TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT
AUTOMATED RISK
REDUCTION
JOHN LEADBETTER, VEGA AUSTRALIA SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, EXPLAINS WHY PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE CAN PREVENT DAMAGE TO BUSINESS ASSETS AND ENSURE HIGHER SAFETY LEVELS.
A
number of unique challenges are associated with bitumen’s highlyviscous chemical composition. The most notable, the risk of over-pressurisation and subsequent tank explosion, is caused by heating bitumen at extreme temperatures for liquification. Over-pressurisation results from rising gases in a confined space, and when paired with highly flammable material, creates a potentially hazardous environment. Given bitumen’s central application requires it to function as a liquid, heating the material in an emulsion tank is unavoidable. To avoid explosive risk, asphalt plants are engaging safety instrumentation systems, such as VEGA radar sensors and pressure-level transmitters. These units facilitate preventative maintenance by alerting users to potential problems before they arise. John Leadbetter, VEGA Australia Senior Managing Director, says it’s important to note that safety instruments themselves also require oversight and testing. “As is often the case when dealing with high-risk material, this usually takes the form of proof testing to ensure the unit is working at its optimum level,” Mr. Leadbetter says. He adds, however, that many industrial and civil engineering companies can be complacent, and only react after a malfunction occurs. “Regular testing of electrical systems is an unpopular task, not least because regular proof tests often result in costly process interruption, with subsequent recalibration and reparameterisation,” Mr. Leadbetter says.
Once triggered by a VEGA DTM, the instrument will run through mandatory tests during system operations. “40 individual parameters are checked and, in an ideal case, marked with ok and a green tick,” Mr. Leadbetter explains. “DTM software can reliably diagnose instruments at any time and store the entire data history on a laptop.” This ultimately minimises the risk of unit failure, while extending the unit’s overall service life. Mr. Leadbetter says VEGA’s DMT testing concept is based on a service-proven duo, where the diagnostic unit is integrated in the sensor to collect diagnostic information continuously. “This ensures uninterrupted diagnosis of all field instruments in use, and instantly notifies the user of any irregularities.” According to Mr. Leadbetter, the latest VEGA DTM generation goes a step further than its predecessors by allowing users to print the complete results report or save it as a PDF. “This makes work easier for Asphalt plants are engaging safety instrumentation plant operators because the systems such as VEGA radar sensors. documentation is automatically done for them,” Mr. Leadbetter says. The safety integrity level measures the “The document certifies the exact application of risk reduction measures condition of the instruments. Just like in and stipulates targets via a comparison of school, a glance at the first page of the qualitative and quantitative factors. report is enough to see the most important “To prevent damage to business assets, thing immediately, passed or failed.” comply with safety integrity level Mr. Leadbetter says automated standards, protect human health and visualisation of self-testing results reduces mitigate harm, periodic proof testing must workloads considerably. be undertaken,” Mr. Leadbetter says. According to Mr. Leadbetter, VEGA’s DTM “The VEGA DTM transforms a corrective software enables proof testing by reading maintenance concept into an intelligent and documenting the parametre settings of preventative maintenance concept,” safety instruments. he says. “That said, proof testing is not only required by federal law, but enables higher safety levels through predictive maintenance.” Mr. Leadbetter says proof testing saves significant capital cost in the long run and could be thought of in the same vein as insurance. “Proof tests serve two primary functions, to find and repair failures in the system, and validate the failure rate assumptions used in the safety integrity level.”
roadsonline.com.au
31
