CASE STUDIES: Norwegian fish processing facility gets automated

System monitors everything from tank farm to advanced controls

Coriolis mass flow meters, pressure and temperature transmitters, and pH transmitters communicate with each other through FOUNDATION[TM] fieldbus and the DeltaV system.

MARITEX, A SUBSIDIARY OF THE Danish company Aarhus Olie AS, implemented PlantWebR field-based architecture from Fisher-Rosemount to automate a fish processing facility in Sortland, Vesteralen, Norway. Maritex selected PlantWeb architecture for the control of a new process, including an evaporator. In doing so, Maritex became one of over 1000 projects to install the field-based architecture that includes Fisher Rosemount's intelligent field devices and DeltaVT[TM] automation system with integrated Asset Management Solutions (AMSinside) software.

Established in 1994, the Maritex facility in Sortland sits above the Arctic Circle where supplies of the plant's raw material, fresh fish, are plentiful. At the factory, internal organs are processed into marine oils for use as ingredients in traditional and health foods, such as Omega-3 margarine. The factory also extracts advanced products, such as DNA salts from cod milt, enzymes from cod stomach and peptone, a protein building block.

"Continuous changes are taking place all the time in our process equipment," said plant manager Viktor Johnsen. "For that reason, it is important that we quickly adapt the process system to them."

Fisher-Rosemount Denmark and Aarhus Olie remotely configured the first evaporator with the assistance of PlantWeb. Such a capability is important when working on a facility that is far removed from most support services. One of the tools used in configuration was AMS, a key modular software platform enabling PlantWeb to use information from field devices to manage plant assets. Functionality and diagnostics information for these high performance field devices is delivered to AMS which helps Maritex troubleshoot and eliminate automation system commissioning problems, thereby reducing configuration and set-up time.

The networked field devices use industry-standard FOUNDATION[TM] fieldbus for communication with each other and with the DeltaV system. At the Maritex factory, these devices include Micro Motion's Coriolis mass flow meters, Rosemount pressure and temperature transmitters, and Rosemount Analytical pH transmitters. Existing 4-20 mA field equipment at the facility is also connected to the DeltaV system. Open and integrated, PlantWeb was chosen because it is user friendly and adaptable.

"PlantWeb architecture is capable of handling everything from monitoring of the tank farm to advanced process control," said Johnsen. "These advantages continue to be important to us. At the time of installation, we did not have a process automation department at Maritex. Since then, we have configured a second evaporator on our own."

Johnsen sums up his experience with PlantWeb, noting that production at the facility is smoother, and that he plans on using PlantWeb wherever he can.

Fisher-Rosemount, 8301 Cameron Road, Austin, TX 78754, Tel. (512) 832-3162

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