Addressing the chemical industry’s need for reliable safety technology, United Electric Controls, a provider of safety instrumentation, showcased an upgraded version of its hybrid One Series Safety Transmitter last week at Achema 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Designed solely for safety system applications, the transmitter can check temperature and pressure at the point of critical monitoring—a pump or compressor, for example-- with response times less than 100 milliseconds, providing fast alarm or emergency shutdown.
The system is certified for use in SIL 2 safety instrumented systems (SIS) and capable of SIL 3, per IEC 61508. It also has configurable self-diagnostics.
The hybrid functionality includes an analog transmitter output for newer safety systems, and discrete switch outputs for old legacy systems, making it ideal for new greenfield projects and modernization of brownfield safety systems. In addition, it incorporates the company’s OneSystem technology with an embedded switch and an embedded logic solver that takes the place of a separate PLC—which is often needed for safety systems that require separate programming and commissioning.
“Combining all of these factory tested and third-party certified components into a compact package reduces cost, labor, and human errors while improving safety,” said Will Chin, United Electric Controls’ vice president of marketing. The company claims the total installed cost of a One Series transmitter is 24 percent of the cost of a traditional process sensor SIS upgrade.
The company has had an all-on-one system before, but it was not SIL 2 certified. “There is nothing out there like this,” Chin said. “Upgrading to SIL 2 takes time,” noting the need to buy new components. “With one device and a couple of wires you can connect up and you’re good to go.”
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