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Implementing a Hybrid SCADA Solution Using PlantPAx 5.0 & 4.10

E Tech Group developed a hybrid SCADA solution for a BMS in a biopharma co-packing facility utilizing two different controllers and operating systems that would operate in unison, allowing the facility to ramp to full operation at a critical juncture and to incrementally upgrade as needed.

The Project: Ramp Up Vaccine Production in the Height of the Pandemic

At the height of the pandemic, a biopharma co-packing facility that was working to complete a greenfield facility needed to ramp up production and shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine to meet growing demand.

Because they were producing lab-generated material intended to be used on human beings, it was critical to have all measures in place to remain within ISA-88, ISA-S95, and ISA-101 standards, a part of which would contain a suite of industrial facility management systems.

E Tech Group was contracted to integrate a control system that would manage and monitor events and alarms within both GMP and non-GMP regulated portions of the building management system (BMS), process automation system (PAS), and air handling units (AHUs).

The Challenge: Crossed Lines of Communication Complicate Completion

Racing to get a pharmaceutical automation system operational at the height of a global pandemic – one that needed to remain within a number of industry standards while producing and shipping a lifesaving compound to medical professionals everywhere – presented no shortage of challenges.

Many of those stemmed from the escalated timeline they were forced to maintain. With less time for preparation and review, the overall solution wasn’t as well planned out as it could have been and left this project open to a number of change orders and revisions.

This continued to be further exacerbated by the number of decision makers involved at every stage, which proved almost counterintuitive due to the number of approvals needed to move through each step.

One of the larger challenges encountered was the detailed design still needed to develop specific sequencing within the process and integration of vendor-supplied skids, contributing to the scope of work not clearly being defined. The skids were asked to be a Rockwell-based solution with Ethernet communication, but BacNET was supplied by numerous other vendors outside of the Rockwell offering. BacNET Addressing was also not provided with submittals, so it was challenging to easily retrieve information needed, only further impacting the scope of work that was constantly changing dependent upon what was in our control vs skid control.

Even when all moving parts were aligned, the largest challenge directly impacted by the pandemic would be the delay in supply chain coupled with the escalated timeline that resulted in only being able to get a portion of the equipment necessary to complete the project. Start to finish, this project required quick thinking and adaptation on the part of our team. They got down to the work of designing a custom control system solution that would be robust and complete despite all the obstacles.

The Solution: Build a Full Automation Solution with Half the Parts

The client wanted to utilize an off-the-shelf control system to avoid any black box solution where they would be locked out, unable to independently troubleshoot or to be dependent on an outside team to provide service. They ultimately landed on Rockwell Automation’s PlantPAx Distributed Control System to monitor the Building Management Systems and alarms across the facility.

While the control system was easy to acquire, the aforementioned supply chain issues impacted the accompanying hardware. They originally planned on utilizing PlantPAx 5.0 with Process Controllers, but our team was only able to acquire four of the ten required and had to supplement the remaining with six standard PLC controllers, which were not compatible with PlantPAx 5.0, but were compatible with PlantPAx 4.10.

PlantPAx 5.0 integrates the functionality into the controller firmware whereas PlantPAx 4.10 is utilized by the import of AOIs. While the implementation of the PlantPAx versions was different and carried two different alarm scopes, they possessed enough similarities that they could be configured to work within the same system.

Utilizing both Rockwell Automation PlantPAx products allowed our team to develop the hybrid SCADA solution utilizing the two different controllers, creating a uniform solution that could be used to monitor alarms and events through one HMI user experience:

The Specs: Scope of Work & Control Solution

2.6 Engineering Services: Electrical Design

2.6.1 Design and supply (1 ea) PLC & HMI panel for the BAS, BMS, PAS & PAC Control Hardware:

(3) Allen Bradley standalone single racks to include the following:
- Allen Bradley Power Supply
- Allen Bradley CompactLogix 5380 Controller, 3MB
- (AR) Allen Bradley 5069-(IF8/IB16/OF8/OB16B)
(1) Allen Bradley standalone single racks to include the following:
- Allen Bradley Power Supply
- Allen Bradley CompactLogix 5380 Controller, 3MB
- (AR) Allen Bradley 5069-(IF8/IB16/OF8/OB16B)
(1) Allen Bradley STRATIX switch
Internal illumination with auto on/off switch when control panel door open/closed
Main power disconnect in front control panel doors
UL 508A Label
72x60x12, NEMA 12
Conform to current NFPA 70E requirements
Separation and protection of voltages above and below 50 Volts

2.6.2 Design and supply (2 ea) Remote I/O & HMI panel for the BAS, PAS, BMS & PAC instrumentation & packaged equipment system integration:

(1) Allen Bradley standalone single rack to include the following:
- Allen Bradley Power Supply
- (AR) Allen Bradley 5069-(IF8/IB16/OF8/OB16B)

(1) Allen Bradley STRATIX switch
Internal illumination with auto on/off switch when control panel door open/closed
UL 508A Label
48x36x12, NEMA 12
Conform to current NFPA 70E requirements
Separation and protection of voltages above and below 50 Volts

2.6.3 Design and supply (9 ea) PLC panels for the AHUs:

(1) Allen Bradley standalone single rack to include the following:
- Allen Bradley Power Supply
- Allen Bradley CompactLogix 5380 Controller, 1MB
- (AR) Allen Bradley 5069-(IF8/IB16/OF8/OB16B)
(1) Allen Bradley STRATIX switch
Internal illumination with auto on/off switch when control panel door open/closed
UL 508A Label
48x36x12, NEMA 12
Conform to current NFPA 70E requirements
Separation and protection of voltages above and below 50 Volts

The Results: Success & Scalability Driven by Necessity

The developed and implemented automation integration solution allowed this facility to reach full production capacity at a pivotal time when there was absolutely no room for delay. E Tech Group’s team overcame numerous challenges, any of which on its own could have delayed progress. In the end, our system integration engineers were able to deliver a fully functional solution that left room for incremental upgrades as the client saw fit.

