By one recent measure, at least, the most notable work in process instrumentation communication these days is taking place in Asia. Plants in Japan and China recently grabbed two top awards from the Hart Communication Foundation (HCF, www.hartcomm.org), the Austin, Texas-based organization that oversees the Hart Communication protocol used in intelligent process measurement and control field devices.

The HCF announced on Dec. 18 that it had selected the Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. ethylene plant in Kashima, Japan, as recipient of the 2009 Hart Plant of the Year Award. Then on Jan. 13, HCF said that the Evonik Degussa Specialty Chemicals Co. , in Shanghai, P.R. China, is being recognized with the Hart Innovative Achievement Award.

The Plant of the Year award won by Mitsubishi is given annually to recognize the people, companies and plant sites around the globe that are using the advanced capabilities of Hart communication in real-time applications to improve operations, lower costs and increase availability. The Innovative Achievement Award given to Evonik Degussa is presented to recognize exceptional achievement, ingenuity and innovation in using the power of Hart communication in real-time applications, HCF said.

Plant-wide deployment

What prompted the Innovative Achievement Award to the Chinese specialty chemical maker? Following research on the use of Hart in all phases of the plant life cycle, engineers at Evonik decided to use Hart communication throughout their new methacrylates production complex, including design, construction, device configuration, loop check, operations, maintenance and troubleshooting. The complex has more than 2000 Hart-enabled instruments and valves installed from multiple global manufacturers.

“We were impressed with how extensively this greenfield project used the appropriate design and equipment necessary to take full advantage of Hart technology and the intelligence of smart field devices,” explains Ron Helson, HCF executive director. “Integrating Hart data into their DCS (distributed control system) and asset management systems provides full-time access to valuable device and process information that is often overlooked. Providing this real-time information to operations and maintenance personnel lowers operating costs and improves plant availability.”

For its part—as the 2009 Hart Plant of the Year winner—the Mitsubishi Chemical plant is using the Hart communication capability of more than 800 interoperable field devices integrated with its DCS and asset management systems through multiplexers and Hart-enabled input/outputs (I/Os) to access real-time continuous process variables and diagnostics. By accessing this real-time intelligent data, the company is able to diagnose abnormal process conditions and track equipment health 24 hours a day. As a result, peak production performance has improved with an estimated operational savings for the plant of $20,000 to $30,000 per day.

Diagnostics also are used at the Japanese plant to uncover device failures before they affect the process. It is estimated that two or three device failures have been detected that would have caused unplanned shutdowns. An unscheduled plant shutdown costs an estimated $600,000 in lost production per day with a minimum production restart time of five days ($3 million USD total savings).  

Reduced costs

“Diagnostic parameters that help detect signs of an abnormal situation or degrading performance are difficult to obtain with simple handheld devices because they require a time-consuming, manual, step-by-step approach,” says Takayuki Aoyama, team leader, instrumentation group, Mitsubishi Chemical. “Hart technology made it possible to access this data without manual operation. This made it much easier for us to gather data and detect abnormal situations from field devices and has reduced maintenance costs by 10 percent.”

In addition, trending and analysis of secondary process variables throughout the plant provide process insight that has allowed plant engineers to analyze, troubleshoot and resolve a number of operational problems including plugged impulse lines, an unstable flow profile, and an inefficient compressor pump.

“We have designated Hart as our standard communication protocol and will replace (older) devices with Hart-type whenever we get a chance,” says Takayuki. “We use Hart communication to collect online data from our field devices without disturbing the 4-20 milliamp (mA) analog signal to the control system. Our goal is to detect abnormal situations in the process and protect field devices from malfunctions.”

“Mitsubishi Chemical is a perfect example of how the power of Hart can be used to lower costs, improve plant availability and help keep a plant competitive,” says HCF’s Helson. “We congratulate Mitsubishi Chemical on their innovative use of Hart Communication in applications that not only benefit their company, but also serve as a powerful model for industry users worldwide—a working illustration of how to realize far greater benefits from HART Communication than ever before.” ...