controlled quality controlled quality - industry - siemens

Systems and Solutions for the Process Industry

processnews

9th Edition December 4|2004

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Clariant increases productivity with Simatic PCS 7

Controlled QualityClariant increases productivity with Simatic PCS 7

Controlled Quality

Rhodia modernizes production

Simatic PCS 7 V6.1 offers several new features

Rhodia modernizes production

Simatic PCS 7 V6.1 offers several new features

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The new process automation system in the AZO II plant increased flexibility andproductivity of production, concludes Dr. Klaus Kund

The Simatic PCS 7 process control system offers a wide range of extensions and improvements in the new version 6.1. The highlight is the integrated assetmanagement system

To no small part due to Simatic PCS 7,Alpenmilch Salzburg Ges.m.b.H. isabe to flexibly respond to changingdemands

CONTENT2

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3 EDITORIAL

4 NEWSSiemens presents Peterborough Lift Lockwith new ultrasonic monitoring system

Norgren develops innovative pneumaticsystem using Sipart PS 2

Sitrans and Echomax for malt silo levelmonitoring at Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

Process analytics for Linde in Dormagen

Simatic Safety Matrix

FOCUS

Strategic Cooperation: Clariant6 Global and Innovative

Clariant pursues its goals with strategicpartnerships, innovative products, andtailor-made solutions

7 High-quality ColorAutomation with Simatic PCS 7 atClariant successfully completed

8 Stability is KeyDr. Klaus Kund discusses the backgroundand successes of automation at Clariant

TRENDS

Competence Center10 Bundling Expertise

Siemens Competence Centers serve as a bridge between market and technology

Manufacturing Execution Systems12 MES for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Meeting new manufacturing efficiency and quality standards

Process Instrumentation20 Expertise Solves Tricky Tasks

Customized designs for sophisticated applications

CASE STUDIES

Specialty Chemicals14 As Good as New

Simatic PCS 7 modernizes 50-year-old Rhodia plant

Dairy Industry18 Seizing New Opportunities

Process control technology modernization at Alpenmilch Salzburg Ges.m.b.H. with Simatic PCS 7

Process Analytics21 Desert Analytics

Maxum edition II process gas chromatographsoptimize natural gas processing

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AZO pigment productionat ClariantPhoto: W. Geyer

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Dear Readers,

This issue of Process News is all about chemicals,emphasizing the significance this importantindustry segment has for Siemens.

Together with our customers, we are developingsolutions that will support the chemical industry asit faces the challenges of the present and thefuture. These challenges range from achievingmaximum plant availability and safety, two impor-tant objectives in the petrochemical and basechemical industries, to increasing flexibility andbetter exploiting plant capacity, which are twocrucial goals for our customers in the fine andspecial chemicals industry.

Meeting these different requirements is no easytask, and demands broad and in-depth knowledge –not only of the technical possibilities of automationengineering, but especially of the processes in thechemical industry – a knowledge that Siemens hasacquired through its many years of partnership withleading companies in the industry.

We at the Chemical Competence Center bringtogether this extensive expertise and implement itin tailor-made solutions for the chemical industry.At the same time, we also see ourselves as thevoice of the chemical industry within Siemens – for example, to promote specific innovations. Thesedevelopments find their way into new products –such as the new version of the Simatic PCS 7process control system that are highlighted in this issue.

PCS 7 is also connected with a number of verysuccessful projects that we have completed in part-nership with Clariant in recent years. The latest aretwo projects for the Clariant Pigments and AdditivesDivision in which we supported Clariant with ourexpertise, experienced project teams, and good keyaccount management. You can read more aboutthese projects and the partnership with Clariantstarting on page 6.

I hope you will find some of the topics inter-esting; I wish you a lot of fun reading this issue anda good start into the New Year!

Siemens received an order from the JiangsuMeilan Chemical Limited Company to installa central sewage treatment plant inTaizhou, China

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Waste Water22 Step by Step

Migration from Teleperm M to Simatic PCS 7 during ongoing operation

Specialty Chemicals24 Local and Global Expertise

Simatic PCS 7 integrated with Simatic S7-315F in fail-safe application at a new Degussa site in Thailand

Waste Water25 Clear Solution in China

Model sewage treatment project with Simatic PCS 7

Mining26 Safe and Reliable

Sitrans and Simatic technology in the Morsleben mining works

TECHNOLOGY

Process Control16 Assets Integrated

Automatision and maintenance made easy:Simatic PCS 7 V6.1

27 DIALOGUE

EDITORIAL

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Markus GüntherHead of Siemens A&D AS Competence Center Chemical, Cement, Glass

T he Peterborough Lift Lock turned 100,and Siemens Milltronics celebrated its

50th anniversary this year. To celebrate this

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4 NEWS

Norgren develops innovative pneumaticsystem using Sipart PS2

double anniversary, Siemens Milltronicsprovided a new ultrasonic level measure-ment system for the liftlock as a gift to the

Siemens presents Peterborough Lift Lock withnew ultrasonic monitoring system

Cylinders with long piston rodscan also be controlled preciselywith Sipart PS2 – as shown hereon a large valve in a flue gastreatment plant

community. In the liftlock, Echomax XRS-5transducers are mounted upstream anddownstream in ABS tubes and enclosed inaluminum pipes. This protects the ultrason-ic devices from being bumped or damagedby boats in the lock. The transducers arewired into a MultiRanger transceiver locat-ed in the control tower.

The ultrasonic level system enables thelockmaster to determine the elevations ofthe water upstream and downstream at aglance. Up till now, the Peterborough LiftLock relied on manual water level measure-ment. The Peterborough Lift Lock NationalHistoric Site of Canada is one of 40 locks onthe Trent-Severn Waterway. It is a massiveconcrete structure supporting two cham-bers with rams connected in a closed waterhydraulic system with a crossover valve.Boats in the chambers are lifted or lowereda breathtaking 19.8 meters (65 feet) in onlya few minutes. Smooth operation dependson ensuring a differential of 30 centimetersof water. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/processinstrumentationE-mail: [email protected]

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type of installation is beneficial where accessto the installation location is difficult.

The new control system with Sipart PS2is also a good solution for cylinders withlong piston rods, up to 1,000 millimeters.Possible applications include slides for gut-ters, shutter valves in ventilation technol-ogy, and large valves in general. ■


Norgren, one of the world’s leadingproviders of pneumatic solutions, sup-

ports its customers with innovative, tailor-made offerings that now include a newcontrol system for standard cylinders basedon Sipart PS2 positioners.

Previously, the use of electropneumaticpositioners was limited in ISO/VDMA stan-dard cylinders because of the varying strokelength. Norgren now offers a solution withan internal position encoder together withthe Sipart PS2 positioner. This version doesnot require an externally mounted positionencoder because the encoder is already in-tegrated into the Norgren profile cylinderand can be connected directly via the SipartPS2 filter module. The mounting and posi-tioner can be set up separately as well andconnected using the filter module – therecan be a distance of up to 10 meters be-tween the drive and the positioner. This

The Peterborough Lift Lock has a new state of the art ultrasonic level system

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Beating out strong competition, Siemens won the contract for processanalytics as well as process automation using Simatic PCS 7 for a new

CO/H2 plant that Linde AG in Höllriegelskreuth is building for Linde Gas.The plant will have a capacity of 7,000 standard cubic meters per hour.

In addition to the process gas chromatograph Maxum II, six Ultramat6F and Calomat 6F gas analyzers are used in the analytics. The samplepreparations are mounted on the outside wall of the analysis housingfor safety reasons. Moreover, numerous Sipan 32 analyzers are in-stalled locally on analysis cabinets for determining pH values and con-ductivity. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/processanalyticsE-mail: [email protected]

Process analytics for Linde in Dormagen

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A total of 36 malt silos have recentlybeen equipped with level monitoring

devices from Siemens. The silos belong tothe Spaten-Franziskaner Bräu KGaA brew-ery based in Munich, Germany.

The solution presented by Siemens wasable to beat competition not only because

of its good price/performance ratio, but al-so due to the various options for non-con-tacting measuring.

For 21 larger silos with a diameter of 8and a height of approximately 40 metersSiemens installed Sitrans LR 400 radarmonitoring devices, 15 smaller silos were

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A total of 36 malt silos at Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu in Munich were equipped with level monitoring devices from Siemens

Sitrans and Echomax for malt silo levelmonitoring at Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

Simatic Safety Matrix

O riginally developed for the QuadlogSafety PLC, the advantages of the

patented Safety Matrix technology are nowalso available for the fail-safe Simatic S7-400F controllers.

The Safety Matrix is an innovative soft-ware product that greatly simplifies the de-sign, specification, implementation, testingand maintenance of a safety system. Thesoftware takes a commonly employed de-sign and documentation methodology fre-quently referred to as a cause-and-effectsmatrix or a safe chart (reference API 14C)and turns it into an online programmingand maintenance tool. Users have reportedthat this tool has reduced their engineeringand checkout time by an order of magni-tude.

