Control and Instrumentation
We are a complete systems Integrator with a wide variety of expertise in tailored control systems regardless of your industry. We offer a complete service, from design, manufacture, project management, commissioning and on-going service and support. No system is too small or too big.
In a process plant, information is gathered by the control system automatically and continuously from various sensors, field devices and instruments in the facility. This information is used as inputs by the process controller(s) to control various equipment such as motors, heaters and valves (Outputs).
Larger plants usually have a central control room with screen displays of parameters such as temperatures, pressures, flow rates and levels, status of valves and motors, data logging and alarms. These plants normally run fully automatic but operators can override automatic control if required.
Industrial control system (ICS)
The term Industrial control system (ICS) covers several types of control systems used in industrial production. The main types are Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and programmable logic controllers (PLC). They form part of the Overall Plant Control and are all widely used in the industry. The selection of control system type depends on the application, complexity of controls, the size of the Input/Output structure (I/O) and often the budget.
The boundaries of the systems overlap to a large extent, i.e. a PLC in combination with a SCADA system performs very similar to a DCS system, whether in a continuous process or batch control application.
If you are planning an upgrade, our solutions are customised to suit your existing plant and environment regardless of the brand, make or age. Our focused approach is on increasing production Output, quality and employee safety while reducing costs.
All our projects meet the relevant Australian Standards for electrical, mechanical and safety aspects.
For the successful implementation of an automated process we aim to:
- Understanding your requirements to provide a tailored control system solution to satisfy your needs and your budget
- Provide the latest technology that best suits your requirements
- Complete “In-house” design incl. CAD drawings, equipment lists, data sheets and full documentation of all electrical control, instrumentation and software systems
- Risk assessment to highlight all potential safety hazards and compliance with AS4024.1 safety standard
- Run training courses for operating personnel
Our Control & Instrumentation engineering and design capabilities include:
- Conceptual design & feasibility studies
- Project planning incl. Estimating and scheduling
- Electrical design, build and install
- Control systems and full system integration
- Instrument Data sheets
- Loop diagrams and Loop calculations
- Drive schematics
- Fabrication, Assembly and Installation
- Commissioning
- Risk analysis
- PLC and SCADA
- Equipment specifications and selection
- Procurement Services
- QA/QC
- Construction management
- Health and safety
Overall Plant Control system
In a process plant, information is gathered by the control system automatically and continuously from various sensors, field devices and instruments in the facility. This information is used by the process controller(s) to control various equipment such as motors, heaters and valves.
Larger plants usually have a central control room with screen displays of parameters such as temperatures, pressures, flow rates and levels, status of valves and motors, data logging and alarms. These plants normally run fully automatic but operators can override automatic control if required.
Smaller installations may have just one or more local operator panels (LOP) with touch screen displays of parameters such as temperatures, pressures, flow rates and levels, status of valves and motors, data logging and alarms. These plants also run normally fully automatic with local manual operator control if required
The main components of a plant control system are:
DCS – It is generally used for larger type computerized control system in manufacturing, oil refining, petrochemicals, power generation and pharmaceuticals,
SCADA’s main application is to gather remote data using remote terminal units (RTUs) or PLCs to send supervisory data back to a control centre.
PLC’s are suited for most applications, from a small (a few I/O) blind controller right through to a full process plant, consisting of tens of thousands of digital and analogue I/Os.
HMI’s (Human machine Interface) are touch screens or monitors providing an operators interface to the control system. They can be placed in a central control room or distributed around the plant for local display and control.
Field Devices are generally all the digital control devices in the plant, such as Start/stop pushbuttons, limit and selector switches, warning sirens etc.
MCC’s (Motor Control Centre) are switchboards which accommodate motor starters and Feeders. Control in each motor starter ties into the Control System for monitoring and operational control.
Instruments are generally analogue devices distributed in the plant to monitor level, temperature, pressure, flow or other process parameters. These signals are used to control the process and provide alarming.