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The Economic Impact of Digital Bus
Technology on New Plant Construction, a study conducted by JDI
Contracts Inc., found that the digital bus approach to new
plant construction provided opportunities for reduced costs in
the areas of system selection, engineering, construction,
startup and overheads.
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PITTSBURGH, PA (December 9, 2003) — Emerson Process Management is
applying PlantWeb® digital plant architecture to help power industry
customers substantially reduce costs in new coal plant design and
development. Proven in thousands of installations across industries
worldwide, the technologies of PlantWeb incorporate high-speed
communications networks, intelligent field devices and bus I/O
technologies.
“We’ve experienced firsthand in other industries how the early
adoption of PlantWeb digital plant architecture dramatically impacts
costs – not just initially, but for years down the road,” said Al
Novak, business development manager, new coal-fired generation,
Power & Water Solutions industry center of Emerson Process
Management. “Because of the opportunities for substantial cost
savings and operational benefits, Emerson is committed to helping
the power generation industry adopt this approach.”
Study Reinforces Benefits to Digital Automation
Architecture Approach
The integrated, intelligent and
highly automated PlantWeb approach advocated by Emerson is validated
by “The Economic Impact of Digital Bus Technology on New Plant
Construction,” a study conducted by JDI Contracts Inc., and released
today at POWER-GEN International 2003. The study identified and
compared construction costs for two approaches to instrumentation
& control (I&C) system implementation for an $840 million,
600 megawatt pulverized coal-fired supercritical power plant.
The traditional approach used an Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC)
model and featured an I&C system in which field signals are
hardwired to I/O cards using dedicated cables. The digital I/O bus
approach, which used an alternative selection process – PEpC
(Procure strategic suppliers, Engineer, procure balance of plant and
Construct) – featured an integrated system of high-speed field
communications networks, intelligent field devices and bus I/O
technologies. This approach also used traditional I/O for certain
high-speed and safety-related loops.
The study indicated it was possible to reduce costs in all areas
studied by following a digital bus approach. In total, costs
associated with new plant construction for a traditional I&C
system were approximately $50.1 million, compared with $30.4 million
for the digital I/O bus approach, resulting in a savings of more
than $19 million (39.4 percent), or $2,000 per I/O point.
PlantWeb: A Proven, Powerful Digital
Solution
For Emerson customers, PlantWeb is the
blueprint for implementing a comprehensive, digital solution that
delivers installed cost savings and operations savings. A key
deliverable of PlantWeb is predictive intelligence – the ability to
constantly monitor actual equipment condition and use the
information to predict when a problem is likely to occur. This is
made possible through the integration of intelligent HART and
Foundation™ fieldbus instruments – including transmitters, analyzers
and digital valve controllers – that use on-board microprocessors
and diagnostic software to monitor equipment health and performance,
as well as process performance, and indicate when a problem is going
to occur or maintenance is needed.
PlantWeb’s predictive intelligence is further enhanced by
Emerson’s AMS™ Suite of software applications that capture and
analyze information about mechanical equipment, electrical systems,
process equipment, instruments and valves, thereby providing a
window into plant operations. Using communications standards like
HART, Foundation fieldbus and OPC, as well as the AMS Suite,
PlantWeb delivers plant intelligence where and when it’s needed
through Emerson’s Ovation® and DeltaV™ digital automation systems.
“Time and again we’ve seen how PlantWeb translates into reduced
costs and optimized plant performance,” said Novak.
As an example, significant savings in commissioning costs are
possible, according to Novak, because the PlantWeb architecture
makes device installation, communications verification and
troubleshooting less labor and time intensive. “Technicians don’t
need to go into the field to manually verify the identity and
communication links of every device, because the control system
automatically senses and addresses the devices as they are
connected,” he explained.
Novak points out that the PlantWeb approach has gained wide
acceptance in other industries with customers in the chemical, pulp
and paper, and oil and gas industries documenting savings such as 50
percent reduction in commissioning time, 65 percent savings in
wiring costs, and significant reduction in the total number of loop
and electrical drawings.
Italy’s ENEL Power, an early adopter of bus technology for
application in the power generation industry, observed that PlantWeb
resulted in a 45 percent reduction in commissioning time over a
traditional (hard-wired) approach. “We want to continue to
demonstrate to the power industry how standardizing on digital bus
technology during initial project scoping and development creates
tremendous opportunities for savings,” said Novak.
Sustainable Results, Long-term Savings
In
addition to reducing engineering, construction and start-up costs,
the digital architecture approach also translates into long-term
operational and maintenance cost savings due to the efficiencies
made possible with a highly automated, intelligent plant. For
example, the study indicates that utilization of an advanced asset
management system can prevent forced outages by detecting and
diagnosing potential equipment problems before they occur. The
implications of this are significant, because the ability to
potentially save two forced outages per year over 30 years can
translate into savings of more than $8 million, according to the
study.
Based on experience in other industries, Emerson envisions the
power industry will realize operational savings resulting from
increased plant availability, heat rate improvement, reduced
maintenance costs and other operational efficiencies.
According to Novak, the biggest hurdle to early adoption of a
multi-faceted digital architecture is convincing utility
stakeholders that this approach translates into meaningful,
measurable results.
“Emerson understands that this is a new concept for the power
industry, but the bottom line is that the savings are real and the
technology is proven,” said Novak. “Emerson looks forward to helping
developers, architect engineers, owners and operators who are the
stakeholders in new power generation facilities realize the tangible
benefits that are possible by building and operating a highly
automated, state-of-the-art plant.”
About Emerson Process
Management
Emerson Process Management (http://www.emersonprocess.com/),
an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate
their production, processing and distribution in the power, water
and wastewater treatment, chemical, oil and gas, refining, pulp and
paper, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and other industries.
Emerson’s Power & Water Solutions division (http://www.emersonprocess-powerwater.com/),
formerly Westinghouse Process Control, is a global supplier of
advanced distributed process control and information systems. The
Pittsburgh-based company is a recognized leader in developing
plant-wide process control solutions for the power generation, water
treatment and wastewater treatment industries. Power & Water
Solutions plays a key role in the Emerson mission of combining
superior products and technology with industry-specific engineering,
consulting, project management and maintenance services. Emerson
brands include: PlantWeb® ; Ovation® ; SmartProcess® ; Fisher® ;
MicroMotion® ; Rosemount®; DeltaV™; and AMS™ Suite.
About
Emerson
St. Louis-based Emerson (http://www.gotoemerson.com/)
is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together
to provide innovative solutions to customers in process control;
electronics and telecommunications; industrial automation; heating,
ventilating and air conditioning; and appliance and tools. Sales in
fiscal 2003 were $14 billion.
# # #
Ovation, SureService, SmartProcess, PlantWeb, Fisher, Micro
Motion, Rosemount, AMS™ Suite and DeltaV are marks of Emerson
Process Management. Other marks are the property of their respective
owners.
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