With an impressive technology showcase of integrated solutions for the process industry and an interactive panel discussion with industry experts, the Honeywell Process Solutions User Meet - 2010 provided a platform to learn about the latest in technology and trends, share best practices and network with industry peers. “Factors such as an uncertain economy, resource constrains, safety and security threats and impact of environmental issues are the prime concerns of the process industry. Honeywell is committed towards addressing these concerns with our growing basket of innovative solutions and with a strong focus on our well defined strategic direction of delivering safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and flawless startup to the customer.” said Ajay Bhargava, Country Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions India at the inaugural ceremony. N K Khosla, Executive Director, (Projects), Refineries Division, Indian Oil Corporation inaugurated the user meet as Chief Guest. In his address he stressed on how safety plays a major role in any process plant and the impact it can have if not given due importance. He urged the gathering of the industry’s best engineers and suppliers to work in collaboration to innovate on making automation more effective and safe while also protecting the investments made in the area. Addressing business priorities The current economic climate is making many industries re-evaluate their operational performance and expenditures. The focus is on improved ROI. Hence, the urgent need to reduce operational costs, increase product throughput and quality, reduced energy consumption and minimise risks. All this and more can be best achieved by optimising the lifecycle of assets and investments and ensuring sustained performance. Additionally, with recent incidents across the globe, safety and security has become high priority for business leaders. In such a scenario, the prime concern of operations and maintenance managers is to optimise, innovate and sustain their automation investments while ensuring the safety of their plant, process and people, as a single major incident can wipe out the entire bottom line of the plant. The range of sessions covered in the event addressed these specific industry needs. The event was categorised into three tracks: • Optimize: gain the competitive edge with enhanced reliability • Innovate: dynamic solutions and endless possibilities • Sustain: integrated approach to plant safety Spotlight The ‘Technology Showcase’ demonstrated the power of integration. With a variety of solutions ranging from field, fire and gas, and control to performance enhancement, optimisation and wireless solutions being integrated to the master control – Honeywell Experion, the technology showcase provided a unique experience of the benefits of a well-integrated solution. The panel discussion on ‘Life Cycle Management’ was an interactive knowledge sharing opportunity. With industry experts like PrabhakarSethi, D K Sharma, Senior Manager – Instrumentation (Projects), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, D Sengupta, CITM , Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Jon Lippin, VPGM, Asia Pacific, Honeywell Process Solutions, and Hemant Joshi, Head-Strategy, Marketing & Business Development, Honeywell Automation India Ltd, the discussion revolved around the issues of rapid change of technology and its impact in the automation arena and challenges in maintaining open systems. It concluded on a collaborative note urging the industry and the automation vendors to work together and overcome the challenges presented by rapidly changing technology. Optimize: gaining competitive edge with enhanced reliability Track 1 of the event was dedicated to reliability. It discussed solutions to drive change in order to optimise the performance, capacity and availability of an installed system. The various sessions covered topics such as ‘Technology to enhance operations & maintenance synergy’, ‘Improving return on operations & capital investment with operator training’ and a case study on how HPCL enhanced operator effectiveness presented by B Sateesh Kumar, Manager- DHDS (Operations), HPCL. He also shared how the implementation of the operator driven reliability solution helped empower the HPCL field crew with reliable and accurate data for further analysis. Innovate: dynamic solutions and endless possibilities Track 2 focused on innovative solutions that help the process industry explore endless possibilities to maximise the potential of installations. It covered topics like ‘Enhance & sustain control loop performance’, ‘Risk free migration’ and highlighted Honeywell's commitment to innovation by providing an understanding of their technology roadmap and its benefits to customers. S K Mandal, Chief Engineer, ONGC Uran and GauravShrowti, Senior Manager, Reliance Nagothane, shared on the topic of ‘Risk free migration of control systems’. The main challenges of migration in a running plant include availability of shutdown period, incomplete documentation of the earlier system, space constraints, etc. Sustain: integrated approach to plant safety Protecting people, assets and profitability demands a holistic safety view. To achieve higher levels of plant safety, a comprehensive and integrated approach to safety is necessary. Such an approach must incorporate consistent and effective processes and procedures. The perfect example of the same was the case study presented by Hemal Shah of Reliance Industries Jamnagar on how Reliance improved safety with integrated fire & gas and CCTV systems. The main benefits included: increased reliability and improved safety with Honeywell’s Safety Manager, early detection of unwanted events and timely completion of project paid off the investment. This track focused on elements recommended by the abnormal situation management consortium like layers of protection, anatomy of disaster, adhering to safety standards and critical infrastructure protection to help in early identification and protect plant, people and processes. Several other relevant topics that help sustain plant profitability such as ‘addressing the issue of critical skills gap’ and ‘corrosion management’ were also discussed in this track. Conclusion The two day residential conference engaged customers with stimulating sessions, networking opportunities with industry leaders and peers and provided the Indian process industry with a platform to share best practices and learn about the latest developments in automation technology.
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