Electricity + Control November 2015

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ROUND UP CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION
Extended machine lifespan and increased reliability
Simatic Migration Services enable companies to migrate to the latest Simatic technologies.This
makes their legacy automation systems future-proof, increases plant availability and extends ma-
chine lifespan.The services are designed for manufacturing customers in all discrete automation
industries. With Simatic migrations services, customers can retain Siemens ' experts to perform
the entire migration. The quick and simple changeover can be achieved through standardised
migration offerings, which range from consulting and conception, through the implementation,
testing and commissioning to
the handover of the new system,
including technical training for the
personnel. Precise planning mini-
mises both the risks of migration
and the scheduled downtime for
the implementation. The services
can be tailored flexibly to match
a company’s requirements. Both
partial and complete migration of
systems and machines are possi-
ble.Within the scope of the service,
Siemens experts support users, in
particular with the migration of ap-
plication software from Step 7, Protool orWinCC Flexible projects toTIA Portal projects. If required,
frequency converters and Motion Control systems can also be modernised. Companies that take
advantage of Simatic migration Services benefit from a smooth migration, long-term spare part
availability, integrated diagnostic functions that speed up fault correction, and reduced downtimes.
Modern Simatic technology and network infrastructures also enable efficient interoperability of
all components and greatest transparency across all levels: relevant information is available
anywhere in the plant at any time. This increases the availability of machines and systems, as
well as making them future-proof.
Enquiries: Keshin Govender. Email
Collaboration on solution for oil refineries
Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation and Cisco Systems GK have collaborated in providing
a new solution for oil refineries that makes use of their respective information and industrial au-
tomation technologies.This platform integrates production, quality, progress control, and other
information technologies with the control systems that are used to monitor and control production
processes in real time, ensuring that facilities can be efficiently rebuilt and modified. It also im-
proves the efficiency of corporate management by making it easier for information to be accessed
by information management systems. As a result of a review of Japanese national energy policy,
a new law known as the Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structures Act was passed that
requires the oil industry to make more efficient utilisation of fossil fuels. To accomplish this, oil
refining companies are now consolidating their refinery operations, as part of which they must also
reestablish and reconfigure their control and information systems.This requires an environment
where control, MES, and ERP systems can be quickly built or reconfigured, and where various
types of complex data can be accessed in an integrated and flexible manner at each system level.
Features of the new solution
The solution improves efficiency by structuring and standardising a plant’s control and information
systems as well as the data handled by these respective systems. This improves the portability of
data, establishes a framework that facilitates the integration, construction, and modification of all
of a plant’s control and information systems, and creates an environment with industry-leading
security for all communications and information management. This is true not only for a plant’s
own control and information systems, but also for links between plants. In addition to facilitating
the consolidation of a company’s refinery operations, this solution is useful in the installation
and expansion of plant facilities, and can deliver the same benefits. This collaboration of Cisco
andYokogawa Solution Service will not be limited to the oil-refining sector.
Enquiries:Tel. +27 (0)11 831 6300 or email