News Brief: Emerson extends Plantweb™ Insight application portfolio to simplify asset health monitoring and maintenance

Five new easy-to-deploy apps to deliver actionable asset alerts to cost-effectively improve reliability, safety and production

With the demand to implement the Internet of Things, the challenge is knowing where to start. Plants generate more data than ever before without meaningful analytics to guide expert decisions and actions. Plantweb enables customers a scalable, easy path into Industrial IoT benefits that will transform data into truly actionable information – information that plant personnel can use to dramatically improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of assets, people and processes.

Deployable via traditional workstation, tablet or smartphone, Emerson’s Plantweb Insight apps provide specific asset alerts which enables companies to see a quick return on investment in months by avoiding slowdowns and shutdowns. Instead of having to rely on an asset expert, these affordable, easy-to-use apps can be quickly deployed and easily accessed anytime, anywhere in real-time by maintenance staff to improve asset operations in chemical, oil and gas and refining.  A user can begin with one or more assets such as pumps or heat exchangers, and then expand as they achieve measurable benefits.

The built-in domain expertise of the analytics helps resolve asset issues that were formerly solved by periodic, time consuming manual rounds or unexpected failures. Pre-built analytics require minimal configuration, and its flexible software is operating system-independent, easily installing and integrating with existing infrastructures. 

Using Plantweb Insight, users can improve asset reliability and energy usage by identifying abnormal situations and inefficiencies, recognizing optimum maintenance times, and tracking asset health to identify and prevent failures before they occur. They also can avoid potential safety incidents and ensure regulatory compliance, reducing fines and environmental impact though the real-time identification of leaks and other hazards. Plantweb Insight is currently available with applications for steam trap monitoring, pump monitoring and pressure gauge monitoring. The newest apps in the suite include:

• Heat Exchanger Insight – This Plantweb Insight app provides overview of heat exchanger status and diagnostics from all the instruments on the network. Based on an algorithm, it provides directions to maintenance on where to focus action for issues, and provides a detail of the issue to guide them in efficient resolution, thereby avoiding slowdowns and shutdowns. 

 
Future Plantweb Insight applications launching in the next year include:

• Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger – This Plantweb Insight app recognizes abnormal situations in the Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger pertaining to fan vibration, reduced cooling, louver defects and fouling. The app provides the user with instant visibility into asset status and alerts as well as guidance on how to resolve the issue.
   
• Pressure Relief Device Insight –  Plantweb Insight for Pressure Relief Devices (PRD’s) identifies failures in relief devices such as simmering and leaking and alerts staff on actions to take to guide resolution. The Insight app also logs all release events to assist with regulatory compliance, and tracks production and emission impact in relation to goals and regulations.
   
• Network Management Insight – Plantweb Insight for network management manages up to 100 Wireless Gateways in one easy-to-use application that quickly identifies network status and any abnormal conditions, and recognizes network issues pertaining to reliability, pinch points, network load, etc. then guides users to resolve any issues.
   
• Corrosion Insight –  Plantweb Insight for corrosion gathers insight into pipe integrity and health, and identifies safety and reliability events before they cause shutdowns. The app tracks and trends corrosion rates to proactively address issues and provides guidance in how to correct any issues. 

 
For more information go to: www.emerson.com/plantweb-insight