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.

Anumber 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.

Asphalt plants are engaging safety instrumentation systems such as VEGA radar sensors.

“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.”

The safety integrity level measures the application of risk reduction measures and stipulates targets via a comparison of qualitative and quantitative factors.

“To prevent damage to business assets, comply with safety integrity level standards, protect human health and mitigate harm, periodic proof testing must be undertaken,” Mr. Leadbetter says.

According to Mr. Leadbetter, VEGA’s DTM software enables proof testing by reading and documenting the parametre settings of safety instruments.

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 plant operators because the documentation is automatically done for them,” Mr. Leadbetter says.

“The document certifies the exact condition of the instruments. Just like in school, a glance at the first page of the report is enough to see the most important thing immediately, passed or failed.”

Mr. Leadbetter says automated visualisation of self-testing results reduces workloads considerably.

“The VEGA DTM transforms a corrective maintenance concept into an intelligent preventative maintenance concept,” he says.