes, or implement complex business logic for device calibration. The DTM also contains interfaces to enable communication with the connected system or tool. Device suppliers can embed intelligence in a DTM in a way that can be challenging to accomplish with Device Description (DD) or Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) files. A DTM offers many graphical constructs that cannot be expressed given the limitations of DD and EDDL technology. Moreover, the DTM is device- and revision-specific, so it has knowledge about the particular version of each device on the control network. The automation industry attaches a lot of importance to the IAMS, but it is actually the contents of the DTM that offers the most significant value for the end-user. The IAMS, in this context, serves as a container, enabling communications to the devices, a way to organize information, as well as a path to the technician or operator.

4 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 4 HART multiplexers for legacy systems Process manufacturers seeking a comprehensive instrument asset management solution based on HART technology are faced with many important choices. For example, can they utilize a solution with smart field devices connected to a control system that doesn t fully support HART I/O? Operations with legacy DCS platforms that want to use an IAMS must rely on external HART multiplexers, or MUXs, to bring digital HART messages into the IAMS. The multiplexer is used to strip off the digital HART message and provide it to the IAMS software package. The analog 4-20 ma signal is routed to a standard (non-hart enabled) analog input module while the digital signal passes through the multiplexer hardware and is transported over an RS-485 network to the instrument management system. Experience shows that HART multiplexers can offer extremely flexible and reliable solutions for handling anything from a handful to thousands of HART devices on a single network. Frequently, the MUX approach is the only way to bring older control systems forward-- unless handhelds are used or there is an upgrade for the DCS (sometimes not an option). For some operations, however, it may not be worth the investment, so only the plant can make an economic decision like this. Modern DCS implementation The preferred integration solution, as implemented by current generation DCS technology, employs HART-enabled I/O modules supporting HART digital device data along with analog 4-20 ma data. Digital device data from HART-enabled I/O is treated alongside the analog process variable data and tightly integrated into the control system environment. This enables the use of additional process variables (e.g., PV, SV, TV and FV), range information, device identification, and the device status (general and device-specific) as part of the control strategy. With HART-enabled I/O, device diagnostics can be tightly integrated into the DCS alarm/event subsystem and asset management applications. There is no need for separate instrument monitoring systems or packages. Instrument alarming is either handled in the software used for configuration, troubleshooting and diagnostics, or, preferably, in the control system itself, where alarms can be directed to maintenance technicians. Some automation suppliers have developed robust IAMS solutions designed to communicate with HART devices connected to HARTenabled DCS I/O, external hardware multiplexers, remote I/O systems, safety systems, and HART modems. These solutions provide instrument engineers, technicians and maintenance personnel the tools to enable remote device management. Faulty instruments and those in need of diagnosis are automatically identified and classified. Integrated with the HART I/O safety system, for example, these solutions use live data from connected devices to establish database records and assign templates. Maintenance personnel can then compare the configuration of one device against another device or against previously stored configurations of the same or different devices. Device management solutions can also employ a technique known as MUX monitoring to bring non-integrated HART data to the control room. This allows plant personnel to monitor HART devices on hardware multiplexer/remote I/O networks and provide alerts from these devices to the DCS alarm and event system. This approach simplifies migration from legacy control systems to newer DCS platforms while retaining installed field devices and the value of smart instrumentation. Given the HART protocol capabilities, companies around the world are increasingly using diagnostic data from their HART smart instruments. HART field devices contain valuable information regarding the device's health. Having this data available provides plant personnel confidence in the integrity of the process measurement as well as immediate notification of any problem or failure. Despite

