Invensys uses Extronics wireless at Milford Haven

Congleton, UK - Invensys Process Systems has employed  an intrinsically safe and explosion-proof wireless network from Extronics as part of turnkey  automation contract to improve plant visibility at Total's Milford Haven refinery. The wireless network, said Extronics, has helped Invensys to deliver an economic and secure offsite solution for the challenging environments and zone 1 & 2 hazardous areas throughout the plant.

Invensys' requirement was for a robust and cost-effective measure to deliver work scheduling and position status feedback to operators, in real time, on more than 1,500 manual valves involved in the offsite operations to be displayed on a process mimic. Extronics recommended the installation of an intrinsically safe and explosion-proof WLAN that enabled Windows Mobile rugged PDAs and RFID tags to be used together by operators to enter the status of the valves and feed the information back to the process mimic.

Offsite operations are crucial in the Milford Haven production process, providing the handling and storage facilities for high quantities of gas or liquid in the form of tank farms and terminals. According to Extronics, its project with Invensys has led to significant improvements in the efficient operation of these offsite facilities in zone 1 and zone 2 rated hazardous areas.