TPT May 2010

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A publication of
6 November2009 ›
Industry News
Path to leak-free instrumentation
systems unveiled at Offshore show
A COMPREHENSIVE product range
for minimising potential leak paths in
process instrumentation was unveiled at
Offshore Europe by the instrumentation
products division of Parker Hannifin,
which specialises in motion and control
technologies.
Solutions for all standard connectivity
and functional requirements from the
process line to the instrument are available
inParker’s range as a result of an intensive
innovation-driven developmentprogramme.
A foundation of the range is the
elimination of leak-prone taper thread
Parker has now developed a com-
prehensive range of innovative solutions
for instrument interfacing in the form of
integrated and close-coupledmanifolds.
For standard double-block-and-bleed
requirements Parker offers manifolds
in monoflange and flange-ended forms,
providing ‘one-piece’ solutions that
eliminate any need for system building
using discrete valves (and all the additional
connections and potential leak paths of that
approach).
These manifolds are now optionally
available in new, ultra-low-emission, ISO
15848 compliant forms.Parker’s newest integrated manifold
solution is the highly innovative CCIMS
close-coupled instrument mounting
system.
CCIMS provides a novel means of
directlyattachingadifferentialpressure flow
measurement instrument to a process line.
Parker is now releasing CCIMS variants
for differential pressure levelmeasurement
applications, and for static pressure
measurementaswell.
“Process instrumentation connections
have evolved over a hundred years and,
inevitably, tube connections and valve
and manifold techniques are steeped in
tradition,” says Parker Hannifin’s Sheldon
Banks. “There’s enormous scope for
rethinking how things are done to provide
more reliable leak-free systems, and this
innovation-based approach underpins our
instrumentation product range.”
Parker InstrumentationProducts
DivisionEurope–UK
Email:
connections, and with it any need for
PTFE tape or anaerobic sealant – another
common cause of problems in the field.
Parker’s solutions in this area extends the
scope of reliable compression tube fittings
throughout the instrumentation chain, by
integrating compression tubing ends onto
valves andmanifolds.
Combined with accessories such as
threadless piping interfaces that convert
a standard flange to a compression tubing
connection, plant engineers have the
means of eliminating NPT threads in any
standard instrumentation application.
Innovative solutions forallstandardconnectivity
and functional requirements from theprocess line
to the instrumentareavailable inParker’s range
 Parker'ssolutions forminimisingpotential leakpaths is
theeliminationof leak-prone taper thread connections –
acommon causeofproblems in the field
82 November2009 ›
The UBS deal
WillSwitzerland’s culture of discretion in
bankingmatters never again be the same?
Or,will it forever be the same?
“UBS’s mistakes have opened a gaping hole in banking secrecy
that can no longer be closed.TheUS has blown up a dam thatwas
considered unshakeable andwithoutweakness.”
This analysis, attributed to the Swiss newspaperLe Temps by
an English-language website of Swiss Broadcasting Corp, refers
to the persistent and ultimately successful effort of the US to
wrest from Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, the names of some
Americans suspected of dodging taxes through the use of secret
accounts. On 11 August, it was reported that negotiators from
the two countries had reached a settlement that averted a legal
showdown over Washington’s request for a federal court ruling
compellingUBS compliance.In brief, UBS, the world’s second-biggestmanager (after Bank
of America) of money for high-net-worth individuals, in February
2009 acknowledged criminalwrongdoing in selling offshore banking
services thatmight have enabledAmerican citizens to evade their
tax obligations. The bank consented to pay $780mn in penalties
and also to share with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the
names of some 250UBS clients.Aday later, the IRS sued the bank
for information on asmany as 52,000 of its clients.On 31 July the US and Switzerland said they had reached an
agreement in principle on the lawsuit. This was followed quickly
by word of the settlement and, on 19 August, by publication of
its amended terms: UBS would turn over the names of 4,450
American clients suspected by the IRS of employing Swiss
accounts for tax evasion.
Enthusiastic response
This resolution of the landmark challenge to Swiss bank secrecy
was widely applauded. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman was
quotedassaying that theagreement “protects theUSgovernment’s
interests.” For the Swiss, EvelineWidmer-Schlumpf, who heads
the FederalDepartment of Justice andPolice, issued a statement
that the “compromise” was “in the interests of both states”. Even
UBS chairman Kaspar Villiger professed himself pleased, saying
the bank was “grateful” for the agreement, which came a scant
week before the scheduled opening of a trial in the case, after
three postponements.
And the agreement appeared likely to hold. Washington Post
staff writer David S Hilzenrath cited the assurance of US Justice
Department lawyerStuartDGibson that it had been initialled by the
parties, and that they would ask the federal judge presiding in the
case to dismiss thematterwhen the final documentswere signed.Thisoutcomehadnot seemed tobe in the cards.Asnoted in the
Postwhen the initial breakthrough was announced: “[It] followed a
long-running legal battle that had already underminedSwitzerland’s
legendary bank secrecy, exposed what the US alleged was a
conspiracyat theheartofSwissbankinggiantUBS,and threatened
to damage relations between two otherwise friendly countries.”
Now some closure had been achieved, to the rejoicing of everyone
except, perhaps, the 4,450American clients ofUBSwhose names
were to bemade known to the IRS.
