ICI has been involved with many projects that require panel design and fabrication. ICI can provide design and build services that include panel testing with simulated I/O when appropriate or required. All panels are tested to insure accurate wiring connections and we have the ability to test beyond simple point to point wiring. We have simulation I/O to test in part or whole any panel that should require formal Acceptance Testing.
Our normal project procedures require we test I/O and components before installation. While a full function test can be optional, if so desired, our track record has proven highly successful when allowed to provide a full function test before installation. Past installations where systems have been fully function tested before installation have reduced installation time, reduced confusion and frustration during startup and have improved overall acceptance of new installations.
Local Area Network (LAN)
Tennessee Ore Processing Facility
A plant in Tennessee had been “patching and piecing “ together an old coax system for years. The backbone had been extended far beyond its design with repeaters. Cable had been cut and spliced numerous times. The individual responsible for the system upkeep would have daily problem calls simply to restore connections due to path loss.
Since this facility was spread out between five outlying buildings, we chose the most centrally located building as our “fiber hub”. New 10/100 HUBs were installed in each building with new 12 strand fiber optic cable between each outlying building terminating at our new fiber HUB in the central building. After four days on site for fiber termination (96 fiber terminations between buildings) and hardware installation we turned the system of to the plant. Since this upgrade the uptime has been 100%, LAN trouble calls have ceased and overall system performance has greatly improved. Not to mention the end to stress and frustration over a system that had become a daily burden.
Georgia Chemical Plant Process Network
This facility was undergoing a plant DCS upgrade that ICI was providing. A parallel project with this upgrade was to upgrade the control network. The original system was installed twelve years ago and most of the physical hardware was obsolete and many of the control units would not connect directly to typical “off the shelf” hardware. ICI was tasked to located specialized transceivers that would perform with the process equipment, design a network that would support all the combined hardware, install hardware and test installation.
As an added caveat this had to be done on line without process interruption! No problem.
The end result has been four in plant control networks at this facility upgraded without any process downtime. ICI procured hardware, tested equipment in our facility, installed hardware on site and transferred the plant process equipment from the old obsolete network to the new network without incident. This was then repeated three more times on the same site.
Tennessee Plant Network Upgrade
Almost identical in scope and nature to the summary above, ICI was tasked with the job of upgrading a facility in Tennessee that housed five remote plant operations on a single plant site. These operations were to be tied together via a common fiber optic network. The existing hardware was obsolete and needed upgrading. ICI planned the installation, procured the network hardware, installed and started up the new networks. This too had to be performed with out plant interruption. This project was completed without incident and no interruption.
Special Communications Interfaces
Though not to the scale of LAN installations, ICI often is required to provide special communications links to PLCs, controllers and remote devices. Most often these links require fiber optic connections that ICI will design and install to include fiber terminations. Typically these links are RS232, 485 multi-drop or proprietary communications links.
