Risk: Lack of Spare Parts Leads to Downtime
In this case, it was the processor at the client’s main pumping station that failed. This main station feeds all ancillary stations, and when its’ processor failed, the entire system was forced into manual mode. Since the system was obsolete, reliable spare parts were very difficult to find. After 6 weeks, an initial part was installed, only to fail two days later.
“With an older system, there’s not much you can do if a part fails. You’re kind of sunk,” Nicholas says. “And this particular failure was beyond repair.”
The Path Forward
To move forward, Nicholas’ team recommended a Rockwell Automation solution that included CompactLogix™ Controllers with PanelView™ Graphic Terminals for visualization.
Overall, the new system is operating as expected.
“When we put a system in, we tell our customers while you had a lot of grief with your old system this one is going to be pretty quiet. Not just because it's new, but also because it's smarter. So, if something does go wrong, they know about it right away,” Nicholas says. “But nothing has happened. It’s a boring place over there right now because everything is working.”
Opportunity: Manage Energy Use
As part of the project, Concentric Integration found an opportunity to help the customer use data to inform business outcomes by adding PowerMonitor™ to measure power use.
“There are a lot of pumps in their system, and they wanted to know power usage at each site,” Nicholas explains. “By putting power meters at each of their pumps, we can trend and pull historical data.” And because the client was already using Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk® Historian software, “we can pull data right from the PowerMonitor devices with simple add-on instructions. It was easy to implement.”
Now the client is collecting ‘tons of data they never had before. The next step is exploring what to do with that data. Future projects will be more analytical, and we’ll dive deeper into the energy discussion.”