5 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 5 ongoing advancements in intelligent instrumentation, the value of smart devices cannot be realized without a capable instrument asset management system. From a maintenance perspective, a HART-enabled asset management solution allows an entire plant to be monitored from a single location, with fault diagnosis often performed remotely. Many HART instruments provide additional status information that can be used for predictive maintenance and replacement of equipment as needed. This results in fewer maintenance trips and process disruptions, not to mention a high level of system availability and confidence. Shell Leverages HART Technology Canada s province of Alberta is home to the world s largest oil sands reserves. Many energy companies operating in Alberta have been building new facilities or adding new capacity to existing ones to meet burgeoning oil demand. In 2011, Shell commissioned a 100,000 barrel per day (bpd) expansion to its existing 155,000 bpd capacity Scotford Upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan. The upgrader processes "extra heavy" crude oil (or bitumen) from the Muskeg River Mine into a range of synthetic crude oils. Most of the output is refined at the adjacent Shell Scotford refinery; the facility also houses a chemical plant. Supporting a safe and timely expansion start-up meant Scotford s instrumentation team had to work quickly and efficiently with minimal mistakes. The Shell team charged with this challenge found that HART technology provided a way to streamline testing and pre-configuration of devices so when they were installed, everything was ready for a smooth start-up run. The team also called on Honeywell, which provided its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) and Field Device Manager (FDM). Honeywell engineer Japankumar Shah and Shell lead instrumentation technologist Andy Bahniuk worked hands-on through the process that brought the upgrader control system online. Their collaboration, along with other project team members, earned the Scotford Upgrader the 2011 HART Plant of the Year Award, presented by the HART Communication Foundation to recognize innovative use of HART technology in real-time industrial process plant applications. FDM was designed from the ground up to conform to industry open standards such as HART and does not require additional files or programming to support devices or access device-specific features. This includes unmodified use of both DD and DTM technologies as provided by the device vendors. FDM enables end-users to overcome interoperability issues within open system architectures. It also enables more efficient maintenance and reduces the risk of unplanned shutdowns. As demonstrated on the Shell Scotford Upgrader project, Honeywell s FDM simplifies maintenance tasks, saves time and provides the flexibility and scalability to perform complete device configuration and management tasks in the plant environment through smart plant instrumentation. Its user interface and supported functions are the same regardless of whether the device is connected to the Experion HART I/O, HART hardware multiplexers, HART modems, or other digital device networks. FDM automatically highlights instruments that have faults or need diagnosis in a separate menu. Faults are identified and classified automatically, without the need for special setup. FDM uses a unique remote communication infrastructure that allows widely distributed devices to communicate over a local or wide area network, providing anytime, anywhere access in the plant environment. The solution requires no point engineering or database building. Once the communication networks are configured, FDM automatically detects smart devices and adds them to the database. This saves considerable time for commissioning, troubleshooting or just performing routine maintenance.

6 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 6 Project Considerations Aggressive schedule On the Scotford Upgrader expansion project, the Shell team knew it faced several obstacles: How would they safely program and commission the 1,200 HART devices from 26 vendors in a timely fashion? How would they gain the trust of upper management and operations personnel during loop checks and control narrative testing to guarantee a flawless start-up and continued smooth plant operation? And how could they maintain daily instrument trouble-shooting and preventable and predictable ongoing maintenance? The answers proved surprisingly easy given the capabilities of HART communications and a flexible asset management system employing the FDM solution. FDM can handle the bulk of changes and assures error-free repeatable results while changes are recorded and retrievable. FDM in the Scotford plant s centralized control room gathers all HART device information, either by a network of MTL multiplexers, or the Honeywell DCS Series C HART I/O. Most of the HART instruments were connected to the Honeywell safety system or to third-party vendor skids. Other, more critical instruments are used for regulatory control with more conventional HARTenabled 4-20 ma control. The existing Shell Scotford facilities had experienced success with the HART protocol, but were using only some of the capability of the technology. With an interest in leveraging the full intelligence of their HART-enabled devices, the upgrader expansion project team got approval to broaden the application of HART on this project beyond the use of handheld device configuration. This decision made valuable device information available to staff in operations, maintenance and instrumentation. Pre-commissioning As might be expected, issues beyond the control of project participants surfaced during the upgrader expansion. For instance, measurement and control devices were to be shipped pre-configured, but the devices arrived un-configured. This meant the control automation team (Honeywell, Bechtel and Shell) had to download 1,200 instruments with varying ranges, engineering units, NAMUR values, and transmitter body temperature alarms. Honeywell s proposed solution was FDM with the use of an offline configuration tool for the bulk of changes and then an online configuration for a few remaining changes. Bulk changes from the database source ensured that quality was not compromised and changes were done in a timely manner. A quick and centralized method ensured accurate field device records that were well coordinated with the testing process. This saved a significant amount of time during pre-commissioning. A database was created to provide these values in tabular form and a systematic process of 24/7 transmitter downloading was established to load critical values quickly. It cannot be stressed enough how important the time saving element of this process was, and how it enabled Shell to proceed with the next steps of commissioning loop function and control narrative testing. Loop function testing and simulation Loop function testing and process variable simulation was done through HART device methods using FDM. The FDM client provides all methods listed in a client window, making it easy to find and start loop testing. As a result, loop-testing teams required no training to run methods and complete testing. All testing was centralized from one location and overseen by both operations and engineering units. In some cases where a device couldn t be tested without the process present such as a Vortex or Ultrasonic flowmeter testing with device methods provided a perfect substitute. This ensured both the operator and engineer could have complete confidence that all field devices functioned properly. This method also confirmed all critical parameters were loaded successfully and completed in 30 percent of the time normally required while the potential for human error associated with this work was eliminated.

