To meet these challenges, Arkema embarked on an evolution plan for the Human Machine Interface (HMI) for their Control System. As a first step, an inventory of their installed HMI was taken and a set of upgrade requirements established. After evaluating several HMI offerings, including two from ABB, Arkema selected ABB System 800xA as the system of choice for their next generation of HMI. Arkema was able to evolve the installed HMI to 800xA while the Network 90/INFI 90/ Harmony control system remained in place, keeping the plant running and making money.
This Arkema plant subscribes to ABB’s Automation Sentinel Software Management Program. As a subscriber, software license fees were included for the new 800xA HMI at a substantial discount based on the functions of their installed Conductor VMS HMI. Thus, a seamless and low-cost upgrade path was accomplished. ABB Automation Sentinel is also programmed to notify Arkema of the availability of new software version releases and security patches, all of which can be downloaded for use from ABB SolutionsBank.
The installed operator interface was the ABB Conductor VMS line of consoles, which had become the standard for all process areas at this plant. Arkema has a long tradition of performing system engineering and maintenance with in-house resources. For this, they found ABB’s technical support in the early stages and phone support during implementation to be helpful in moving the project forward.
For example, approximately 20 graphic displays from the existing Conductor VMS console were converted to operate in the 800xA platform by working closely with ABB engineers. After this phase, Arkema was well on the way to convert, and in many cases improve, the remaining graphic displays. This confidence is based partially on the knowledge that ABB’s technical system expertise is just a phone call away.