Smartstart Aids Asset-Management Software Use

GE's Smartstart for Proficy Change Management is a packaged software and services solution that is designed to get users started quickly with the company's asset-management software solution. Proficy Change Management helps organisations to assess, monitor, manage, control and lower project and maintenance costs associated with software and device management.

Smartstart delivers functionality in a low-risk, rapid manner by using a template-based approach to implementing automated change-management in plant systems. Smartstart for Proficy Change Management combines the full-featured software and a rapid engagement model to rapidly automate and improve change-management processes. Version control ensures that only one person at a time is making changes and archives the versions for reuse.

Security enables users to monitor and control access, reducing the number and seriousness of potential errors. Audit trails and reports allow users to track what has been happening with programs and devices in the plant. Automated scheduling, notification and reporting checks the integrity of what is happening on a regularly scheduled basis. A configurable interface for project organisation reduces training time and user error.

Extensive product support is pre-configured to support a variety of commonly used industrial software and devices. With Smartstart, users can fully understand and evaluate the power of Proficy for 30 days with minimal upfront cost or risk of customisation. Throughout the evaluation, companies invest only in the services that help get them started and receive the latest software licences at no cost for the duration of the evaluation period, according to the company.

Smartstart includes: access to a mix of full-featured Proficy software components; a fixed set of services to install the system, train teams and support the evaluation; a structured engagement model that leverages best practices to accelerate results; availability of an entry-priced server module, fully-featured for use with the production equipment included in the Smartstart pilot; availability of a pre-loaded, pre-configured server package to speed deployment; and access to world-class Globalcare technical support.

P4ELA Platform Aids Industrial-System Development

Commell has brought out the Industrial Micro ATX motherboard P4ELA. The P4ELA incorporates an Intel LGA775 pin-out compatible with: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9400; Intel Core 2 Duo processors E8400, E7400, E6400 and E4300; Intel Dual-Core processors E5300 and E2160; and Intel Celeron processor 440 at 1333/1066/800MHz system bus. The P4ELA platform is based on the Q45 Express chipset.

It is ideal for developing high-performance systems for industrial workstation, industrial control and automation, retail and hospitality, gaming, print imaging, digital signage, digital surveillance and network-security applications. The P4ELA mainboard has a built-in Intel Graphics Accelerator 4500 to deliver an excellent blend of graphics performance and features and support for Microsoft DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.0, enabling support for the highest levels of Windows Vista experience.

The graphic memory controller hub incorporates an updated backbone architecture that optimises available bandwidth with the 1333MHz system bus. The mainboard also supports Intel Matrix Storage Technology (MST), provides quicker access to applications and data files with RAID 0 and 10, and greater data-protection against a hard-disk drive failure with RAID 1, 5 and 10. Commell's P4ELA supports DDR3 DIMM up to 8GB and comes with PS/2 keyboard and mouse, five RS232Cs and one RS232/422/485.

Networking is provided by two Intel 82574L Giga LANs, eight USB2.0 ports, HD audio and six SATA2 interfaces. It also includes the following expansion slots: one ISA, two PCIs and one Mini PCI, one PCI-E 4X and one PCI-E 16X.

Atlas Compressor Aids Norfolk Waterway De-Silting

An Atlas Copco compressor is at the heart of an aeration system that is being used to de-silt the Denver Sluice on the River Great Ouse, near Downham Market in Norfolk. The system is using compressed air to agitate the water and overcome the build-up of silt against the tidal doors that protect the river's guillotine gates. The sluice controls the water levels over parts of the fens and prevents high tides from flooding low-lying areas.

Over the past couple of years, the Environment Agency has had to dredge up to 4m of silt from in front of the gates and downstream of Denver Lock, because only a limited amount of water had been allowed to flow from the three 'eyes' of the sluice as a result of a prolonged period of dry weather. The decision to bring the 'eyes', which include the upstream guillotine gates, back into full service was hampered by the inability to move the silted-up tidal doors (mitre gate type) protecting them.

Rob Barker, project manager from the Environment Agency, Anglian Region, sought advice from NEECA framework consultant Royal Haskoning in order to develop his concept for an aeration system. The task fell to David Goodman, principal mechanical engineer with Royal Haskoning, based in the company's Leeds office, who developed the initial concept to outline design stage and produced the specification and tender drawings for the system. The final details for the design, along with the supply and installation of the equipment, was provided by Atlas Copco's main distributor in the area, Anglian Compressors, based in Peterborough.

The complete installation comprised a GA15 VSD 15kW rotary screw compressor together with an LV500 air receiver and a PD 60 oil filter, housed in a purpose-built GRP kiosk located on site, together with associated pipework and control valves/manifolds. The aeration system comprised three concentric loops of galvanised-steel pipework installed in front of each gate. In addition, 4mm holes were drilled at 100mm intervals in sections of the pipework loops, with each concentration of holes covering a different section of the individual gate/sill.

A set of ball valves was configured to allow independent control of each loop for concentrated aeration at higher pressures and also flushing of the system in either direction. The decision to install a variable-speed drive version of the GA15 compressor - capable of delivering air at the rate of 16-48 litres per second at a pressure of 7bar(e) - was influenced by the ability of the VSD compressor to match output to demand for optimum energy efficiency and to minimise starting currents without energy penalty. The system is now operated regularly during outgoing tides, which carry the silt downstream.

Viscosity Monitoring Aids Chocolate Tempering

On-line viscometers from Hydramotion are helping to ensure that the chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand Chocolate consists of fine cocoa powder and sugar particle dispersed in a continuous fat phase (usually cocoa butter or equivalent). During production, molten chocolate must be cooled in a controlled way in order to promote the formation of small, stable fat crystals, a process known as "tempering".

Stable cocoa butter crystals provide the right qualities of texture, surface gloss and melting behaviour in the finished product. If the crystals are small enough the chocolate will taste smooth and melt in the mouth (at a temperature of about 35C) but not in the hand (at about 20C). The viscosity of melted chocolate depends directly on its fat content and the degree of tempering, so monitoring viscosity gives an immediate window into the production process.

With this in mind, a UK manufacturer of chocolate products recently installed Hydramotion XL7 on-line viscometers on pipelines to its mixing tanks as part of a global automation project. By continuously monitoring the viscosity of the liquid chocolate its fat content could be adjusted automatically in real-time, maintaining product quality and reducing wastage.

The XL7 offers high sensitivity and excellent repeatability, as well as high immunity to plant noise and vibration, providing continuous, reliable and accurate viscosity measurement regardless of variations in fluid condition. Suitable for pipe or tank mounting in any orientation, the instrument can be supplied with any size or type of sanitary fitting, including RJT, IDF or DIN quick-release tri-clamp mountings.

The sensor has a clean-in-place all-welded 316 stainless steel construction with a crevice-free design, minimising the risk of fouling or material entrapment while withstanding hostile conditions. Measurements are unaffected by stirrers, agitators, changes in flow rate or the presence of bubbles or solid particles.

Capable of being located up to 1000m from the sensor, the dedicated readout unit provides a 4-20mA analogue viscosity signal and a more comprehensive RS232 serial data link for remote monitoring or viscosity control. Factory-calibrated using certified viscosity standards traceable to NIST, the XL7 viscometer requires no field calibration and with no moving parts, seals or bearings it is virtually maintenance-free, giving a very low total lifecycle cost.