A new feature of the Simatic Safety Ma-trix is the Safety Matrix Viewer which pro-vides automatic integration of the SafetyMatrix into the Simatic PCS 7 process auto-mation system Operator Station (OS). TheSafety Matrix Viewer enables visualizationof a cause-and-effect diagram without re-quiring any HMI configuration. Implement-ed as a faceplate, the Safety Matrix View-er interfaces directly with the logic in thecontroller and provides an automaticallyupdated graphical display on the HMI. Thistechnology ensures that the HMI is alwayssynchronized with the logic in the con-troller. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/safetyE-mail: [email protected]

equipped with Echomax XPS 30 ultrasonicsensors and Sitrans LU 10 transducers.

The devices were commissioned in Sep-tember 2004 and have been working satis-factorily ever since. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/processinstrumentationE-mail:[email protected]

process news 4/2004

6Strategic Cooperation: Clariant

FOCUS

C lariants head office is in Muttenz, nearBasel. Approximately 26,500 peopleworldwide work on new solutions

and products in the five divisions Textiles,Leather, and Paper Chemicals; Pigments andAdditives; Masterbatches; Functional Chemi-cals; and Life Science Chemicals. Clariant isa relatively young company, founded in 1995from what had previously been the chem-icals division of the Sandoz group.

Another section of the company thenemerged from the specialty chemicals di-

vision of the former Hoechst AG, whichClariant acquired in 1997. With more than100 companies and subsidiaries, Clariantis active on five continents and achievedsales of about 8.5 billion Euros in 2003.

Clariant pursues a strategy of settingglobal standards in key technologies, whilepurchasing locally. For this, the companyrelies on strategic partnerships with sup-pliers that can offer local service at the pro-duction sites in addition to providing func-tional and high-quality products. Siemens

is one of those strategic partners, linked toClariant by a long line of successful projects.

In order to provide Clariant with opti-mum support on all continents, Siemensaccount management ensures that thecompany’s appropriate regional and globalcompetencies are combined and networked.“On the one hand, the key account managerhas the job, of coordinating relations be-tween Clariant and Siemens on all levels,”says Dr. Otto Graf, Siemens key accountmanager for Clariant. “In addition, it is alsoone of my tasks to look after the interestsof Clariant within Siemens, and to makesure that these interests can be pursued byour Siemens team for Clariant worldwide.”A close, cooperative partnership is very im-portant: “Both parties benefit from the co-operation far beyond each specific project.”The key account manager has to play thetroubleshooter now and again, Otto Grafconfesses. “Then the most important thingis to quickly find a good solution – and wehave always managed to do that so far!” ■

Clariant pursues its goals with strategic partnerships,innovative products and tailor-made solutions

Global and InnovativeThanks to strategic acquisitions, a strong track record of innovation, and akeen eye for trends and customer requirements, Clariant has today becomeone of the leading companies in the field of fine and specialty chemicals.The right blend of global standards, tailor-made solutions, and its localpresence are other success factors. Clariant receives a great deal of activesupport from Siemens, one of the company’s strategic partners.

Successful tradition: Siemens and Simatic PCS 7 at Clariant

1997 1998 1999 2002 2003

Electronic Materials,Korea, Simatic PCS 7, Simatic Batch

Intermediates,Griesheim, Simatic PCS 7

Specialty ChemicalsCoku, Wiesbaden,Simatic PCS 7, Simatic Batch

Specialty Chemicals,Suzano (São Paulo),Simatic PCS 7

Pigments AZO II,Frankfurt, Simatic PCS 7, Simatic Batch

Dispersions, Cilegon, Simatic PCS 7, Simatic Batch

DPP pigments,Frankfurt,Simatic PCS 7, SimaticBatch, Simatic IT

DEPAL flameretardants,Knapsack, Simatic PCS 7

Azo pigments,Knapsack, Simatic PCS 7, Simatic Batch

Find out more:www.siemens.com/chemicalsE-mail: [email protected]

eration via a secure Inter-net link are planned.

Recipes will be gener-ated in the future by auto-mated recipe operationand a “coloristic matrix”that is currently being de-veloped. The recipes willremain available for manyyears to come through theprocess data archiving sys-tem.

Following the successfulfactory acceptance test inFebruary 2003, the trialruns three months lateralso went smoothly. Theplant commenced opera-tion on May 19, 2003.

process news 4/2004

7FOCUSStrategic Cooperation: Clariant

Find out more:www.siemens.com/chemicalsE-mail: [email protected]: [email protected]

One important reason for the mod-ernization of the automation sys-tem on line 5 was the difficulty in

obtaining spare parts for the existing con-trol technology. But the argument thatwas ultimately decisive was the desire forgreater productivity and improved batchquality reproducibility.

Convincing concept, global presence

After various offers had been invited anddiscussed, the decision was made in Sep-tember 2001 in favor of a technical solu-tion with the Simatic PCS 7 process controlsystem. The customer-oriented approachof the Siemens team was convincing.“Siemens did not try to sell us attractive,expensive technology, but worked inten-sively on our problem,” says Volker Schaaf,operation engineer of the AZO II produc-

tion at Clariant in Frankfurt-Höchst. “To-gether with the engineers at Clariant, theSiemens team developed several struc-tural variations from which we finallychose the version best suited for the com-pany.”

It was very important for Clariant, aglobal player, to find a partner that was alsointernationally active, so that spare partssupplies, service, and support could be ob-tained anywhere in the world. This was arequirement that Siemens could meet.

Rapid commissioning

Siemens supplied the process control sys-tem, the engineering, the uninterruptiblepower supply (UPS), and the PI process dataarchiving system for lines 5 and 6. A linkbetween SAP and the PI system as well asremote access options for the head of op-

Automation project with Simatic PCS 7 at Clariant completed successfully

High-quality Color The products manufactured on lines 5 and 6 at Clariant in Frankfurt-Höchstare what are known as azo pigments, the largest and most important groupof synthetic pigments. Automation of line 5 with the Simatic PCS 7 processcontrol system has improved the quality of the pigments from the very firstbatch – while also providing greater consistency and higher productivity.

Brilliant yellowsand reds are

typical of azopigments

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The heavily exothermic diazotizationreaction must be cooled by adding ice

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Quality from the very first batch

The first batch produced by the automatedline 5 already exhibited a higher pigmentquality and greater consistency than before,and was within the necessary sales specifi-cations – an excellent result for a plant thathad just gone into operation.

Clariant expressed great satisfaction withthe performance of the Siemens team andthe project management – and looks for-ward to continuing the partnership withSiemens, as follow-up orders in Indonesiaand Germany show. ■

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8Strategic Cooperation: Clariant

FOCUS

Dr. Kund, where do you see the greatest challenges for thesuccess of your division?

Dr. Kund: The Pigments and Additives division is one of Clari-ant’s most important divisions and makes a major contributionto company sales – so the success of our products is very impor-tant for the whole company. In our business, customers can beroughly divided into two large groups: on the one hand, we have

large printing ink manufac-turers, and on the other hand,the paint and plastics indus-try. The big challenge is thatthese two industry segmentshave completely different ori-entations. In the printing inksbusiness, for example, we aredealing with huge quantitiesthat must be produced withgreat attention to cost. In thecase of automobile paints, bycontrast, the qualitative as-

pects are becoming in-creasingly significant.

In the field of printinginks in particular, youare obviously com-peting with low-costproducers. How do youface this challenge?

Dr. Kund: We may be ata disadvantage on a pricelevel, but we offer ourcustomers added value.We consider it a decisivecompetitive advantage tobe able to supply exactly

the right product properties with a constant and uniform quality.For example, when you print a magazine in color, it is not impor-tant if after five years the colors no longer look new. With an au-

Dr. Klaus Kund discusses the background and successes of automation at Clariant

Stability is KeyBy introducing process automation technology in the AZO II productionplant in Frankfurt, Clariant was not only able to improve product quality,but also to considerably increase the flexibility and productivity of theplant, concludes Dr. Klaus Kund, head of product management for high-performance AZO pigments at Clariant.

Dr. Klaus Kund discusses the background and successes of automation at Clariant

Stability is KeyBy introducing process automation technology in the AZO II productionplant in Frankfurt, Clariant was not only able to improve product quality,but also to considerably increase the flexibility and productivity of theplant, concludes Dr. Klaus Kund, head of product management for high-performance AZO pigments at Clariant.

“Automation allows us to better

adapt the campaignsize to our actualrequirements.”

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tomobile however, youwant the coat to look ex-actly the way it did onday one, even after 20years. The best way toproduce the productquality that the cus-tomer wants and in thequantity the customerneeds is with automatedprocesses.

And that’s why youdecided to automate your Frankfurt productionfacility.

Dr. Kund: Exactly. The qual-ity of the pigment is influ-enced by a number of vari-ables such as feed flow ratesspeed, temperature, and con-centrations of the individualingredients. It is always better to determinethe quality of the pigment from the start bycontrolling these influential variables thanto produce this quality later by mixing dif-ferent batches – which was often done in thepast, and which may still be done in somecases today. Previously, when the dosing wasprimarily manual work, it was impossible tokeep our processes that consistent; a man-ual valve simply cannot be set that accu-rately. But automated processes now allow usto do this. A consistently high quality is thereal reason why we have invested in auto-mation on this site.

