Eka Chemicals saves 10-20% on maintenance costs using PlantWeb architecture
Eka Chemicals - an Akzo Nobel division located at Maastricht, the Netherlands - reports operational savings through the use of automation equipment and systems supplied by Emerson Process Management. The PlantWeb® digital plant architecture has enabled a reduction in maintenance costs and unscheduled shutdowns as well as improved efficiency and control.
"We have reduced our maintenance costs by 10-20 percent," said Peter Montforts of Eka. "We have done this by utilizing the remote diagnostic and calibration capabilities of the field instrumentation, coupled with the AMS(TM) Suite: Intelligent Device Manager software. During a recent process problem, the DeltaV(TM) system was interrogated, and two control valves were identified as being at the root of the problem. AMS Device Manager software was used to recalibrate the valves, which solved the problem. Previously it would have taken a considerable time to identify and rectify this type of fault."
"Since the installation of PlantWeb, unplanned shutdowns have been reduced by 10 percent," continued Peter Montforts. "We have been able to achieve this by closer monitoring of our processes. We have set conditional and deviation alarms that warn us of problems, and we can then take action to prevent a shutdown. This has also made our plant safer. Our levels of control have improved significantly, and we now have improved batch consistency and an increase in production levels."
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