Aspoilsport question
But just howmuch change can be expected in the Swiss banking
industry’s culture of discretion?WhileAmerican authorities assert
that theirpursuitof taxevaderswillnot stopatUBS, the cautionary
impact of the deal reached inAugust is far from certain.As noted
by reporter Lynnley Browning of theNew York Times, “Smaller
Swiss banks say they are confident that they can blunt its effects
and continue to profit by finding new, more elaborate ways to
protect the privacy” of clients. (“Names Deal Cracks Swiss Bank
Secrecy,” 20August)
For thatmatter, howmuch peril looms for the 4,450 “names” of
interest to the IRS? UBS is obliged to give them up to the Swiss
tax authority for forwarding toWashington.But, under the terms of
a new tax treaty between theUS and Switzerland, full transmittal
of the names could take more than a year. In the meantime,
UBS will have notified these clients, who may then appeal the
disclosures inSwiss courts.
In light of the “new political climate” in the US, anotherTimes
contributor acknowledged that we may expect to see a few rich
Americans “shifting uncomfortably.”But,GrahamBowleywrote:
“Although the United States is supposed to learn the identities
of a few thousand tax evaders, those names will go first to an
intermediate tax administration inSwitzerland for review.The actual
process of recovering the namesmay become lost in bureaucracy
and foot-dragging.” (“A Privileged World Begins to Give Up Its
Secrets,” 23August)
Of related interest . . .
›A survey by specialist consultancy Scorpio Partnership of
14,000 private bankers and 7,000 wealthy individuals showed
that private wealth managed by banks and investment managers
around the world decreased nearly 17% to $14.5tn in 2008 from
a year earlier. The fall in managed wealth, the first since 2002,
highlights the industry pressures of the global financial crisis and
weakening bank secrecy in offshore centres after years of buoyant
growth. (ecommerce-journal.com,6 July)
Pacific Rim
Enjoying the rewards of its prudence,
Australia has also become increasingly
dependent onChina
Because Australia moved quickly and aggressively to switch its
monetary and fiscal policy to stimulus, Australian banks were
not exposed to the consequences of unwise lending practices
Global marketplace
TheSwiss banking systemwill be forced to change
NilsMerkel
46 November2009 ›
Technology Update
Chamfering module passes the 2,000 units an hour mark
New functions for Scada software
brings more plant transparency
Defined internal and external chamfering aswell as facing of tubes and solid bars are possible
RSAhas introducedanewhigh-performance
circular saw called RASACUT XS that is
designed for diameters of between 6 and
30mm and achieves high production levels
that can only bematched by bundle cutting.
The product is used in the automobile
industry, especially for engine fuel lines.
Inaddition to thisnewsaw,RSAhasnow
brought a module for the chamfering and
facing of tubes in the same diameter range
onto the market. Hourly outputs of up to
2,400 units are possible, depending on the
range of parts.The guaranteed precision of
fixed lengths is±0.05mm.
When used in combination with the
RASACUT XS saw, the result is a top-
performance saw centre with a high output
and high level of automation and the
company claims it permits the production of
precise fixed lengths at an attractive price.
The precise and defined edging condition
of the tubeends– forexample,when forming
theends, flatteningdownorbending–enable
further processing costs to be reduced.
RSAEntgrat-u Trenn-SystemeGmbH&
CoKG–Germany
Fax: +49 2351 995 300
Email:
THESiemens IndustryAutomationDivision
hasexpanded itsSimaticWinCC/Downtime
Monitor and Simatic WinCC/DataMonitor
software options for theSimaticWinCCV7
Scada system.
The DowntimeMonitor can now also be
used forequipmentwithvaryingspeeds.The
shiftmodelhasalsobeenenhancedtoinclude
up to threeshiftcalendars forcomparing the
use of machines and plants with different
shiftmodels. This feature can prove useful
for analysing production fluctuations,
for example when two machines deliver
varying product qualities or quantities
when operating under otherwise identical
conditions. The DataMonitor tag selection
for theWebcenter has also been improved.
The WinCC/DowntimeMonitor and
WinCC/DataMonitor software options are
used for visualising production processes
as well as capturing, analysing and
distributing production data.
The software calculates production
figures,aswellasdisplayingandevaluating
them, which results in increased plant
transparency and productivity. In the latest
WinCC/DataMonitor version, the user
now utilises the server to distribute the
reports previously created offline in Excel.
Thanks to new tools for the installation-free
Webcenter, process values are displayed
withmore transparency than ever before.
This version of the WinCC/
DowntimeMonitor and WinCC/DataMonitor
also provides the userwithGantt diagrams
for the machine status, which can quickly
zoom details of any selected period of
time,with a singlemouse click immediately
leading back to the original time space
within the overall display.
It is also possible to set the maximally
attainable production speed (no of pieces/
time unit) for production changeovers.
The system can now automatically
adjust toalternately filling smallerand larger
containers or cutting shorter and longer
workpieces, for example.This means that the actual values
in each case can always be properly
assigned to the relevant maximum value
and the correct figures calculated, for
example performance from the actual and
desired throughput.
SiemensAG–Germany
Email:
TheDowntimeMonitor
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