And are you pleased with the choice ofthe Simatic PCS 7 process control system?

Dr. Kund: I think the AZO II plant has be-come a real jewel. Even though there is stilla lot to be done, we can already be verypleased with what we have achieved.

Can you give us some examples?

Dr. Kund: In the past, we produced ourpigments in campaigns of at least 10 to 15batches each in order to obtain a stable qual-ity. Now that we have an automated plantand processes that can be run very stablywith the help of the control system, we alsohave the flexibility to do smaller campaigns.This allows us to better adapt the size of the

campaign to our actualrequirements instead ofbeing strictly bound to atechnically dictated min-imum size. At the sametime, a more stable pro-cess also means shorterstartup and waitingtimes. In the past wecould run only one batchper day, now we can doup to three. This allowsus to use our plants more

effectively andreact more flexi-bly to customers’requirements.

So the invest-ment in PCS 7has paid off?

Dr. Kund: Youeventually reachyour limits withconventional pro-cess optimizationpossibilities. Au-

tomation of the processes is tantamount toa quantum leap. Just look at the AZO IVplant: by improving the processes and ul-timately the process control, we were ablenot only to decisively improve the qualitybut also to almost double the specific yieldin places. That may not be possible in everyplant, but I think it is realistic to say that auto-mation accounts for 20 to 25 percent moreproduct, and therefore more profit.

Will you be implementing the sameautomation strategy in other productionfacilities?

Dr. Kund: We do, of course, have this pos-sibility in the back of our minds, althoughthere are no concrete plans at the moment.

That is why we have consciously chosen arecipe-controlled operation. This gives us theoption to transfer recipes from one plant toanother. In addition, we can modify existingrecipes or introduce new ones without pro-gramming effort, which gives us a greaterfreedom in the operation of the plant.

If you were to start new automationprojects, would you choose Siemens and PCS 7 again?

Dr. Kund: First of all, the scope of service,price, and quality of an automation solu-tion must meet our requirements – andthese aspects would play a decisive role inthe decisions relating to further projects.Other factors that are not so easy to expressin numbers are also important – for ex-ample, the service and support by the auto-mation solutions provider. In a project suchas the modernization of the AZO II, trustand cooperation between project partners,in this case Siemens and ourselves, is im-portant. I can honestly say that this hasbeen the case up till now, and will hopefullycontinue.

Dr. Kund, thank you for taking the timefor this interview.


“I think the AZO II has become a real jewel.”

“Trust and cooperation

between projectpartners

is important.”

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10Competence Center

TREND

Professor Bruns, Siemens has extendedthe Competence Centers for the processindustry. What exactly are the CCs?

Michael Bruns: In the Competence Cen-ters, we concentrate today’s and tomor-row’s industry expertise. We use this knowl-edge to develop solutions and products tosuit customers and markets. We also wantto use this organizational structure to workmore closely with customers, to get to knowtheir needs firsthand, and to offer perfectlytailored solutions where the various Siemenstechnologies are smoothly integrated. TheCompetence Centers form a bridge, so tospeak, between our customers and our tech-nical capabilities.

So the Competence Centers are a kind of ear to the ground?

Michael Bruns: That’s one aspect. But theCompetence Centers go beyond just that.They focus our knowledge of products andsystems and incorporate it into customizedsolutions in accordance with the idea of To-tally Integrated Automation (TIA). Our keyproduct is the Simatic PCS 7 process controlsystem. We have made great progress, par-ticularly with version 6, and are now in aposition to offer an adapted solution for vir-tually every industry sector.

Do you exploit experience from otherindustries?

Michael Bruns: Certainly. That is anotheradvantage of our Competence Center con-cept. We have learned what requirements

fact that with the Simatic technology wehave a common hardware basis in all in-dustries means that we benefit from anenormous wealth of experience. We canmake our strength in one industry avail-able to others. To provide just one exam-ple: Production in the process industrytakes place to a very large degree in discreteprocesses – in packaging, for instance, or,if one uses a broader definition of discreteprocesses, in batch processes as well. Wecan offer the customer a real benefit withour experience in discrete processes inother industries such as the automotive in-dustry. This cross-industry expertise is oneof our great strengths.

When you talk about your customers, are you thinking mainly of companies inthe actual process industry, or also ofequipment and engineering companies?

Michael Bruns: Obviously, equipmentand engineering companies are part of theindustry approach. The end users – that is,

Siemens Competence Centers serve as a bridge betweenmarket and technology

Bundling Expertise

Process automation – that is, products, systems, and solutions for sectors ofthe process industry such as chemicals, pharmaceutics, food & beverages,water/sewage, oil & gas, paper, glass, and cement – is an area in whichSiemens has been continually expanding its business since 1999. Thanks tothe company’s excellent market position in other industries such as manu-facturing and building technology, Siemens profits from broad cross-industryexperience. We spoke to Professor Michael Bruns, head of process automationat Siemens, about the strategies and concepts Siemens will be adopting togive its customers even better support in the future.

ChemicalThe chemicals mar-ket is currently de-fined by two diverg-ing developments:on the one hand thetrend toward so-called commoditizationand standardization of products, withthe associated extreme price pressure –especially in the field of base chemicals– and on the other hand, the increasingdemand for innovative, specific tailor-made products, which characterizes thefine and specialty chemicals market inparticular.

The Competence Center Chemicalssupports its customers in optimallymeeting the requirements of their mar-ket segment. The staff at the Compe-tence Center exploit years of experienceand in-depth knowledge of the specificrequirements, processes, and opera-tional procedures of the chemicals in-dustry.

Food &BeverageBeing successful inthe food and bever-age industry meansmanaging and ex-panding a broad, high-quality productportfolio – and, at the same time, beingable to respond flexibly to new trends.In addition, the regulating bodies re-quire documentation of all processesand products – literally from the barn tothe end user.

Close cooperation between OEMs,automation suppliers, and food & bever-age companies is crucial because this isthe only way to implement integratedsolutions for the entire supply chain.This approach is supported by the “bal-anced triangle” concept of the Compe-tence Center Food & Beverages. Foreach project, Siemens cooperates withboth the OEM and the actual end cus-tomer to develop the optimum solutionfor the specific task.


Find out more:www.siemens.com/beveragesE-mail: [email protected]

Competence Centers

are cross-industry in nature, and whatneeds are specific to certain industries. Weuse this knowledge in our solutions. The

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the companies in the process industry – nat-urally have a great influence on their ma-chine and equipment manufacturers, sys-tems integrators, and EPCs. If we know whatthe end users need, we can also commu-nicate better with our other partners. Wetherefore cooperate closely with equipmentand engineering companies and their cus-tomers. Moreover, we are in constant con-tact with associations, universities, andinstitutions such as the Food and DrugAdministration and NAMUR. This infor-mation transfer is an important part of ourindustry orientation as we aim to provideinteresting offers for our customers in thefuture.

So the future is an important topic in theCompetence Centers?

Michael Bruns: Absolutely! It is a centraltask of the Competence Centers to specifi-cally pursue innovations for the variousindustries. Take, for example, the new phi-losophy of the American Food and Drug Ad-

ministration, which now proposes a risk-based approach on quality control in thepharmaceutical industry. This approach willlead to increasing significance and applica-tion of online process analytical technology.Theses so called PAT (process analytical tech-nology) solutions, will generate a wealth ofinformation about the production process,and therefore exactly fit the requirementprofile of tomorrow. The Competence Cen-ters watch such trends and develop new of-ferings.

What impact will the new CompetenceCenters have?

Michael Bruns: I am certain that we haveachieved a concentration of expertise in thenew Competence Centers that will not onlyaccelerate our learning curve, but also beof great advantage to our customers.

Professor Bruns, thank you for speakingwith us.

GlassBooming markets inChina and EasternEurope, along withextreme cost pres-sures in establishedmarkets, mean that speed and efficiencyare crucial in the glass industry.

With its range of solutions, the GlassCompetence Center helps customerssave energy, use resources more effi-ciently, and react more flexibly to mar-ket requirements. International accountteams support their globally active cus-tomers with standardized and cus-tomized solutions. Siemens also cooper-ates closely with technology partners.All concepts are based on Totally Inte-grated Automation (TIA), which allowsglass manufacturers to integrate theplant components supplied by theirpartners into a uniform solution.

PharmaThe strictly regulat-ed market for phar-maceutical productswill be subject toenormous changesin the years to come. This is due both tonew science- and risk-based regulationsfrom the FDA, which open up new possi-bilities for process optimization, and tothe pricing pressure caused by healthservice reforms in virtually all marketsfor pharmaceutical products. To remainprofitable, the pharmaceutical industrymust reduce its production costs and op-timize its business processes. The Com-petence Center Pharma uses a combina-tion of industry, process, and businessexpertise along with the extensiveSiemens portfolio to approach these keyissues in the pharmaceutical industryand design the best possible solutions.

