PLC Control System Status Report

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Plant Control System Status Report January 2011 SOLID CEMENT CORPORATION

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Introduction Change, they say, is inevitable. This adage is especially true in terms of technology as we saw a lot of advancements in the past decade. And as a company which prides itself in harnessing the latest in technology, there’s nowhere else to go but forward. As such, in line with improving the plant’s over-all performance and ensuring that operation is well-sustained, Solid Cement implemented the upgrading of the plant-wide control system within the last three (3) years.

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Introduction This upgrade included the following key areas of operation: Bridge Reclaimer Control Dry Line Main PLC Control System Packhouse Control System Pre-Grinder Control Rotopacker Control Powerhouse Control System Conditioning Tower Spray Control Aside from these, minor modifications were done in the following: BFO Firing System Cooler Hydraulic System

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Bridge Reclaimer Control Before, the bridge reclaimer control utilizes a Siemens PLC with Step 5 (S5) technology. However, Siemens updated their PLC line to Simatic Step 7 (S7). The existing S5 was then declared as an obsolete control and ceased the production of this PLC system. To ensure that operation is sustained, we upgraded our system to this technology. Likewise, with this change, we made certain that the reclaimer can be interfaced to our dry line control system which was then scheduled for a complete system improvement. Old System: Siemens S5 PLC Upgraded System: Siemens Simatic S7 PLC Project Implementation: August 2007

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Bridge Reclaimer Control

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Dry Line Main PLC Control System A. Finish Mill 1 and 2 Old System: Modicon with CMINT HMI Upgraded System: Modicon with FLS ECS HMI Project Implementation: September 2007 – December 2009 The first to be upgraded was Finish Mill 1 and 2. The two mills were then operated using an obsolete conventional system. All motor controls were upgraded and interfaced to a Modicon PLC System with FLS ECS Human Machine Interface (HMI). At that time, all mills were operated in the Finish Mill Control Room.

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Dry Line Main PLC Control System

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Dry Line Main PLC Control System B. VRM, Kiln, Cooler and Coal Mill The second phase of the upgrade included all the PLCs in the clinker production process. The existing Modicon PLC with CMINT HMI, working since 2002, exposed us to certain risks which prompted us that another upgrade was necessary. Modicon CPU Series 5 has become obsolete Program modification is more difficult as programming software is DOS-based and some functions are not available Data are lagging thus operator response to process condition is delayed Access to information is restricted since HMI capability and functionality is limited Limited hardware capacity for both PLC and HMI; and Experienced a total breakdown in the VRM PLC system that lasted for three (3) days

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Dry Line Main PLC Control System

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The upgrade for VRM, Kiln, Cooler and Coal Mill was done during the annual maintenance shutdown last April 2008. Modicon PLC Series 6 was installed and interfaced with an FLS ECS system. Likewise, the Unity Pro software was introduced thus giving us greater flexibility in managing our equipment and processes. Aside from this, the following benefits were attained: Dry Line Main PLC Control System Fast and accurate exchange of data thus providing ease in managing process conditions Unique ability to check equipment status and performance data in the operator’s station Better alarm management system Information is very accessible and easily managed; and More comprehensive monitoring system that allows us to identify and analyze failure conditions

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Dry Line Main PLC Control System C. Finish Mill 3 The last phase of the project concentrated in upgrading the Finish Mill 3 control and was implemented last December 2009. Modicon Quantum Series 6 was also installed as replacement to the obsolete Series 5. It was then interfaced to the same FLS ECS system thus allowing the same functionality as the other systems. After this upgrade, Finish Mills 1,2 and 3 server and operator stations were moved to the Kiln Control Room thereby creating a true and unified Central Control Room.

