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Wireless control for boiler maintenance

WIRELESS PORTABLE CONTROL
This portable unit is powered by a rechargeable battery and is encased in an anodised dye-cast extruded aluminium case

WIRELESS PORTABLE CONTROL This portable unit is powered by a rechargeable battery and is encased in an anodised dye-cast extruded aluminium case

6th June 2014

By: Donna Slater

Features Deputy Editor and Chief Photographer

  

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Maintenance and testing procedures on power plant boilers can be monitored with engineering consulting company Carab Tekniva’s U-Fi wireless communication solution that was released in South Africa last year.

The device operates with an updated U-Fi unit using Japan-based optics and reprography: the reproduction of graphics company Olympus’s 45MG thickness gauge.

The solution is specifically designed to track and record maintenance and testing under- taken on power plant boilers, but can also be used in any industrial environment where thickness measurements are captured.

Using the U-Fi interface enables a seamless transition from the physical plant inspection to an electronically stored format that can be viewed on a rugged mobile device.

Maintenance results are updated in real time from the thickness gauge to a Microsoft Excel template on the rugged personal computer. The results can be viewed in real time inside the boiler once data is transmitted and loaded onto external servers.

Carab Tekniva software developer Morné Ausmeier explains that the system uses the in-house developed U-Fi technology, which wirelessly links the test and inspection equipment to a ‘tough book’ tablet device that displays the recorded measurements electronically during inspections.

The populated data template can be uploaded onto the Carab Plant Care Maintenance management system for further evaluation and repair recommendations.

He points out that U-Fi was tested and benchmarked against the current manually sup- ported solution and was used at two of South Africa’s biggest power producers’ plants during 2012, with results yielding zero data loss, while operational improvement exceeded 400%.

“U-Fi enables the user to wirelessly transmit thickness readings to a Microsoft Excel template or used database with 100% accuracy of readings from gauge to templates,” says Ausmeier.

The wireless method entirely eliminates manual capturing errors while automatically uploading inspection templates directly into the system in seconds, he explains.

“U-Fi provides total operational freedom between a thickness gauge and the work- station. Our technology is hierarchical and plants can add hierarchies to tasks, enabling risk and asset management.

“Further, owing to our systems, plant engineers can gain deeper insight into the precise work that has been done or still needs to be done at the plant,” says Ausmeier.

The company’s Carab T module, in addition to the Carab Plant Care Maintenance management system, is a management and real-time progress-tracking tool that can be fully customised to meet a client’s requirements, including all the steps required to complete a work package.

Role-players can be assigned to specific tasks, which enables them to access only the work they need to do, thus giving management personnel more control.

The U-Fi module consists of a sender and a receiver unit, which communicate wirelessly over distances further than 100 m, eliminating the need for cable-based communication systems.

The receiver unit links into a portable preconfigured workstation and communicates wirelessly through the U-Fi firmware with the sender unit, which is configured for an Olympus thickness gauge, known as the MG2-DL.

Carab Tekniva technical marketing and sales representative Billa Pansegrouw says the sender unit is powered by a rechargeable 2 200 mAh, 8.2 V lithium-ion sealed battery pack, and both units are encased in an anodised dye-cast extruded aluminium case.

To meet the specific requirements of Carab Tekniva Group’s customer suite, the current configuration of the device includes an Olympus MG2-DL thickness gauge and the Algiz 7 Tough Tablet that is powered by a Windows 7 32-bit operating system.

Using the thickness gauge to determine a thickness measurement, the master unit initiates a request for data and stores it on the workstation.

Pansegrouw notes that the U-Fi module is currently used as part of the outage process at two power plants. The module was also used during four maintenance outages in 2013 and during maintenance outages in 2014.

He says that a well-known pulp and paper manufacturer has also shown a keen interest in acquiring the U-Fi module, with negotiations to implement the module on site curren- tly under way.

To propel future growth, Carab Tekniva Group has merged with France-based testing, inspection and certification services company Bureau Veritas in 2013.

Located near Pretoria, Carab Tekniva Group currently employs more than 100 staff and recorded R68.6-million in revenue for the fiscal year ending February, 2013.

Integrating Carab Tekniva will add complementary services to Bureau Veritas’s existing offering in South Africa and will support power, mining and oil and gas projects in neighbouring countries.

Following this acquisition, Bureau Veritas currently has more than 1 300 employees in South Africa.

Bureau Veritas CEO Didier Michaud-Daniel states that South Africa is an important market for the company, as it offers significant growth potential. “Our strategy is to build a strong technical platform that supports our industry and commodities businesses across the East and Southern Africa regions. The acquisition of Carab Tekniva will help us implement our strategy by developing high-value services for industrial markets,” he says.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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