CementApproximately500 referencesworldwide; numer-ous internationalcustomer contacts;and Cemat, the world’s leading automa-tion solution for the cement industry –these are the great strengths of theCompetence Center Cement.

Some members of the CompetenceCenter staff can look back on decades ofhands-on experience in the industry.They have managed large-scale projectsall over the world and are familiar withthe specific problems in a cement facto-ry. Consequently, they can see Siemensproducts and solutions from a cus-tomer’s point of view, and will con-tribute to development. This combina-tion of industry and solution expertisehelps the cement industry improve itsproductivity and quality and, at thesame time, reduces its investment risk.

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“The Competence Centers focus ourentire knowledge for the customer’sbenefit.” Professor Michael Bruns,head of process automation at Siemens

Find out more:www.siemens.com/glassE-mail: [email protected]

Find out more:www.siemens.com/pharmaE-mail: [email protected]

Find out more:www.siemens.com/cementE-mail: [email protected]

allow the synchronization of business ob-jectives and manufacturing operations.

Regulatory compliance

Regulatory compliance is said to becomemore complicated and costly still, due tolegislation related with liability, data pro-tection and electronic signatures such asthe FDA regulation 21 CFR Part 11.

With the Bio-Terrorism Act, the FDA alsoforces the pharmaceutical industry to storethe production and product genealogy,which means having systems in place that

process news 4/2004

12 TREND

Pharmaceutical companies face a grow-ing dynamic in the global economicsituation, a changing competitive land-

scape, pricing pressure, and changing con-sumption patterns of pharmaceutical prod-ucts due to recent breakthroughs in bio-technology. Theses challenges are forcingpharmaceutical manufacturers to changebusiness models and reorganize manufac-turing operations to better contain costs, andto adopt new strategies for future and sus-tainable success. This will in many cases re-quire the implementation of systems that

Meeting new manufacturing efficiency and quality standards

MES for thePharmaceutical IndustryWith the FDA taking up new initiatives in the field of data integrity andintegrated quality, and the EU also adopting more stringent regulationsconcerning product liability, data protection and electronic signatures, thechallenges facing pharmaceutical companies, are becoming increasinglycomplex. Using a manufacturing execution system such as Simatic IT,pharmaceutical manufacturers can reconcile these business and productionconstraints, enabling responsiveness, efficiency and regulatory compliance inorder to meet current and future market and regulatory requirements, while at the same time guaranteeing accurate quality and product safety.

Integrated approach to quality in the laboratory:Simatic IT UnilabThe laboratory information management system

Simatic IT Unilab helps in collecting quality data

and matching these data with quality parameters.

It also includes stability testing, and can be an inte-

grated, central factor in the production process,

automating sampling and sample approvals and

providing real-time interaction with the production

floor. Laboratory operations can be optimized in

order to support production schedules, facilitating

instant information exchange about production

schedules and product quality. This integration

closes the gap between the laboratory and the

production, avoiding bottlenecks that, in the end,

could negatively influence the production capacity.

Simatic IT Unilab integrateslaboratory data into theproduction informationinfrastructure

Manufacturing Execution Systems

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13

allow traceability of the goods produced,their raw materials, semi-finished and fin-ished products.

But the biggest impact will most likelycome from the recent FDA PAT (process an-alytical technology) guideline. This guide-line is a result of redesigned regulatory ar-gumentation with a risk- and science-basedapproach, affecting the operations, qualityprocedures and validation procedures. PATasks for an integrated approach to qualityin pharmaceutical production, where pro-cess analytics, technology and control aswell as IT systems are closely networked,providing the basis for quality-by-design,rather than the previously applied qualitychecks through analyzing samples in thelaboratory.

Integrated systems for achieving highermanufacturing efficiency …

Fragmented IT infrastructures with iso-lated islands of quality and production in-formation from laboratory informationmanagement systems and productionplanning and execution systems will, assuch, no longer support regulatory com-pliance. Another aspect that complicatescompliant pharmaceutical manufacturingis the decreasing life cycle of pharmaceu-tical products. Agility, flexibility and speedin deploying processes are gaining in im-portance. This implicates that manufactur-ers need to find a system that will allow themto integrate quality management, while atthe same time increasing manufacturing

efficiencies and guaranteeing repeatableprocesses.

Through a model- and component-basedapproach, the manufacturing execution sys-tem (MES) Simatic IT ensures performancein both the production and the quality areasby intelligently managing and securing in-formation into the production process.

Simatic IT follows the international stan-dard ISA-95 as a blueprint for MES func-tionality. Its modeling capabilities enablethe enforcement of Standard Operating Pro-cedures, thus guaranteeing repeatable pro-cesses. Not only does the modeling of pro-cedures help speed up new process devel-opment and rapid productions start up,thanks to graphical and visible rules, it iseasier and faster to demonstrate repeata-bility of processes complying with FDA reg-ulations.

… and improved overall performance

Simatic IT combines with and integratesother systems on the business and pro-duction level, ensuring the kind of verticalintegration that is necessary to increase theplants responsiveness to new requirements.The system can download orders from ERPand assure communication with all pro-duction and quality management compo-nents.

Flexibility of the manufacturing environ-ment is obtained through various compo-nents of the Simatic IT Production Suite,managing and coordinating orders, materi-als, personnel and equipment. Automated,electronically captured data allows for fullelectronic traceability of equipment, mate-rials and finished goods, including all pro-duction data and process steps.

Simatic IT also facilitates the generationof the electronic batch records throughSimatic IT Report Manager, allowing auto-matic documentation of every stage in theprocess, and all materials used. Simatic ITcan be integrated seamlessly into existingIT investments. As part of Totally IntegratedAutomation, it can also be implemented eas-ily in Simatic Batch and Simatic PCS 7 ap-plications, providing a tight link betweenthe production and automation layers. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/simatic-itE-mail: [email protected]

Both market and regulatory pressure require new information managementconcepts in the pharmaceutical industry

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14Specialty Chemicals

CASE STUDY

Rhodia Industrial Yarns AG producesand sells chemical fibers for a widerange of applications such as tires,

airbags, ropes, nets, V-belts, and high-pres-sure hoses. The base material for these fibersis polyamide 6.6 granulate, which is madein Emmenbrücke in a polymerization plantthat has been in operationfor half a century. This as-tonishing longevity, ac-cording to Theo Geiger,head of the polymeriza-tion division at Rhodia, isnot a disadvantage, be-cause the plant is “in verygood condition, and hasbeen modernized in sev-eral stages.”

However, the plant’sprocess control system,and especially the dosingof the raw materials usedfor polyamide production,was a matter of increas-ing concern. This unitused a 20-year-old com-puter for which spareparts were difficult to ob-tain, and support was nolonger guaranteed. Thisposed a considerable risk for Rhodia, be-cause a production downtime would havehad a significant impact on the company.Rhodia therefore decided to replace the pro-cess control system in this section in Au-gust 2002.

A new “brain” for an established system

The production plant at Rhodia consists ofa central dosing plant connected to six pro-duction lines. Each line consists of an evap-orator and an autoclave. Rhodia was look-

ing for a future-proof and expandable pro-cess control system for this plant – one thatwould reliably control the dosing and alsoenable reliable recipe storage, data record-ing, traceability, and error analysis.

The contract was awarded to the Siemensautomation solution provider Prola AG, also

based in Emmenbrücke,which suggested a solutionbased on Simatic PCS 7.“PCS 7 is designed to con-trol dosing systems suchas this within the scopeof its standard functions.Thanks to special softwarefunction modules, we werealso able to integrate vari-ous existing plant sectionsinto the entire system,” ex-plains Prola managing di-rector Heinz Müller.

Another advantage ofPCS 7 was that it consistsof preassembled and testedsoftware modules, whichallowed the parameteriza-tion and graphic configu-ration of most of the solu-tion. “There was no need to‘reinvent the wheel’ each

time, so engineering efforts could be mini-mized,” says Heinz Müller.

During the design phase of the new con-trol system, Siemens announced the releaseof the new version 6.0 of Simatic PCS 7.Heinz Müller, after intense discussion withthe developers, decided to wait for the newversion. He explains, “Although this meanttighter deadlines for the implementation ofthe project, we were getting a solution to-tally geared for the future.” Those respon-sible at Rhodia agreed.

Fully automatic and fail-safe

In the dosing process, the ingredients thatare required for the recipe are weighed,emptied into a collector hopper and thendistributed to one of the six productionlines. Today, this process is completely auto-mated, and no modifications on the me-chanics of the dosing system have beennecessary. The new control system also co-ordinates the individual polymerizationlines.

The new control system is designed asa redundant system to achieve maximumavailability. Two PCs running the SimaticWinCC visualization system are available atthe control level. They are linked to one S7-400H high-availability controller via Eth-ernet and redundant ESM switches. Since

Simatic PCS 7 modernizes 50-year-old production plantat Rhodia

As Good as NewAn industrial plant from the 1950s need not necessarily be outdated, as thepolymerization plant of Rhodia Industrial Yarns AG in Emmenbrücke (nearLucerne, Switzerland) proves. The plant’s new Simatic PCS 7 process controlsystem not only ensures system availability, but also reproducible processes.

