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Oil and gas production is a 24/7, highly capital- and resource-intensive operation. NTE Automationhas integrates its automation software andoperator panels from Beijer Electronics with customer hardware to offer customers state-of-the-art storage tank inventory control.
In the days of smaller and simpler industrial plants, manual control was the first form of operator interface. An operator would walk a tour, check tank levels and pressure gauges, and adjust valves. Today, given the complexity of all processes, user interfaces or HMI are imperative to engineering personnel and operators to get the job done right.
NTE Automation, a division of North Texas Electric, is a leading provider of complex tank monitoring services since 1974 for, amongothers, the petroleum and chemical industries. One of their clients isHouston-based Economy Polymer and Chemicals, one of the world leadersin polymer technology and a key supplier to the oil and gas industry.Economy contracts with the customer to maintain a local supply of polymer at their site and NTE ensures sufficient polymer levels in Economy’s all tank installations in a number of different locations worldwide.
At each site, the personnel uses operator panels to control what’s in the tanks and maintain and service the product from the ground.Previously, the site personnel had to check the levels manually. Someone needed to climb up and look into the tanks. Now everything is donewith automation. This remote measuring system greatly reduces the riskof employee injury.
NTE’s software – Wireless Data Exchange –is installed on all Economy’s operator panels in the field and monitors continuously the system reporting the fluid levels via a satellite network. The data are communicated to a central server and can be viewed anywhere in the world by authorized personnel using an Internet connection. Thanks to NTE, Economy can optimize their delivery schedules and truck loading, minimize delivery costs, eliminate run outs, anticipate problems and ensure their customers are receiving the best servicepossible.
The embedded display is a vital part of any operator panel. When selecting panel displays for their control solutions, NTE evaluated several of the displays available on the market, before settling for the Exter touch screens from Beijer Electronics. Aestheticdesign, display visibility, available functions, support, and ease-of-use of the designer tool were all important selection criteria.
Jeff Fish works as Automation Designer and PLC programmer at NTE. “The Exter panels from Beijer Electronics are outstanding”, he says. “ They combine true user-friendliness with high performance and functionality. Not only do they look good, they work very well and are really easy to program. Naturally, reliability is also a main issue. Our products ship all over the world. We cannot afford any problems once they leave here. We can’t be sending technicians around the world chasing problems.”
The customer response to the Exter displays has been fantastic. Some of NTE’s customers haven’t even been using touch technology before, so they were thrilled about all the information they could get out of the Exter screen. The touch screen simplifies the complextasks of process control by replacing multiple buttons, lights and other interfaces with a single touch display capable of complex monitoring and control. If a problem occurs, it shows on the screen along withsuggestions how to solve it. Many times, the customers can solve theissue themselves, which saves NTE personnel both time and labor.
NTE customizes the panels before shipment by putting the client’s logo on the display, an operation that is very easy to perform thanks to Information Designer. This configuration tool makes it possible to develop new functions and applications depending on the customer’s needs. For Economy, NTE has designed a flow chart for the touch screen that shows the actual flow of liquids through the pipes and valves. NTE has also built numerous safeguards into the display for automatic warnings.
“Information Designer is very easy to use. The symbol libraries save us a lot of time”, says Jeff Fish at NTE. “Another thing weliked about it is that very little training is required. If you havea background in HMI, the transition to Beijer Electronic’s tool is really easy.”
NTE is so satisfied with Beijer displays that for the last 3 years they have been using nothing but them. “By adding the Exter displays to our service, we are providing our customers with a whole new level of safety and functionality”, states Jeff Fish at NTE. “Also, the service we receive from Beijer Electronics is excellent. Weget very fast responses to every inquiry and if there’s an issue, it’staken care of immediately. Not that there have been many issues really”, Jeff adds.
Automated monitoring tools are not necessarily new to the oil and gas industry. However, the complex, integrated solutions provided by NTE, key contracted with Beijer Electronics, are morethan just a way of automatically monitoring tank levels. Instead, they take tried-and-true monitoring tools and technologies and combine them in a way that allows for treatment optimization to improve safety and efficiency.
Competition in the modern marketplace revolves around a company’s ability to meet their customers’ needs. With solutions from NTE and Beijer Electronics, Economy Polymers is ready to meetthose needs with product, not promises.
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