Why the Key to a Safe Process Control Migration Might be Found in Cyberspace...

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TURCK GmbH

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Siemens AG

Since 2010, the industrial platform at the Solvay/Butachimie facility is being completely modernized with the support of Siemens. The first leg of the refurbishment program was successfully completed in October 2014 with the virtual commissioning of the new system using a simulated process.

The complete overhaul of the plant’s management system, which is set to continue until 2023, is a prime example of France’s process of reindustrialization and constitutes a concrete step towards implementation of the factory of the future.

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The Solvay/Butachimie chemical platform has been in existence since 1955, and aims to enhance its competitive standing the marketplace by implementing a program of futureproofing measures. The location’s manufacturing operation is based on a complex continuous flow production system which is only interrupted once every three years.

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With its proposal to gradually convert the existing system to the Simatic PCS 7 process control system, Siemens was able to impress on Solvay/Butachimie the importance of futureproofing and enhancing the stability of its facilities. The industrial location comprises a number of sub-production units. Their gradual migration to the new system requires sections of the plant to be decommissioned for a period of between one and three weeks in turn, after which the system must be ready for a return to operation. Failure of one sub-unit to restart would disrupt the entire production chain.

The modernization process is performed by exchanging the control devices and control stations. For some of the sub-units in which the standstill period is not sufficient, transition to a mixed control system is required. This means that the old and new systems exist alongside each other and have to work together when the plant is recommissioned.

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