Theo Geiger, head of thePolymerization Division at

Rhodia Industrial Yarns:

“With PCS 7, we havemade an investment

in the future – and I am certain

we will reap the benefits.”

Rhodia IndustrialYarns AGRhodia Industrial Yarns AG is part of thePolyamide Division of the French chemi-cal specialist Rhodia. The company,which is headquartered in Emmenbrückenear Lucerne, Switzerland, produces andsells chemical fibers for the automotive,sport, transport, interior textiles, safety,food processing, medical, and ecologyindustries. The company runs otherproduction plants in Slovakia, Poland,Latvia, and Brazil.

process news 4/2004

15

the CPU, the power supply, and the hardwarelink of two CPUs are all redundant, the fail-ure of one component will not cause an in-terruption in the program execution.

At the process level, the S7-400H com-municates via a redundant Profibus DP net-work with six redundant Simatic ET 200Mdistributed devices. The various weighingsystems of the dosing unit are also con-nected to both Profibus lines by a Y-link.The control of the entire dosing system in-cludes 345 digital and 29 analog I/Os, nineregulators, and four counters, as well asthree proportioning scales.

Investment in the future

The new control system, which went intooperation during the annual summerclosedown in 2003, provides fully auto-matic control of the entire dosing process,without needing to change the mechanicsof the plant. Rhodia is extremely pleasedwith the new solution. The availability ofthe plant is almost 100 percent. Significant

progress has been made in terms of the re-producibility of the dosing, and the con-stantly available production data allow fulltraceability for troubleshooting, analysis,and quality assurance. Simatic PCS 7 alsopaves the way for further modernizationand expansion projects. Geiger comments,

“In my opinion, we have made an invest-ment in the future with this modern andopen control system – and we will reap thebenefits.” ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/chemicalswww.rhodia-iy.comE-mail: [email protected]

Heinz Müller, Prola AG:

“PCS 7 is perfectly suited for controlling dosingsystems such as this.”

Prola AG Process and Laboratory Automation

Prola AG Process and Laboratory AutomationFounded: 1985

Address:Prola AGProcess und Laboratory AutomationMerkurstrasse 7CH-6020 Emmenbrücke-LuzernSwitzerland

Contact:Heinz MüllerPhone: +41 41 260 02 20Fax: +41 41 260 84 20www.prola.chE-mail: [email protected]

The mechanical systems were fully retained in the transition to Simatic PCS 7

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16 TECHNOLOGY

OS Web functionality simplifies ac-cess to Simatic PCS 7 from standardPCs. A Web server is installed on a

PCS 7 client, allowing standard Web clientsto view and monitor the process via intranetor Internet – worldwide, with low-cost, stan-dard PC technology. Access can be protectedby password, firewall, or individual applica-tion concepts.

Gigabit technology and new distributeddevices

Gigabit technology considerably extendsand improves the Simatic PCS 7 system bus.

Transmission is possible by fiber optics ortwisted pair in redundant or double re-dundant ring configuration.

Also new is the distributed ET 200iSP de-vice, which was specially developed for theprocess industry and for use in hazardousareas. The modular and intrinsically safeDP slave (protection class IP30) can be in-stalled up to zone 1. The sensors are con-nected through direct wiring, and may alsobe installed in zone 0. Thanks to its mod-ular structure, up to 32 I/O modules can beconnected to every ET 200iSP station. Dif-ferent I/O modules – usually four-channel,

including HART – are available for this. Boththe Profibus connection and the power sup-ply can be implemented as redundant sys-tems.

Asset management with Simatic PCS 7

The highlight of the new version is with-out a doubt the asset management system.The asset management system integratedwith Simatic PCS 7 runs parallel to the plantautomation system. It provides all of theimportant maintenance functions, stan-dardizes the products and systems, and in-tegrates them into a common maintenanceconcept. Additional hardware or softwaretools for the process control system are nolonger necessary.

Plant operators and maintenance tech-nicians use the same Simatic PCS 7 toolsand user interfaces. The information is fil-tered and processed for the respective ar-eas of responsibility. The plant operator re-ceives all of the process-relevant informa-tion about the HMI functions of the PCS 7operator station, for example, and inter-venes specifically in the process. The main-tenance technician checks the hardware ofthe automation system via the mainte-nance station and deals with diagnosis andmaintenance requests. For example, he canassess the condition of the plant at a glanceby displaying the entire plant overview

Automation and maintenance made easy: Simatic PCS 7 V6.1

Assets IntegratedThe Simatic PCS 7 process control system offers a wide range of extensionsand improvements in the new version 6.1, inluding OS Web clients for easyaccess from standard PCs; Gigabit technology for a fast, efficient system bus;new peripheral systems; greatly improved operability; and more. Thehighlight is the integrated asset management system, which smoothlycombines automation and maintenance.

AssetManagementAsset management inengineering deals withthe administration andmanagement ofequipment in technicalinstallations. Thisincludes responding toerror and diagnosticmessages, as well aspreventive andpreemptive maintenanceand diagnostics.Previously, maintenancefunctions andinformation were usuallyimplemented on aseparate level, remotefrom the production.

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Process Control Technology

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17

with status indicators and system-widealarm management. Individual events inthe hierarchy tree of the hardware struc-ture are displayed according to the plantstructure. The diagnostic data are dis-played in the user faceplate, where main-tenance requests can be checked in withjust one mouse-click.

The asset management system of SimaticPCS 7 separates process information fromstatus messages relating to the hardwareconfiguration. The hardware configurationincludes all automation components of aplant, from the field devices, I/O cards, field-bus networks, controllers, and networkcomponents, right up to the system busand the OS servers and clients. In opera-tion, the individual automation compo-

nents, such as intelligent field devices, alsosupply information relevant to mainte-nance and diagnosis in addition to processvalues. Together with the diagnostic infor-mation of the process control system, thisproduces a full picture of the plant main-tenance status and any required mainte-nance tasks.

Simatic PCS 7 Asset Management is com-pliant with international standards such asIEC61804-2 (EDD). In addition, the assetmanagement concept meets the require-ments of NAMUR (an interest group forprocess control technology in the chemicaland pharmaceutical industry), according tothe NA64 (“Status messages of field de-vices”) and NE91 (“Close-to-process assetmanagement”) documents.

Shorter compile times, new platforms

And as if that were not enough, the devel-opers have improved numerous other de-tails of the new PCS 7 version as well. Thecompiling and loading times are muchshorter, for example, so minor modifica-tions to the configuration can be integratedinto the system twice as fast. The new ver-sion 6.1 of Simatic PCS 7 runs under Micro-soft Windows 2000, but can also be oper-ated under Microsoft Windows XP. ■

Preemptive maintenance withSimatic PCS 7 asset managementB A sensor is 60 percent clogged – the intelligent field devices

interpret this as an increased failure probability, and report a

“need for maintenance” message

B The maintenance station displays the “need for maintenance”

message, and enters it in the log file

B Detailed information is acquired automatically using Simatic

PDM and the device description (EDD) of the manufacturer

B The maintenance technician is quickly guided to the affected

device by standard mechanisms such as “group display,”

where he receives further information about the “identity”

such as device position number or device type

B In the “Diagnostics” view, the detailed information obtained

(such as error description, error cause, trend statement, and

handling instructions) can be called up

B In the “Maintenance” view, the maintenance technician

can evaluate the failure status and respond accordingly –

for example, by entering comments or instructions; all the

information can be printed as a detailed asset report

B The work request is sent to the maintenance department

responsible (release for maintenance can also be granted at

the maintenance station), and the current status of the

maintenance procedures is clearly visible to all involved and

to later shifts

B At the end of the maintenance routine, the status indicators

on the maintenance station are reset to normal

B The result is a continuous documentation of the maintenance

procedures on the maintenance station – automatically and

without additional configuration

Enterprise resourceplanning(ERP level)

Manufacturingexecution system(MES level)

Control level

Field level

One projectfor process

control and assetmanagement

Automation Maintenance

The new Simatic PCS 7 asset management system integratesmaintenance and process control in a uniform solution

Detailed diagnostic information supportsmaintenance

Find out more:www.siemens.com/pcs7E-mail: [email protected]

Diagnostic statusRequest statusMaintenance status

process news 4/2004

18Dairy Industry

CASE STUDY

T raditional and modern are not neces-sarily a contradiction in terms – andcertainly not in the Salzburg region

in Austria where Mozart and avant-garde,old-fashioned charms and high technologycoexist in natural harmony. The same canbe said of Alpenmilch Salzburg Ges.m.b.H,a local, medium-sized company that pro-duces innovative whey and yogurt drinks.

