{"id":1332,"date":"2023-07-17T08:14:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T14:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/?page_id=1332"},"modified":"2023-07-17T08:57:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T14:57:52","slug":"media","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/media\/","title":{"rendered":"Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Helle Engineering: Automation and Controls Done Right\" width=\"950\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ynr4vOxQseQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Produced by Ethanol Producer Magazine, Matthew Helle discusses issues biofuel producers face in regard to automation and controls, and how biofuel producers can increase profitability through automation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(0deg,rgb(238,238,238) 50%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%)\">\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Spotlight<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull group-article has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized article\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biobased-diesel.com\/post\/automation-integration-do-it-right-the-1st-time\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article-789x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1261\" width=\"789\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article-789x1024.png 789w, https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article-768x997.png 768w, https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article-1183x1536.png 1183w, https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/HelleEngineering-Summer23-BBD-Article.png 1257w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(180deg,rgb(238,238,238) 50%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%)\">\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Automation Integration: Do It Right the 1st Time<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" id=\"viewer-f982u\"><strong><em>If you don\u2019t, then prolonged delays in start-up, as well as poor reliability and profitability in operations, will likely follow.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-92uai\">The last situation a project developer wants to encounter is months long delays in starting up a new plant due to inadequate integration of their automation systems. But that is precisely what can happen when International Society of Automation standards are not followed, says Matthew Helle, owner of Helle Engineering. Shortcuts and cheap fixes often lead to long, expensive delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-9t4qq\">\u201cOne company fought us tooth and nail on the ISA standards,\u201d Helle says. \u201cThey questioned me on how long it would take to commission their plant. I told them, \u2018First, we need to do loop checks.\u2019 The project manager said, \u2018What\u2019s a loop check?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-ba3k7\">The shocking truth, according to Helle, is that many vendors and producers don\u2019t know\u2014or don\u2019t care\u2014ISA standards exist. \u201cWe have to let them know there\u2019s a standard for this,\u201d he says. \u201cReliability is a key thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-da46\">A loop check is required to test instrumentation end to end, making sure the transmitter\u2019s calibrated range matches the range in the controller and human-machine interface (HMI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-827gl\">\u201cThis particular customer didn\u2019t want to follow ISA standards because of the money it would cost them,\u201d Helle says. \u201cBased on the IO count, I told them it would take us 12 to 14 weeks working 12-hour days. They chose not to perform loop checks and wanted it done in two weeks. It ended up taking them 18 months to get their plant running. This was only after the customer conceded and loop checks were completed. If you do it right the first time and follow standards, then, first and foremost, people don\u2019t get hurt, second, you don\u2019t harm the environment, and third, you can run your plant reliably and profitably. If you don\u2019t follow ISA standards, you can have a very bad day\u2014a very bad year, in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-avjl2\">Helle has been providing automation-integration services for a quarter century. \u201cI have a passion for this,\u201d he says. \u201cWe try to do our job the best we can as engineers to ensure we don\u2019t harm people and the environment. That\u2019s our duty.\u201d He\u2019s worked for big-name companies over the years too. \u201cI know what goes on in the biofuels industry and it can hurt and kill people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-6vtb3\">What Helle Engineering provides may sound simple\u2014a common user interface for plant operators\u2014but it is anything but that. \u201cIn a manufacturers\u2019 environment, they are buying different process skids from different vendors, and those skids do different things\u2014whether its stripping CO, O2, H2S or distillation,\u201d Helle says. \u201cThey buy separate pieces and put them together. That\u2019s how they develop their plants. Along with that comes different controllers from every vendor they choose. They all have different HMIs, different programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and when operators try to run the plant with different user interfaces, that\u2019s a problem. Normally they\u2019re not following ISA standards. When we go to implementation, we follow the standards for loop checks graphics and automation controls. We write the logic based on process-control narratives and develop a common user interface. For the operator, it looks the same\u2014 uniform\u2014at his or any another plant. This way, they know the alarm philosophy and what the difference is between critical and general alarms. We also provide first-out logic from each vendor skid so they know what tripped the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-al776\">When Helle Engineering programs PID controllers, it utilizes current process values to identify problems in the process. \u201cIt\u2019s all about throughput, how much you can push through the process to make finished product,\u201d Helle says. \u201cWe call it loop tuning. We fine-tune temperature, pressure and flow controllers\u2014we tune them properly and make the process more efficient to where a control valve is not oscillating as much. If the valve output is showing a sawtooth pattern, it\u2019s not tuned properly. What you want is the valve making small moves\u2014just millimeters. That means PID control logic is controlling the process and it\u2019s in tune and working properly. When you optimize, you get more throughput. And constant throughput means reliability and profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-ru99\">Helle Engineering offers 24\/7 support for everything it does. The company even supports systems provided by other integrators. \u201cWe have a customer in one state at whose plant the controls were developed by someone else, and we provide system support,\u201d Helle says. \u201cTheir support costs are astronomical. But we wrote the controls for the same customer in a different state, and their support costs are 10 times less. We are not afraid to support what we write because we\u2019re not going to put out a bad product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-dnppk\">When it comes to automation integration, the Spanish saying, \u201clo barato sale caro,\u201d which translates to English as \u201cthe cheap turns out expensive,\u201d is so very true. \u201cIf you want reliability, if you want profitability, and if you want it done right, come talk with us,\u201d Helle says. \u201cIf you don\u2019t, then you can shop the world for the cheapest programmer, and they may get your interface up and running\u2014but let\u2019s see how you do over a year or two and what your profitability looks like when your system is crashing every day or week, or when you can\u2019t maintain good flow because they didn\u2019t tune your valves properly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/contact\/\">GET A QUOTE TODAY!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spotlight Automation Integration: Do It Right the 1st Time If you don\u2019t, then prolonged delays in start-up, as well as poor reliability and profitability in operations, will likely follow. The last situation a project developer wants to encounter is months long delays in starting up a new plant due to inadequate integration of their automation &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/media\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Media&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1332","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1332"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1380,"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1332\/revisions\/1380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleengineering.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}