Syngenta migrates to new control platform

Birmingham, UK -  Syngenta has migrated to a Siemens PCS7 control system at its manufacturing operation in Huddersfield, UK. The move was prompted by obsolescence of a legacy Kent K90 DCS system, which was threatening essential infrastructure at the facility for the production of crop protection chemicals.

“To continue to support our existing DCS system would have been very expensive and, therefore, we opted for a full system replacement,” explains Mick Pearson, Process Control & Information Systems Group, Syngenta Huddersfield. “The [migration] project was success mainly because of the hands-on help and advice we received from Siemens ...  we did not have to disrupt production or staff at all."

Prior to the migration project, Siemens and Syngenta drew up a sequence of examples and prototypes before ordering any replacement parts to ensure that the system would be seamlessly integrated. This was then developed into a workable strategy, which saw Siemens supply all parts of the new system, including hardware, system software and application software and to also provide technical back-up and support after the project.

Syngenta achieved a full production schedule immediately after the standard four-week annual plant shutdown, when the migration took place, according to Siemens. Following the project, it added, the companies are involved in a new collaboration, with further projects also planned for the future.

According to Siemens, its DCS platform PCS7 has migration platforms built in, the latest version of which is designed to deliver advanced performance in the areas of production uptime, reduced maintenance costs, improved plant security and enhanced plant flexibility for customers. Another feature is enhanced alarm management, which, claims the vendor, presents a manageable amount of information to operators and allows intelligent alarm handling techniques to be developed cost-effectively.