For some time now, Alpenmilch hasbeen producing not only yogurt, butter,

and cheese, but also milk mix drinks forhealth- and wellness-oriented consumers– with great success. Their branded wheydrink, for instance, became the third-strongest brand of whey drinks in Austriajust three months after its launch. Specialtarget group-oriented products are one ofthe growth markets that Alpenmilch in-tends to conquer. “We are planning to in-crease and expand our own market re-search and product development,” Hans

Steiner says. “I can see great opportunitiesfor us here, because our size allows us toreact quickly to new trends, especially forsmall and medium quantities.”

The versatility of the Alpenmilch dairyalso places special demands on the controltechnology, of course. Many different prod-ucts must be guided safely and preciselythrough production to the filling stations.Add to this the fact that four different kindsof raw milk – two-day milk, fresh daily milk,

Process control technology modernization at Alpenmilch Salzburg Ges.m.b.H with Simatic PCS 7

Seizing NewOpportunities“Credibility is our strength – as a dairy company with deep regional roots,we therefore want to increase our importance in the EU in the future,” saysHans Steiner, managing director of Alpenmilch Salzburg. Today, 33 percentof the company’s total sales are achieved in the EU. Alpenmilch is seizingnew market opportunities, and is able to respond flexibly to changingrequirements. Recently the company installed two completely newpasteurizing lines and equipped them with a future-proof process controlsystem: Simatic PCS 7.

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organically produced milk, and silage-freeorganically produced milk – are deliveredto Alpenmilch. Theses different types haveto be kept separated during every step ofproduction.

Industry expertise is decisive

In recent years, Alpenmilch has consolidat-ed its three previous sites into a single pro-duction facility in Salzburg. Two years ago,the company then made the decision tobuild two completely new pasteurizinglines, including the connected homogeniz-ers, centrifuges, and sterilizers, as well astanks and the associated piping. With thisstep, Alpenmilch also wanted to make thetransition from manual operation to alargely automated process that would alsomeet the requirements ofnew EU regulations for prod-uct traceability. It was im-portant to Alpenmilch thatthe system could be easilymodified and expanded to

quickly produce new products or producttypes. In addition, Alpenmilch wanted auniform automation solution for the wholeproduction facility, which is also supportedby the filling stations.

“We chose the solution based on Simat-ic PCS 7 because Siemens, as a marketleader, has the expertise and the systemsto meet our needs. Siemens is prominent-ly positioned in many industries, so we caneasily obtain an automation solution withSiemens products in the machines we or-der from our machine suppliers, for ex-ample. We can then use our own Simatic ex-pertise throughout the entire productionfacility,” Hans Steiner explains. “The good,competent consulting provided by Siemenswas also ultimately an important factor.From the very start, we had the impressionthat Siemens really spoke the language ofthe dairy industry.”

Andreas Gasteiger, chief of operations atAlpenmilch, also stresses the importance ofindustry expertise: “The Siemens projectmanagement really was excellent – the proj-ect team was familiar with the processes andrequirements of a dairy operation, whichmade it much easier to work together.”

Step-by-step transition

In the first phase of the project, the twonew pasteurizing lines were installed andcompletely automated with Simatic PCS 7.

The Siemens scope of delivery included theconfiguration, installation, and commis-sioning of the systems, as well as the hard-ware and software for the process controltechnology. Siemens also supplied the low-voltage switchgear for the plant, in addi-tion to the automation technology. To en-sure that the transition to the new controlsystem presented no problems for the dairypersonnel, Siemens also trained the Alpen-milch staff

In the spring of 2003, the operating roomwas moved to the building with the newpasteurizing lines, and 50 percent of theproduction was running through the newlines by the end of the year. The existingClean-in-Place systems and approximate-ly 4,000 valves and pumps on units and

pipework were then integrated into SimaticPCS 7 in the second project phase com-pleted in February 2004. By now the con-trol of the ultra-high-temperature heatingand the corresponding sterile tank instal-lations have been integrated into PCS 7 aswell, as is the data exchange with the fill-ing lines.

Trouble-free operation and new plans

“We are very pleased with the solution,”says Andreas Gasteiger. The new controlsystem has been operating trouble-freesince commissioning, and the expansionscompleted since then have also been inte-grated without any hitches – which is im-portant to Alpenmilch, because the compa-ny intends to further expand its capacitiesin the near future.

“We have gained important potentialmarkets in the mid-term with the easternexpansion of the EU. We are now thinkingabout how to implement our growth strat-egy, possibly with other new plants,” HansSteiner explains. “And if we plan new plants,Siemens will definitely be a point of con-tact for us again.” ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/beveragesE-mail: [email protected]

“If we are planning new plants, Siemens willdefinitely be a point of contact again.”

Hans Steiner, managing director of Alpenmilch Salzburg Ges.m.b.H.

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The new plants at AlpenmilchSalzburg have been automatedwith Simatic PCS 7

Everything under control on site:one of the Simatic Panels on thefilling lines

process news 4/2004

20Process Instrumentation

TREND

As in all areas of process automation,there is an increasing demand for the highest possible degree of stan-dardization in process instrumentation.However, it is inevitable that there are certain tasks and conditions inindustrial environments that cannotbe met by normal off-the-shelfdevices. With the right mix of tech-nology and process expertise,however, even tricky problems can be solved economically.

T he most significant advantages of ahigh degree of standardization arecheaper warehousing, reliable qual-

ity, and lower maintenance and servicecosts. That is why more and more users arerelying on a wide range of standardized,approved process instruments that cover asmany applications as possible. But thistrend is counteracted in many cases byspecific application conditions – whetherparticularly high temperatures, aggressivemedia, or excessive formation of foam or

steam – that necessitate special devices, orat least, special versions of a device.

Difficult conditions do not always meanhaving to deviate completely from a proventype of device. A special version often suf-fices – for example, one with a special abra-sion-resistant lining. However, a differentmeasuring principle may sometimes benecessary to rule out ambient interference,for instance.

A wide range of equipment bringsadvantages

A large selection of options and versions al-lows a special device type to be configuredfor a unique application, while still beinglargely based on components (such as theelectronics) of the standard version. Oneexample of such a series of devices is theSitrans F flowmeters. A number of differ-ent measuring sensors can be combinedwith measuring transducers in differentperformance classes for standard applica-tions, as well as for difficult operating con-ditions.

Special expertise for the best solution

Selecting the right solution from amongthe many possibilities, and being able to

Customized designs for sophisticated applications

Expertise Solves Tricky Tasks

decide whether a special tailor-made prod-uct is indeed necessary in a particular case,depends on close examination and adap-tation of the conditions and technologicalpossibilities. Otherwise, the search for theright monitoring device can be long andexpensive.

In cases such as these, Siemens sup-ports its customers with experienced spe-cialists who are familiar with both the re-quirements of the process industry, andwith the technological possibilities of theSiemens product line. The best monitoringsolution can then be found and imple-mented in a short time. ■


Always ready to listenThe forum for users of field devices andanalyzers answers questions on this andother topics.

E-mail: [email protected]

Maxum edition II process gas chromatographs optimize natural gas processing

Desert AnalyticsIn the processing plant near the largest offshore natural gas field in the world in the Persian Gulf nearthe Iranian coast, Maxum edition II process gas chromatographs are used in the first five developmentstages. Moreover, Siemens is the system provider for development stages 1,4 and 5, supplying aturnkey analytics solution. Siemens was able to secure these projects against strong competition.

The gas is produced with off-shorerigs and then pumped about 100kilometers to the coast for further

processing. One by-product of the pro-cessing is hydrogen sulfide. It is convertedinto elementary sulfur in the so-calledClaus process. It can be used as a raw ma-terial for manufacturing pharmaceuticals,in the cosmetics industry, in vulcanizationof rubber, or in crop protection, because itis very pure.

The Claus process is controlled usingmodern analytics. The sample must be keptat 145 degrees Celsius continuously fromthe tapping point to the analyzer, becauseeven the slightest deviation from this tem-perature could lead to analyzer failure. Thisprecise temperature must also be main-tained during sample preparation.

This is where the Maxum II process gaschromatographs show their strengths. TheMaxum edition II analyzer is equipped withtwo ovens that can be heated separately.One oven contains the analytics, the otheraccommodates the sample preparation.That way, sample preparation temperaturescan be controlled accurately and simply.

These features were one of the decisivereasons why the Hyundai Engineering &Construction Company Ltd., general con-tractor for the development stages 4 and 5of the project, awarded the contract for theanalytics to Siemens.

Desert-proven analytics

Extreme heat in summer, sandstorms andthe corrosive maritime atmosphere posea challenge to the technology that is be-ing used in the project. Siemens therefore

implemented a special cooling solutionfor systems in the development stages 4and 5.

Water-cooled convection coolers operatewithout fans and external radiators, andtherefore avoid the corrosive effects causedby the ambient conditions. Only for thoseapplications where a higher cooling per-

formance was mandatory, compressorcoolers, equipped with a special suction in-take solution and a sand trap, were in-stalled.