7 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 7 Figure 1: Loop function testing and process variable simulation done through HART device methods using FDM. Safety cause-and-effect testing Using FDM during narrative and safety cause & effect critical testing allowed operators and engineers to simulate and walk through different process scenarios. FDM can simulate a number of devices through the FDM client. It also provides a device configuration report, which serves as a baseline configuration. This testing saved considerable time before the upgrader expansion s final commissioning phase and start-up. Critical and complex safety narratives involved more than 15 inputs and multiple outputs. Shell now uses this configuration for all future changes and device replacement, if required. Using FDM and simulating these inputs from the control room enabled Shell to test and complete the commissioning with confidence at half the time it would normally take. Figure 2: FDM can simulate HART devices through the FDM client and provide a device configuration report serving as a baseline configuration. Device monitoring and maintenance On the Scotford Upgrader, Experion PKS provides diagnostic information for all connected HART devices, and Honeywell and Shell engineers took full advantage of this platform. Shell now uses HART status byte information to show device health status on maintenance graphics. HART device status gives important information, such as Device Malfunction, Device In-simulation, Device Variable Saturated and, most importantly, the device now has more status available.

8 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 8 Figure 3: HART device status delivers important information, such as Device Malfunction, Device In-simulation and Device Variable Saturated. Most importantly, the device now has more status available. Also, maintenance graphics are custom on the Experion station. These graphics create visual ease-of-device status at a glance. A realtime device diagnostic with more status available directs maintenance to troubleshoot the device in detail. This has greatly reduced troubleshooting time, and finding the bad actors is now relatively easy. Figure 4: Maintenance graphics are custom on the Experion station, offering ease of device status at a glance. A real-time diagnostic with robust status information directs maintenance to troubleshoot the device in detail. In addition, templates for valve positioners in the Experion system use digital variables such as valve current position read-back value. This information is passed on to HART Fourth Variable for Series C and multiplexer-connected (via FDM gateway) devices. It is also used on graphics to show the correct position feedback, eliminating the need for external hardware. The result has been savings of approximately $2,000 per valve. Templates for transmitters in the Experion system employed the transmitter body temperature as a secondary variable. The temperature is passed on to operator graphics for live monitoring and surveillance. During the long, cold winters in Alberta, the temperature can drop to as low as minus-45 degrees Celsius; monitoring the status of the heaters is critical to ensure the facility s safe operation. To protect the upgrader instruments from freezing, transmitters were mounted in insulated enclosures with heaters. This has helped Shell improve the efficiency of annual preventative maintenance on heater boxes, with savings of more than $200,000 per year.