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Packhouse Control System Packhouse used to operate with a TI – 505 PLC and TiStar HMI system. However, parts obsolescence necessitates that the system be upgraded. Installing another TI System is not encouraged since it is much wiser to maintain fewer PLC models in the plant. It was then decided to upgrade Packhouse control to a Siemens Step 7 (S7) system which is the same as that of the reclaimer. To manage operation, the PLC was interfaced with the WinCC HMI which is also a product of Siemens. Old System: TI 505 PLC Upgraded System: Siemens Simatic S7 PLC Project Implementation: May 2008

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Packhouse Control System

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Pre-Grinder Control Another bottleneck in our operation is the Pre - Grinder (PG) control. It utilized a Mitsubishi Melsec stand-alone PLC of which we have very little knowledge. In fact, we cannot modify the operational sequence of the PG as we have no software to do it. Operation was also difficult as alarms were then monitored using a local annunciator. Lastly, as in the case of other areas, this PLC was also obsolete. PG control was upgraded to Siemens Step 7 (S7) and interfaced to the FLS ECS HMI system and is now controlled and monitored together with Finish Mill 3. Old System: Mitsubishi Melsec PLC Upgraded System: Siemens Simatic S7 PLC Project Implementation: December 2009

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Pre-Grinder Control

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RotoPacker Control As the final product comes out from this system, it is imperative that the most accurate and efficient control must be used for the Rotopackers. Aside from this, the following reasons were noted: Old System: Siemens S5 PLC Upgraded System: Siemens Simatic S7 PLC Project Implementation: 2009 - 2010 Inaccurate declaration of cement withdrawals Frequent over- and underweight packing in cement bags Shutdown is required during calibration Obsolete Ventomatic controller version; and Obsolete Siemens Step 5 (S5) master controller

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The upgrade for the rotopackers were distributed in two phases but with the tail end of ensuring that cement withdrawal declarations are corrected, losses are minimized and risks of variances are eliminated by employing automatic calibration of the units. Specifically, the following upgrades were executed: RotoPacker Control Conversion of VENTODIGIT GEO/8 to VENTODIGIT III GEV/8 with auto-correction Master controller upgrade to Siemens Step 7 (S7) Automated greasing system GIROMAT GEV/8

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RotoPacker Control

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Before the upgrade, the Common Control System was not functional due to the trouble on the old CPU and PLC modules. Generator sets were operating without the benefit of load shedding and sharing functions. A service engineer from the original supplier arrived from Germany to correct the problem but to no avail. Power Plant Control System Old System: Berghoff PLC Upgraded System: Siemens Simatic S7 PLC Project Implementation: October – November 2010 A. Power Plant Common Control

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Power Plant Control System B. MAN 1, 2 and 3 Generators Operational control parameters were not found in the monitors due to communication errors brought about by defective PLC modules. Hanging-up of all PCs were also encountered since the operating system is still DOS-based and with low memory capacity. Existing control software and modules are all obsolete. The system upgrade aimed to centralize all control using a reliable process automation system designed to provide accurate real time and comprehensive historical process data of our power plant operation. The existing program from the Berghoff PLC was adopted to a Siemens Step 7 (S7) system and interfaced into a Wonderware HMI.

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Power Plant Control System

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Conditioning Tower Spray System Control Prior to the upgrade, the conditioning tower spray system (BHA) is stand alone and controlled using a GE Fanuc PLC and Wonderware HMI. The program is locked thus we cannot modify its sequence of operation. Likewise, we are having problems during troubleshooting since we cannot see what is happening within the system. To address this situation at the least possible cost, we converted it to a Modicon system as a remote drop of our Kiln PLC. We then created a new mimic specific to BHA in our FLS ECS HMI. Old System: GE Fanuc PLC Upgraded System: Modicon PLC Project Implementation: October 2010

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Conditioning Tower Spray System Control

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BFO Firing System and Clinker Cooler Both BFO firing and clinker cooler are stand-alone systems. As such, they provide very little control and information to our operators. To further enhance management and operation of these systems, minor modifications were implemented. The existing PLCs were retained and only the CPUs were replaced to accommodate ethernet communication. All programs were taken as is but they were provided with a new interface to our FLS ECS HMI System. This allowed better operational control to our operators as well as improved information management to our Kiln team. Old System: Allen Bradley with SLC 501 Upgraded System: Allen Bradley with SLC 505 Project Implementation: December 2009

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BFO Firing System and Clinker Cooler