This solution not only allowed the client to continue moving through their project without being limited by the lack of available components, but this new control system can be scaled across any organization that may want to incrementally upgrade from PlantPAx 4.10 to 5.0 without tackling an entire facility at once for any number of reasons…..available budget or funding, manpower, etc.

E Tech Group supports industrial clients across North America with advanced control system solutions that reap tangible results: increased throughput, quality, proficiency, and capabilities, all while remaining adaptable, scalable and sustainable for future growth.

WORK WITH US FOR YOUR NEXT AUTOMATION PROJECT

| August 4, 2023

Understanding the S88 Standard: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Authored By: Jakub Mocny, PhD, Group Engineering Manager In the world of industrial automation, the S88 standard, also known as ANSI/ISA-88 or Batch Control, plays a vital role in providing a universal framework for the control and automation of manufacturing processes. Developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA), the S88 standard offers a structured approach to designing, implementing, and maintaining batch processes. For those who are new to the S88 standard and want to delve into its applications across various industries, this article serves as a guide to understanding the fundamentals of the S88 standard, its benefits, and an overview of its working principles. What is the S88 Standard for Batch Control Systems? The S88 standard provides a comprehensive and modular methodology for designing, implementing and managing batch processes in industries such as: The S88 standard establishes a consistent and structured approach to defining the equipment, control strategies, procedural operations, and information systems required for effective batch process automation. Within the ISA-95 framework, batch systems adhering to S88 standard are identified as Level 2 systems. They are subordinate to Level 3 MES systems and achieve process control through interaction automation and control systems (ISA-95 Level 1 and 2). In practical terms, a batch control application executes recipes. A recipe is a sequence of operations containing multiple recipe phases. Recipe phases interface with the physical plant equipment through equipment phases typically executed by PLCs. S88 sets guidelines for best practices that help industries self-regulate quality and consistency. Applications of the S88 Standard in Industrial Automation While the S88 standard was originally developed for batch processes, its applications are not limited to specific industries. The versatility of the standard enables its adoption in a wide range of fields. In general, automation system builders may benefit from using the S88 concepts even … Continued

| June 28, 2023

Utilizing the AVEVA PI System for a Large Pharmaceutical Client

The generation, maintenance and use of historical process data is always an important part of the discussion in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector where transparency and traceability throughout the automation system is key. It affects things such as regulatory compliance, process optimization, business strategy, and overall viability in the marketplace. To enhance this aspect of their business, one of our clients chose to leverage the AVEVA PI Software Suite in their control system retrofit. The AVEVA PI system is one of the leaders in the industry and provides various architecture and licensing options to accommodate customers’ needs. The AVEVA PI is a product of industry collaboration and incorporates OSISoft’s data management prowess with AVEVA’s engineering expertise. Utilizing this powerful automation platform enhances process visibility, decision-making, and optimization throughout the industrial value chain. The functionality of the AVEVA PI system can be broken down into the following subsections: collecting data, storing data, contextualizing data, and visualizing/accessing data. Redundant Data Collection Collecting data is the process of taking data from a source and sending it along the pipeline to be stored. In this use case, the data sources are PLCs and relational databases. The PI System uses PI Interfaces and Connectors to perform the data collection. AVEVA offers over 450 interfaces, allowing for collection from a vast array of data sources. In the past, the client had issues with its legacy data collection; data gaps and outages would occur too frequently. PI Interfaces facilitate data collection and allow for redundancy to ensure that there is not a single point of failure in the system. In addition to the available redundancy, PI interfaces also provide buffering: if the archive itself is unavailable, the interface will store data locally until the archive is available again. The buffered data is then forwarded to the archive, … Continued

Using the OSI PI System for a Large Pharmaceutical Customer

| June 13, 2023

Building an Automation Infrastructure

E Tech Group Director of Operations, Cassy Gardner, is featured as a part of the following article, which originally appeared in Food Engineering Magazine. The better you know what you already have in place, the easier it is to plan for a successful future. Unless you operate a brand-new state-of-the-art plant, you probably have a facility with a mish-mash of aging processing and packaging equipment with various vintages of network and application software support—maybe several areas still requiring manual labor. As technology continues to move forward, piecemeal, aging automation systems reach a bottleneck, hampering further growth and competitiveness for the company. For older facilities, knowing where and what to automate—what your priorities should be—is important to helping you stay competitive now and in the future. For those with new plants, it’s never too late to plan your future goals – today’s turnkey automated factory is tomorrow’s control system retrofit. In this article, we consider how to know when, where and what to automate in an older facility. Of course, the answers to these questions won’t be the same for every plant, but we can see a framework essential to all automation projects come through regardless. Automation Solving Labor Shortage Problems The primary motivations driving food processors to automate their operations include labor reduction, increased production efficiency and enhanced product quality, says Ryan Beesley, CAP, Regional Engineering Manager at Kennewick, Concept Systems, Inc., a Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Certified Member. But the labor aspect has especially been an acute problem for the last couple of years as manufacturers realize the labor shortage is not a short-term problem. Other Advantages of Process Automation Getting Started in the Planning Process No two automation solutions will be the same—each one is unique. “Custom automation solutions typically begin with a feasibility and concept phase … Continued