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Location: Port of Rotterdam, Holland
Challenge: Distributed control system (DCS) with complex IS requirements, plus a late change to the specification that threatened profitability and delivery timescale.
Solution: Eaton MTL SUM5 and 4500 Isolators
Result: IS functionality achieved using original cabinets, DCS delivered on time and to budget.
Eaton made all our problems go away. The MTL SUM5 solved our headaches about delivering complex functionality with limited cabinet space, and the backup and technical support was outstanding.
The Port of Rotterdam is a busy international interchange for the storage and handling of bulk materials. As the busiest port in Europe, it handles around 470 million tonnes of solid and liquid freight each year, including coal, iron and minerals, crude oil and LNG. Its 1,270 employees facilitate in excess of 100,000 inland and seabound ship movements every year and handle almost 9 million containers.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s aim is to strengthen the port’s competitive position as a world-class logistics hub in terms of both size and quality. The development of a new deep-sea terminal to handle various petrochemicals (fuels) forms part of this masterplan. The new tanker terminal will have the capacity to dock up to six seagoing vessels and offer storage for up to 1.3 billion cubic metres of product.
Safety is paramount within the port. The constant presence of potentially flammable liquids, vapours and dust make it a potentially hazardous environment and provide a high risk of explosion or fire. The highly automated nature of the port logistics as regards ship and container movements mean that sophisticated electrical systems are essential to the smooth operation of the new terminal. This combination of potentially flammable materials and electrically powered systems represents an almost constant threat to life and to property. Intrinsic safety is an absolute necessity to prevent any source of ignition from the electrical equipment on the site causing an explosion.
Process Automation Solutions BV (PA) won the tender to supply the new terminal’s DCS. PA is a globally operating leading independent automation solutions provider with more than 30 years’ experience in automation for process applications. However, the IS requirements for the new Rotterdam terminal were particularly complex and PA realized they would need specialist support.
The challenges did not stop there. A late change to the DCS specification, which entailed more input/output complexity due to mixed signals from multiple cores, threatened to derail on-time delivery of the system. With just eight weeks to go, PA had already bought the control cabinets; so space was a serious constraint because they now needed to fit in more components to achieve the functionality required. Eaton was able to provide a unique solution.
Eaton’s unique MTL SUM5 (smart universal marshalling) system combines multiple functions in one modular design, saving valuable space in a control room. It removes the need for complex wiring between different marshalling components and can reduce cabinet requirements by up to 65%. MTL SUM5 also offers the ability to program at the detailed design stage.
PA was able to use a combination of MTL SUM5 devices and Eaton’s tried and trusted 4500 Isolators to meet the IS requirements of the new DCS system for the Port of Rotterdam.
Says Tristan Frijters, Business Development Manager at PA: “Eaton made all our problems go away. Their technical knowledge regarding IS electrical system design was invaluable. The MTL SUM5 solved our headaches about delivering complex functionality with limited cabinet space – with the added bonus that they already had a Siemens proof of concept.
“The backup and technical support was also outstanding. We received answers within 24 hours, often about highly technical details. Having a local office so we could converse in Dutch was a real bonus. Eaton even supplied us with a SUM5 demo unit, which enabled us to try out programming prior to transfer to the actual system.”
Without Eaton’s MTL SUM5, PA would have had to start the DCS design again, with new and bigger cabinets. Instead, they were able to deliver the system on time and to the revised specification using the original cabinets, meeting the challenging lead-in time of just eight weeks. The new terminal construction can therefore proceed without delay, safe in the knowledge that it has a robust DCS system that meets all the necessary regulations.
The modular design of the MTL SUM5 will also bring future savings and efficiencies. It saves cost and reduces the bill of materials because only one component needs to be stocked to cover multiple marshalling functions. The ability to simply swap out or add modules to meet future changes means the DCS system will adapt seamlessly as the Port of Rotterdam continues to expand
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