FieldComm Group President and CEO Ted Masters congratulated MRPL on its successful implementation of FOUNDATION Fieldbus and HART Communication Protocol. Utilizing installation savings and advanced diagnostics from over 9,000 FOUNDATION and 5,000 HART devices, MRPL saved over $6,000,000 in project cost alone.
Masters stated, “End users will continue to use multiple communication protocols in their facilities to optimally address process automation use cases. The most adept users will also take advantage of smart data and the tremendous cost savings enabled through its use. MRPL is a great example of using smart data and we are grateful that they applied for and won this year’s Plant of the Year Award.”
Mr. B. Sudarshan, Chief General Manager of Instrumentation & Electrical at MRPL, described his company’s experience with FieldComm Group technologies. He said, "FOUNDATION Fieldbus provided a 50 percent savings with I/Os, cabling, maintenance utilization and installation costs when compared to conventional installations – saving $6,600,000 in project costs alone. In terms of maintenance, FOUNDATION Fieldbus and HART utilized on our instruments, valves and positioners provide an average savings of 55 man days per month.”
MRPL has extensively deployed FieldComm Group technologies, including thousands of smart transmitters, intelligent valve positioners, and WirelessHART infrastructure. The company utilizes FOUNDATION fieldbus for process control, including control-in-the-field for many control loops. FOUNDATION fieldbus is also used for motor-operated valves (MOVs). Thanks to control-in-the-field, MRPL was able to upgrade its distributed control system (DCS) while critical control loops were kept running with the controller shutdown. WirelessHART sensors are employed for secondary level measurement in the tank farm, as well as leak/passing detection on control valves in flare applications.
In addition to cost savings in infrastructure and maintenance time, MRPL continues to receive savings in averted shutdowns and interruptions. In one instance where an unexpected shutdown would have occurred due to valve fault, valve positioner diagnostics identified an issue that allowed MRPL to avoid shutting down hydrogen generation – saving $60,000 in startup and shutdown costs associated with fuel and energy loss.
For more information, please visit the FieldComm Group website.