DCS Replacement for Agricultural Chemical Plant in St. Helen, OR.    

The client’s old process controls lacked the features of more modern systems, including advanced process control, instrumentation diagnostics and asset management, process data integration, automation production reporting, event tracking, remove KPI indicators and maintenance management.

How We Did It

Through the process of interviewing operations staff and site process engineers, the function of the unit processes was verified prior to final logic programming. This resulted in an optimized control strategy that is now easier to operate with less variations in process conditions.

Harris Group provided field engineering services to evaluate and document the condition of the existing equipment and instrumentation. Detailed P&ID’s and general arrangements were prepared and approved by the client allowing detail design to proceed rapidly. Research and design integration of undocumented instrumentation and panel alarms for the construction phases was also provided.

Harris Group worked closely with DCS platform vendor to meet construction schedule, develop clear user requirements, maintain design standards and generate control narratives. Our team was able to complete migration of existing instrumentation from the legacy system to the new DCS control system. Multiple design packages were released in a phased delivery to expedite construction for the facility, ultimately completing all system replacement activities during the planned outage which required a well-documented construction sequence.

Harris Group was able to complete migration of existing instrumentation from the legacy system to the new DCS Control System. 

The client modernized the process control system at their St. Helens, Oregon, plant from a Siemens Moore APACS to an Emerson DeltaV DCS 

In conjunction with the upgrade of the process control system, 25% of existing pneumatic instrumentation was replaced and commissioned. This project also included design and construction of a state-of-the-art control building that was constructed prior to DCS installation and commissioning, allowing a majority of the installation to occur outside of a scheduled plant outage.

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This project also needed to support an aggressive project schedule for the installation of new and replacement of existing process plant equipment, instrumentation, and distributed IO marshalling cabinets. Additionally, undocumented existing pneumatic instrumentation and alarm points needed to be integrated to the DeltaV control system to fully replace the Moore APACS system.

Harris Group utilized local staff and our experience with the site to provide a field survey to fully verify and document the existing instrumentation installation. Working from the DCS IO database, client documentation, and hands-on field investigation, our team ensured a complete migration of existing instrumentation from the legacy system to the new DCS control system.

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