Siemens also supplied the safety sys-tems for the analysis systems. A Logo! mod-ule triggers an alarm when limits for toxicor explosive gases are exceeded. Moreover,the module sends an alarm tag to the con-trol room.

More projects in the near future

The development stage 1 is already in op-eration; and stages 4 and 5 are currently be-ing commissioned. Daelim Engineering,the engneering company of the first ex-pansion stage, is very pleased with theSiemens solution, and has already an-

nounced that they want to order anotheridentical system – which is an impressiveacknowledgement of the good perform-ance of both the project team and theMaxum process gas chromatographs. ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/processanalyticsE-mail: [email protected]

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The sample is kept at 145 degreesCelsius from the sampling point to the analyzer

The on-shore processing units of thedevelopment stages 4 and 5

process news 4/2004

21CASE STUDYProcess Analytics

22 CASE STUDY

The distributed and flexible operatingconcept is one of the great advantages ofthe new process control system

Migration from Teleperm M to Simatic PCS 7 during ongoing operation

Step by StepSewage treatment is a continuous process that cannot simply be shutdown – even when the process control system is in urgent need ofmodernization. ARA Rhein AG therefore insisted that the systemmigration take place during ongoing operation. The plant was migratedfrom Teleperm M to Simatic PCS 7 in a total of 10 stages, without anyinterruptions in the operation.

Waste Water

23

T he Swiss company ARA Rhein AGruns a sewage treatment plant fordomestic and industrial sewage.

Clients include half of the canton BaselLand as well as various chemical andpharmaceutical companies. A large part ofthe industrial sewage comes from thenearby factories of Schweizerhalle, Mut-tenz, and Pratteln. Although domesticsewage makes up a high percentage of thetotal sewage inflow in pure volume, ARARhein AG’s prime concern is the treatmentof industrial sewage – that is, the elimina-tion of total organic carbon (TOC), includ-ing the neutralization of acids and alkalis.

The plant in Pratteln was automatedwith a control system based on TelepermM. However, the system had aged after 10years in service and needed to be broughtup to the latest state of the art. ARA RheinAG therefore decided to completely mod-ernize the plant’s control technology. Theaim of the investment was to maintain andin some areas increase the efficiency of theplant – and the application required thatthe whole migration project had to takeplace during ongoing operation. Thisposed a real challenge to the SuiselectraAG engineering consultants, who were re-sponsible for project management, and theSiemens project team, which was respon-sible for the engineering, installation, andcommissioning. The entire migration pro-cess was divided into 10 phases and tookplace over a period of 18 months. One com-ponent after another was exchanged, ac-cording to a strict plan, until a totally newprocess control system had emerged atthe end.

Entering a new ageThe entire plant is now controlled bySimatic PCS 7, and an automation systemis assigned to each of the 12 subsections ofthe plant. Despite the complete modern-ization of the process control system, it waspossible to retain the entire process pe-riphery, and therefore secure a large partof the existing investment.

The previous operation information sys-tem was also replaced by a more modernand flexible solution. Two separate serversprovide redundant acquisition, archiving,evaluation, and display of all of the relevantoperating data. In order for ARA Rhein AGto be able to compile the monthly reportsand invoices for the sewage suppliers, thearchiving function of the system was ex-tended with a post-calculation tool. This al-lows a user to enter the analysis data of aclient from the laboratory into the archiveand recalculate the balances. All archivedonline and balance data can be displayedsimply as reports or invoices in Excel orused for optimization or statistical calcu-lations.

The archiving itself can now be donemuch more quickly and easily. The dataused to be archived on magnetic tape, butit can now be loaded from both serversonto DVDs monthly. “It is an enormous im-provement in terms of both time and ca-pacity,” says Hubert Goldstein, who was re-sponsible for the technical aspects of themigration at ARA Rhein AG.

Improved safety measures

What Hubert Goldstein admires most aboutthe plant is the flexible structure and thedistributed control and monitoring of allof the critical functions. The two separateredundant PCS 7 servers are connectedwith a total of six clients for this purpose.With this configuration, even the processwater supply pump station located about3.5 kilometers away from the premises canbe operated locally.

Software for detecting alarms is also in-stalled on the PCS 7 server. If a failure oc-curs, the system automatically sends alarmreports to the mobile phones of the per-sonnel on duty. The new system also in-corporates a further security level: Simo-code DP control devices and Sipart DR21controllers allow operation of the planteven if the process control system shouldfail (despite redundant servers). UsingSimocode DP, it is possible to manually op-

erate pumps, locks, and fans, as well as setparameters via the Sipart DR21 compactcontrollers.

With a grain of salt, those responsible atARA Rhein AG see the new process controlsystem as an “obligatory investment withpositive side effects.” The old system re-quired urgent renewal, says KarlfriederLocher, managing director of ARA RheinAG, “but the migration has paid off. Theplant can once more achieve, if not exceed,its old levels of efficiency, and the systemreliability has been retained.”

The consistent implementation of themigration project particularly impressedhim: “Despite the one-and-a-half-yearbuilding phase, we did not have to inter-rupt operation for a single second. Thenew solution also allows us to implementfuture optimizations. The whole system isnow technically up-to-date and should beoperationally reliable for many years tocome.” ■

Find out more:www.siemens.com/pcs7E-mail: [email protected]

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Guaranteed safety: The plant can alsobe controlled manually with the SipartDR21 controllers in an emergency

process news 4/2004

Simatic PCS 7 at ARA Rhein AG

B Migration from Teleperm M in 10

stages without interrupting operation

B 12 plant subsections with one Simatic

PCS 7 automation system each

B 2 redundant PCS 7 servers with PCS 7

clients as an HMI system, including

Funkserver PRO alarm software

B 1 PCS 7 engineering station

B Simatic PDM (Process Device Manager)

for central configuration of process

instruments via Profibus DP

B 2 redundant separate servers for the

WinIS operation information system

B 6 local PCS 7 clients

B 3 local clients for the operation

information system

B Backup provided by Simocode DP

control units and Sipart DR21 compact

controllers

process news 4/2004

D egussa is expanding its core opera-tions in Asia, a region of rapid growthand global economic importance. In

Map Ta Phut, in the Rayong Province ofeastern Thailand, the Degussa Aerosil &Silanes business unit is building a new fa-cility for the production of fumed silica.

AEROSIL® is used in a wide range of ap-plications. The products of Thai Aerosil areused for reinforcement and thixotropy ofRTV silicone systems such as sealants andmoulding components. Other typical fieldsof application are the reinforcement of HTVsilicon rubber, rheology control of liquidsystems, improvement of free-flow charac-teristics of powders and thermal insulationof, for instance, radiation heaters in cook-ers. The substance is manufactured in ahigh-tech combustion process.

Integrated fail-safe solution

Degussa decided to automate the new plantwith Simatic PCS 7, because it offeredthe option of seamlessly integrat-ing fail-safe systems. In addi-tion, Siemens was able tooffer both comprehensiveprocess and automationknow-how, as well as lo-cal expertise and sup-port in Thailand.

The central pointsof the automation aretwo AS 417-4 automa-tion stations. Threeindividually config-ured process operat-ing stations communi-cate with the automation

Simatic PCS 7 integrated with Simatic S7-315F in fail-safe application at a new Degussa site in Thailand

Local and Global ExpertiseWhen Degussa AG awarded the contract for automating a new fumed silicafacility in Thailand to Siemens, engineers in Thailand and at Siemens head-quarters in Germany joined forces to find the best possible solution for controllingthe complex processes. The experienced Siemens staff in Thailand has enabledDegussa to benefit from shorter response times and convenient on-site services.

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AEROSIL® used as a carrier substrate:The white, fine powder can containas much as 95 percent water

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The new facility was opened in October 2004

stations via a fiber-optic industrial Ether-net network. The central engineering sta-tion is also connected via the Ethernet net-work. The system uses several SimaticET 200M devices to collect the analog anddigital signals. The drives, including 41Simocode, as well as the heating systemsare integrated via a Profibus DP network.Using fieldbus technology greatly de-creased the number of I/Os and reducedwiring and commissioning expenses. Sincethe control of the burner is a safety-criti-cal element, this process step is automatedusing a fail-safe Simatic S7-315F controller.The burner control is networked with thetwo Simatic PCS 7 automation systems.

Transcontinental cooperation

The teams at Siemens Germany and Thai-land worked closely with the engineers ofDegussa to complete the project. The local

engineers from Thailand collaborated withtheir colleagues in Germany during theprogramming of the system software, andcommissioning and additional system mod-ifications were performed on-site by localSiemens staff, which helped reduce over-all project costs.

The project was completed according toschedule. Degussa is very satisfied with theprocess automation of its new plant, whichwas officially opened in October 2004. Withthis impressive team performance, Siemenshas once again demonstrated that its proj-ect expertise extends even across continen-tal borders. ■


AEROSIL® fumed silica is a highlydispersed or fumed silicon dioxide.It is a white fluffy powder with a very high surface area. For illus-tration: e.g. 20 grams of AEROSIL®200 have the same surface area asa medium-sized football field

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24Specialty Chemicals

CASE STUDY

process news 4/2004

25CASE STUDY

A fter almost a year of acquisition andnegotiation, the day finally came onJanuary 28, 2002: the Jiangsu Meilan

Chemical Company and Siemens Ltd. Chinasigned the contract for the installation of asewage treatment plant. Siemens’ compre-hensive process expertise helped the com-pany win the trust from Meilan. The politi-cal, economic, and media interest in the

German-Chinese project in Taizhou, a cityof five million, was high.

