Today, the design institute stated that it’s not possible to do it. Aren’t there **regulatory requirements prohibiting remote DCS-initiated pump startup? Or as required by local regulations; I hope everyone can give some suggestions
Thread Content
Today, the design institute stated that it’s not possible to do it. Aren’t there **regulatory requirements prohibiting remote DCS-initiated pump startup? Or as required by local regulations; I hope everyone can give some suggestions
If the regulations are violated, the designer shall bear responsibility, and the design firm will be punished; in severe cases, its design qualifications will be revoked and it will face criminal liability. In the “August 12 Tianjin Port explosion” in 2015, the Tianjin Chemical Industry Design Institute had its Class-A qualification for chemical engineering revoked due to issuing a report in violation of regulations.
Remote startup of equipment does pose certain risks; operating it without knowing the conditions on site poses a threat to both people and equipment
It is indeed possible to determine the device’s status using these parameters, but minor issues such as problems with the procedures for turning the power on or off the device, or someone touching the coupling on site (even though there are guards) also need to be taken into consideration
When checking the pump, the operator should switch the on-site control buttons to manual mode and go through the procedures for turning power on and off; the people in the control room will also be informed of this, which can help with proper management
Indeed, many projects do not support remote startup for security reasons, but I’ve never seen any regulations requiring this; there have been projects where remote startup was implemented nonetheless
From a safety perspective, eliminating risks at the root level is much safer; however, there will always be some probability of risks occurring in management. If no special requirement is given, try not to set it. Existing applications related to remote starting are mostly for oil pumps in key large-scale units; interlocks are designed for starting these pumps, and there are also special requirements in terms of management.
Increase the level of automation and reduce manual operations as much as possible, focusing them on the DCS. There are certain risks associated with remote control of mechanical equipment; therefore, it is not necessary to use such remote control unless required, in which case it can be employed for emergency situations.
Is there such a standard too? We used to design remote startup and automatic startup in case of failures.