According to an ARC Advisory Group study, about two-thirds of new plants use some sort of smart devices in their overall electrical system. Connecting to these devices and collecting the wealth of information they provide can give workers visibility into electrical equipment conditions and events. This can help them more quickly identify, diagnose and repair faults.
Also, a unified operating environment allows workers to identify and address issues in upstream electrical equipment before they create problems in the process control system. For example, even before an alarm sounds, workers could be alerted to a potential motor failure and start making repairs – all before the failure affects equipment performance.
A unified, digitized infrastructure can also enhance safety by providing remote access to information from high-voltage substations. Instead of entering a potentially hazardous high-voltage substation, technicians can quickly determine the source of an event or alarm and take corrective action, all from a remote console or even a smartphone.
Smart Savings
Up front, implementing an intelligent packaged power system can be dramatically less expensive than a traditional system. That’s because traditional hard-wired systems can require five times more engineering time and installation labor. Also, a hard-wired approach requires working with more vendors, which can add risk to your budget and your timeline.
Longer-term, a unified system can save you even more by minimizing downtime, streamlining maintenance, reducing energy usage and enhancing worker safety.
So, when replacing your electrical control system, ask yourself: Why reap minimal value from a replacement-in-kind strategy when you can do more and save more? Learn more about intelligent packaged power solutions.
