Control System Refurbishment for SITA UK
SITA UK have recently completed a major refurbishment of their Energy from Waste facility on Teesside, with the objective of extending the life of the installation for a further 25 years. IJ Controls was awarded a contract to refurbish the control system. The contract included the following major elements:
- Upgrade existing PLCs to latest available technology
- Design, construct and install new cabinets to house the new PLCs
- Upgrade existing SCADA hardware using virtual machine technology
- Upgrade existing SCADA and Historian software to current versions
- Redraw existing SCADA graphics using latest technology
- Develop, test and commission PLC and SCADA software modifications to accommodate numerous changes and additions to the plant
- Develop, test and commission SCADA functionality to interface to new Flue Gas Treatment PLCs supplied by a third party
As a result of the refurbishment the client has a control system that functions more reliably and efficiently than previously, is easier to maintain, and is more easily upgradeable as new versions of the SCADA software are released.
The virtual hardware platform on which the SCADA and Historian software runs is based on two independent rack-mount servers. Each server hosts approximately 50% of the virtual machines in the system, but both physical servers are capable of hosting all virtual machines if necessary. The virtual machines are distributed across the two physical servers in such a way that plant operation is possible in the event of failure of either of the physical servers. In such failure conditions there is a simple and quick procedure to transfer virtual machines from the failed server to the remaining operational server.
The SCADA software is Wonderware InTouch, and Wonderware Historian is used for data logging and analysis. The Graphic displays were developed using Archestra Graphics which has enabled a much improved ‘look and feel’ to be introduced.