9 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 9 FDM also provides a central location for device configuration and historization, which is invaluable during the lifecycle of a HART device. Simple re-calibration, parameter checks, and device diagnostics can be performed right from the central control room. In the case of instrument replacement, all parameters are stored in a central location and can be readily downloaded to a new device. When considering the expense of permits and gas testing, as well as having to carry a hand-held device to each individual transmitter, the cost savings is in the magnitude of $100,000 a year. Safety and reliability At Shell, safe and reliable operation is a core value. From the beginning, Shell took important steps to ensure the focus on a safe and steady start-up was the priority throughout the process. During the initial project phase, Shell decided to use the NAMUR settings to prevent spurious trips or unsafe operations caused by faulty transmitters. HART devices compliant with NAMUR standard values provided that infrastructure. Risk of instrument failure tends to be higher during the start-up and by setting device compliance to NAMUR standard values, the Scotford facility could ensure that its upgrader start-up went smoothly and without any major instrument issues. A partial-stroke testing function was required on some critical furnace gas valves to have a higher safety integrity level (SIL) rating to ensure safety and reliability. The Partial Stroke Test (PST) supports function testing of valves without the need to isolate them from the process. With the PST process, the respective valve is moved by about 5% to 15% during normal process operation. This testing supports on-demand diagnosis of actuators and reduces the Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD). Honeywell FDM connected to these safety valves through MTL multiplexers, which provided the infrastructure to achieve this. Honeywell FDM with Metso valve guard DTM can execute the PST to provide a sophisticated and quick solution, while Honeywell FDM with Experion PKS opens a virtual window and unlocks the power of HART for any measurement device. All HART devices during the upgrader expansion were plug-andplay, connected through FDM. This provided the advantage of EDDL and FDT/DTM technology without additional testing. Keys to Success Shell realized during the project s early phase that FDM, combined with Experion PKS, could provide a platform to take advantage of smart HART instrumentation. This data can be used not only during commissioning, but also during normal operation and maintenance. FDM and Experion PKS provide a plug-and-play platform for all HART devices. FDM also allows for the addition of EDDL and FDT/DTM technology without additional testing. Shell uses Honeywell Series C HART I/O and Honeywell FDM gateways (for multiplexer-connected devices) to bring HART data to the Experion platform. Additionally, Honeywell provided templates for standardizing HART variables coming from field instruments. HART digital signals bring additional digital variables, including PV, SV, TV and FV. This data can be employed in the plant control system for control or graphics display. The instrument asset management solution provided Shell with the following benefits: Fast and safe device configuration and programming, as well as the commissioning of 1,200 HART devices from 26 vendors. Loop function testing and process variable simulation performed in 30% of the time normally required, with no potential for human error. Simulation of critical and complex safety narratives involving more than 15 inputs and multiple outputs for more than 50% of overall time saving. Elimination of the need to add external hardware to more than 700 smart valve positioners, saving about $2,000 per valve. Ability to monitor secondary transmitter temperature variables remotely for improved efficiency in preventive maintenance on heated instrument boxes, saving more than $200,000 per year. Re-calibration, parameter checks and device diagnostics performed from a central control room rather than at each individual transmitter location, providing savings of $100,000 per year.

10 Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager Provide Award-winning HART Solution for Shell Upgrade 10 Conclusion The Honeywell FDM solution provided excellent tools for Shell s Scotford Upgrader expansion from pre-commissioning to maintenance. Shell and Honeywell identified critical phases where FDM was invaluable. The process went from Pre-commissioning -> Logic Test -> Flawless Start-up -> Maintenance. Teamwork undoubtedly played a major role in the success of the upgrader expansion, with Shell and Honeywell professionals demonstrating tremendous dedication to executing this complex project under a tight deadline, earning the recognition of industry colleagues from around the world. The HART Communication Foundation (HCF) recognizes outstanding plant projects, and in 2011, its Plant of the Year award went to Shell Scotford. Experion is a registered trademark of Honeywell International Inc. For More Information Learn more about how Honeywell s Experion PKS and Field Device Manager solutions can improve project execution, visit our website or contact your Honeywell account manager. Honeywell Process Solutions Honeywell 1250 West Sam Houston Parkway South Houston, TX Honeywell House, Arlington Business Park Bracknell, Berkshire, England RG12 1EB UK Shanghai City Centre, 100 Junyi Road Shanghai, China WP ENG October Honeywell International Inc.