Expertise in technology and execution

Siemens handled this project as EPCM con-tractor, with staff in Shanghai and Frank-furt. The Siemens project team was re-sponsible for all phases of the project – be-ginning with the process design, through

Waste Water


engineering and process technology up tocommissioning of the sewage plant.

Simatic PCS 7, which provides safe pro-cess control for the complex operation, helpsmake the sewage treatment plant a modelfor the entire region.

Strengthening business relations

Siemens has since received various follow-up orders from Jiangsu Meilan. For exam-ple, a local Siemens process improvementteam analyzed the production process formanufacturing fluoroelastomers, and rec-ommended improvements that were ulti-mately implemented in the process. By of-fering a combination of solution expertisein the process industry, effective projectmanagement, and reliable collaborationwith the customer.

Siemens has also strengthened its localstanding: In August 2003, Meilan placedits second order for a process automationsystem – a new production plant for manu-facturing ion exchange membranes – withSiemens Industrial Automation ShanghaiLtd. ■

Cleaner water: the buffering andbiological treatment units at theJiangsu Meilan Chemical Company

Model sewage treatment project with Simatic PCS 7

Clear Solution in ChinaIn 2002, Siemens received an order from the Jiangsu Meilan Chemical LimitedCompany to install a central sewage treatment plant in Taizhou. The plant wentinto operation in July 2004.

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process news 4/2004

26Mining

CASE STUDY

A control system for backfilling of pit roomsplaces special demands on the automationtechnology. Because salt concrete is very abra-

sive, the measuring systems used to monitor the flowof concrete must be extremely wear-resistant. More-over, the automation solution must also guaranteecontinuous compliance with all process parameters– including and especially underground. Cegelec,which was contracted by the Deutsche Gesellschaftzum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern (DBE, germanassociation for the building and operation of wasterepositories), relied on the technology and expert-ise of Siemens for this project.

Simatic and Sitrans above and below ground

A Simatic S7-400 controller with the Simatic WinCCprocess visualization system controls all processesduring filling. The central controller is supported byseveral Simatic S7-300 controllers installed under-ground and integrated with the automation solutionby Profibus DP.

To resist the abrasive salt concrete, Sitrans flowme-ters with the patented highly abrasion-resistant No-volac cladding are used. Moreover, the salt concretepulsates strongly because it is pumped by a double-piston pump and also has a high percentage of solidmineral salt, so inductive Sitrans FM Transmag flowme-

ters with clocked al-ternating fields areused. The inductiveflowmeter technologyallows accurate, reli-able measurement,even in the case ofstrong interferencesignals at the meas-uring electrodes, dueto the enormous sig-nal-to-noise ratio. Theflowmeter is con-nected by a specialarrangement of tongueand groove mount-ings in pressure classPN 160.

The installed pressure measuring instruments ofthe Sitrans P type are equipped with special pressuretransducers that allow for trouble-free, long-term,and stable measurement of the process pressure ofup to 160 bar.

Trouble-free commissioning

Installation and commissioning of the Siemens sys-tems was accomplished without any problems, ac-cording to Cegelec project manager Gerwig Neu-mann: “The fine-tuning and the optimization of thesoftware functionality of the measuring instrumentswas performed on-site by technical support person-nel. The flowmeters, pressure transmitters, and theMultiranger ultrasonic level systems operating un-derground are ideal for the measuring tasks, and areworking to our full satisfaction. We will certainly berelying on Siemens again in the future, if we shouldreceive more orders from DBE.” ■

Sitrans and Simatic technology in the Morsleben mining works

Safe and ReliableThe DBE hired Cegelec as the general project manager to fill selected pit rooms at theMorsleben mining works with salt concrete. Siemens provided the complete visualization,automation technology, and process instrumentation for this project. Simatic and Sitranstechnology are ideal for the harsh conditions underground.

Backfilling is automated with Simatic technology

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The Novolac lining available for Sitransflowmeters is suited for use withextremely abrasive media

Find out more:www.siemens.com/processinstrumentationE-mail: [email protected]: [email protected]

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infosinfosDo you want to know more about the systems and solutionsfor the process industry from Siemens Automation and Drives?Simply visit our information portal on the Internet:

www.siemens.com/processautomation

onlineonlinewww.siemens.com/processnewsHere you can download the current issue and past issues ofProcess News in PDF format, or search directly for articles aboutspecific topics, technologies or systems in the Reference Center.

27DIALOGUE

multimediamultimediaNew Pharma Competence CD

The new Pharma Competence CD presents the entire multidisci-plinary know-how and broad services and solutions portfolioSiemens has to offer to its clients in the pharmaceutical industry.

The CD contains a collection of case studies and a Siemens port-folio brochure for the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, twoshort videos demonstrate how pharmaceutical companies havemastered their challenges by working with Siemens: for example,in automating an extremely flexible pilot plant at the East Hanoversite of Novartis, or in significantly reducing the product lead timeof vaccines, which is one of the projects the Nederlands VaccinInstituut has executed in cooperation with the fermenter engi-neering company Applikon and Siemens.

The CD includes German and English versions of the material,and can be ordered free of charge through your local sales person.

Order number: E20001-W90-T193-X-7400

process news 4-04PublisherSiemens Aktiengesellschaft,Automation and Drives Division (A&D), Gleiwitzer Str. 555, 90475 NurembergGermany

www.siemens.com/automation

Group Executive ManagementHelmut Gierse, Anton S. Huber, Alfred Ötsch

Responsible for ContentPeter Miodek

Responsible for Technical ContentCornelia Dürrfeld

ConceptChristian Leifels

EditorCornelia Dürrfeld, Siemens AG, A&D SPSiemensallee 84, 76187 Karlsruhe, GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 7 21/5 95-25 91Fax: +49 (0) 7 21/5 95-63 [email protected]

Editorial CommitteeIan Bowman, Inez Costenoble, CatherineDerkosh, Boris Diekmann, Dr. Michael Gilluck,Achim Heim, Hans-Jürgen Huber, Walter Huber,Bernd Langhans, Hartmut Oesten, Silvana Rau,Rüdiger Selig, Dieter Stolz, Roland Wieser

Publishing HousePublicis KommunikationsAgentur GmbH, GWACorporate Publishing ZeitschriftenP.O. Box 3240, 91050 Erlangen, GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 91 31/91 92-5 01Fax: +49 (0) 91 31/91 92-5 94

[email protected]

Editor in chief:Kerstin Purucker

Layout: Jürgen Streitenberger

Copy editing:Irmgard Wagner

DTP: Doess, Nuremberg

Druck: Stürtz GmbH, Würzburg

process news is published quarterly

Circulation: 32,000

Job number: 002100 RPE44

© 2004 by Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Munich and Berlin.

All rights reserved by the publisher.

This edition was printed on environ-mentally-friendly chlorine-free paper.

ISSN 1430-2292 (Print)

The following products are registeredtrademarks of Siemens AG:CALOMAT, CEMAT, ECHOMAX, ET 200,SIMATIC IT, SIMATIC PCS 7, SIMOCODE DP,SIMOREG, SIPAN, SIPART, SITRANS, SIWAREX,TELEPERM M, TOTALLY INTEGRATED AUTOMA-TION, ULTRAMAT, WinCC

If trademarks, trade names, technicalsolutions or similar are not listed above,this does not imply that they are notregistered.

The information provided in thismagazine contains merely generaldescriptions or characteristics ofperformance which in case of actual usedo not always apply as described or whichmay change as a result of furtherdevelopment of the products. Anobligation to provide the respectivecharacteristics shall only exist ifexpressly agreed in the terms of contract.

Order number: E20001-M6404-B100-X-7600

Printed in Germany

A faster return on investment –in all processes

simatic

w w w . s i e m e n s . c o m / s i m a t i c - p c s 7

To t a l l y

I n t e g r a t e d

A u t o m a t i o n

PCS 7Increasingly heavy competitive pressure is forcing companies to constantly increase theirproductivity and shorten their time to market. Growing costs also require the optimizationof both engineering and processes. Because it is an integrated process control system, this iswhere PCS 7 provides support. PCS 7 is part of Totally Integrated Automation. Its visualizationsystem, specially designed for control applications, ensures reliable process control. A centralsystem-wide engineering system reduces development, implementation and engineering overhead.In brief, SIMATIC® PCS 7 minimizes costs, optimizes processes, and raises profits, giving you afaster return on investment over the entire life cycle of your plant.

The innovative SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system.Setting a new standard of integration!

Order more information now! Fax 0911 / 978 3321, info service AD/Z0818

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