Client Goal

Technical Goals:

• Centralized Power Monitoring
• Energy Consumption for Plant departmental cost accounting and invoicing 
• Power Use Scheduling
  

Project Overview

At the one of the worlds’ largest Portland Cement manufacturers, the need for an updated and improved communication network to incorporate a newly designed Power Monitoring system was being challenged by the possible downtime necessary to perform the upgrade. With the demand for cement production increasing and the requirements to have a more cost effective process the Plant
looked to a Control system Integrator who had abilities to work under a definitive environment.

This environment would require knowledge of the Cement industries processes, understand electrical plant power systems, have experience in fiber optic network design and installation, and provide the data system that would come
from the Power monitoring system. And the project had to be completed without disturbing production demands.

The existing Power monitoring system had been a mixture of smaller, disparate systems installed over many years. The main system in use was a data logger utilizing pulse output wattmeters linked back to a customized DOS based software system. The old system had no migration or scaleability capabilities and would not be able to tie into a web enabled enterprise wide initiative to provide data to an OSI PI system.

In order to maximize the use of existing components, the
existing pulse inputs were brought to new PML metering units. Additional PML 7700 advanced power meter and analyzer units were added to provide diagnostic ability. Along with the power monitoring system was the requirement for the design and installation of a fiber optic Ethernet system to connect the 60+ PML units located throughout the plant.

With project planning and execution smoothly orchestrated with the client staff, the installation and commission of the network and power monitoring system was accomplished with
no loss time production. This close coordination effort with the plant engineering and maintenance personnel facilitated a high level of project satisfaction from the clients’ upper management.

Upon completion of the network and system, management personnel could now obtain realtime breakout costs for each of the mill areas: Quarry, raw mill, kiln feed, feed clinker, cement clinker, bagging operation, and large Horsepower
motor loads. By monitoring the power usage the mill has been able to decrease utility costs through controlled scheduling of finish mills. An additional benefit is the capability to monitor all meters from a central location and generate power consumption reports.

Scope of Supply

• Project management
• Design and Programming
• Selection and installation of Power monitoring
  equipment
• Training & ongoing technical support
  

The Outcome

Production Benefits

• Improved Data Access
• Improvements in power use scheduling
• Monitor power usage from central location
• Network Designed for additional capacity
• Breakout of accounting costs for plant areas