Case Study

A Heavy Industry in Korea Relies On Integrated Power Package

End user achieves significant cost savings and simplified start-up

Challenge

Avoid delay in building and startup
Identify single provider for Integrated Power Package (IPP)

Solutions

IPP with IntelliCENTER technology, PowerFlex 755 AC drives and E300 electronic overload relay simplifies supply chain and operations
ArcShield™ and SecureConnect™ provide expanded safety and networking options
Industrial Data Center runs multiple operating systems and multiple applications from virtualized servers

Results

Thirty percent cost savings over existing power control solution
Reduced number of control solution vendors
Reduced end-user’s spare parts inventory
Achieved seamless network communications within a single platform

Background

One heavy industry company in Korea has successfully completed many of the world's first and largest shipbuilding and offshore engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. Now the goal is to establish global leadership in each of their participating market segments.

Most notably, it has achieved leadership in the high-tech, high-value shipbuilding sector by maintaining the world’s No. 1 share in the drill ship, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit markets.

The company developed and built the first Arctic shuttle tanker and LNG-FPSO units in the world, and has pioneered new markets by developing innovative products such as LNG floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), and ships for polar applications, including Arctic ice breaker container ships.

In the offshore facilities sector, the company has fortified its reputation through excellent technology and rich experience, by successfully delivering the world’s largest semi-submerged offshore drilling platform.

In addition, this company has operated the electricity and electronics business by converging its shipbuilding and offshore business with digital technology. It provides ship network systems, fuel gas supply and storage systems (FuGas), and ballast water management systems (PURIMAR). Its technological excellence often has been recognized in the global markets.

Challenge

The Mexican Gulf region in the Caribbean Sea is home to billions of barrels of recoverable natural resources. When one large multinational oil company began work on a major project in the region, it was important that all systems function as planned. Any delay in the building or startup of this project could result in losing several million dollars per day.

Because this project was so large and complex, many stakeholders were involved in the race to build and commission the production facilities. When this happens, often producers overlook the critical role of collaboration and product specification.

The E300™ electronic overload relay provides a flexible design with real-time motor diagnostic information to proactively indicate when a motor is having a problem so operators can efficiently troubleshoot.

In this case, its end user had requested a detailed design of the floating processing unit (FPU) with more intelligent components and options than ever before. This tailored solution would use a common platform to meet power, control and information needs.

The traditional approach requires separate electrical and process control systems – meaning more vendors to manage; duplicate visualization and reporting platforms; and limited access to mobile and remote device data.

To reduce complexity and improve performance, it tasked the EPC with identifying a single provider for the project’s Integrated Power Package (IPP), including medium voltage motor control centers (MCCs).

Solution

Unifying systems with one IPP simplifies the supply chain and overall operations, reducing the potential for integration challenges that can come with using different technologies from multiple suppliers. Most importantly, a unified system that’s built on a digital foundation can help operators make smarter, faster decisions.

This company selected Rockwell Automation Korea to provide the IPP. The Allen-Bradley® CENTERLINE® 2100 MCC combines rugged durability and premium quality, integrating control and power in one centralized package, with a wide variety of motor control options, delivering the maximum in safety, performance and reliability.

With IntelliCENTER® technology, the CENTERLINE 2100 MCC uses intelligent motor control in combination with built-in Ethernet/IP™ networking and pre-configured software to enhance performance by providing real-time access to information. This allows the end user to control, monitor and maintain operations from any location.

Additional safety and networking features, including ArcShield™ and SecureConnect™ options, allow the EPC to create a design that best satisfies the needs for individual safety and communication programs.

The Allen-Bradley PowerFlex® 755 AC drive is ideal for applications that require positioning, speed or torque control. In this application, the AC drive easily integrates with the embedded Ethernet port, with five option slots to support additional options for feedback, I/O, safety and communications for the onshore application.

In addition, to support virtualization, the Industrial Data Center (IDC) (PDF) – the first-ever sold in Korea – helped the end user realize cost savings through a pre-engineered, scalable infrastructure. All of the hardware needed to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications from virtualized servers was included in the initial design and estimate.

By adopting virtualization, the end user reduced the server footprint, extended application longevity, and improved infrastructure reliability with management and recovery features, remote monitoring and administration.

Results

Simply using industrial-rated controllers in hazardous locations saved almost 30 percent in costs that would have been allocated to more expensive NEMA 7/9 enclosures on the air purge panels required when using traditional power controllers. From the end user's perspective, the flexibility of the industrial control solution allows them to easily and cost-effectively add I/O points to expand the system's capabilities in the future.

Long-term relationships and collaboration figured prominently in this project.

“Our relationship with Rockwell Automation has opened our eyes to what's possible in terms of cutting-edge technology and transferring to new systems without any trouble,” said Joonho Kang, assistant manager. “We've formed a strong relationship with Rockwell Automation, and see a lot of future business opportunities to combine our expertise and deliver innovative IPP solutions to the market.”

The results mentioned above are specific to this company’s use of Rockwell Automation products and services in conjunction with other products. Specific results may vary for other customers.

Trademark Information:

Allen-Bradley, ArcShield, CENTERLINE, E300, IntelliCENTER, PowerFlex, Rockwell Automation and SecureConnect are trademarks of Rockwell Automation Inc.

Published March 19, 2018

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