WO2023209879A1

WO2023209879A1 - Plant operation support system

Info

Publication number: WO2023209879A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/019117
Authority: WO
Inventors: 隆史前田
Original assignee: 東芝三菱電機産業システム株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-27
Filing date: 2022-04-27
Publication date: 2023-11-02
Also published as: CN117377918A; TW202349150A; JPWO2023209879A1

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to: when a sensor failure occurs during plant operations, provide support by comparing amounts of decrease in production quantity for various possible operational actions and performing guidance display of operation actions which are optimal from the perspective of productivity; and minimize the amount of decrease in production quantity. To accomplish this, this plant operation support system performs a guidance display of provisional action information in a case in which, in a state in which a sensor has failed, the post-provisional action production quantity, for when a provisional action is implemented on the plant and operations are continued in accordance with provisional action information for continuing operations of the plant, is greater than or equal to the post-replacement production quantity, for when restarting operations after work for replacing the failed sensor with a normal sensor is performed.

Description

Plant operation support system

The present invention relates to a plant operation support system.

For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an operation support system is known that displays on a screen operational measures to be taken in response to an abnormality when an abnormality occurs in a plant. In conventional operation support systems, from the perspective of operational stability, when an abnormal condition such as equipment failure occurs, the system notifies the operator of the danger avoidance method and treatment method according to the operating status of the plant. Support stable operations. The operator collected further judgment information and decided whether to continue operation or not.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-140742

However, conventional operation support systems based on the perspective of operational stability do not quantitatively determine and automatically notify the optimal treatment method and operation method from the perspective of productivity. Therefore, there was no mechanism to directly minimize the decline in production.

In addition, conventional operation support systems based on the perspective of operational stability do not automatically perform temporary measures on software from a safety perspective to continue operation by taking temporary measures, which is one of the operational measures when equipment failure occurs. I avoided taking any necessary measures. Therefore, there are problems in that a temporary treatment method corresponding to the target equipment has not been established in advance, and it takes time to perform treatment and time to restart operations.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it compares the amount of drop in production for each possible operational action when equipment failure occurs, and determines the optimal operational action from the viewpoint of productivity. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a plant operation support device that can minimize the drop in production by providing guidance display.

The first aspect relates to a plant operation support system.
The plant operation support system includes sensors installed in a plant and used for operation, at least one processor, and a memory.
The memory stores temporary treatment information for continuing operation of the plant in a state where the sensor is out of order.
The processor is configured such that, in a state where the sensor is out of order, the production amount after provisional treatment when continuing operation by performing temporary treatment on the plant according to the temporary treatment information is such that the production amount after the temporary treatment is such that the failed sensor is replaced with a normal sensor. If the production amount is equal to or greater than the production amount after replacement when restarting operation after the work, a signal is output to display the temporary treatment information.

According to this, when a sensor that affects operations breaks down, the plant operation support system automatically determines the optimal measure by comparing the drop in production due to temporary measures and sensor replacement, and takes temporary measures. If necessary, registered temporary treatment information is displayed. This helps the operator and minimizes the amount of drop in production.

In addition to the first aspect, the second aspect further has the following features.
The processor outputs a signal for displaying replacement information instructing replacement work of the sensor when the production amount after temporary treatment is less than the production amount after replacement in a state where the sensor is out of order. do.

The third aspect further has the following characteristics in addition to the first or second aspect.
The memory stores a temporary treatment production rate in operation after temporary treatment according to the failed sensor, and a replacement time required for replacing the failed sensor with the normal sensor.
The production amount after temporary treatment is a value obtained by multiplying the temporary treatment production rate by the remaining operating time from the current time to the regular repair time.
The post-replacement production amount is a value obtained by multiplying the production rate of normal operation using the normal sensor by the time obtained by subtracting the replacement time from the remaining operating time.

According to the present invention, when an equipment failure occurs, the amount of drop in production volume for each possible operational action is compared, and guidance is displayed to support the optimal operation action from the viewpoint of productivity, thereby minimizing the amount of drop in production volume. can be kept to a minimum.

1 is a diagram for explaining an example of the overall configuration of a plant according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart for explaining the operation return processing flow when a device failure occurs according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart for explaining an operation treatment judgment algorithm concerning an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining specific examples of various tables according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a plant operation support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that common elements in each figure are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

Embodiment.
1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of a plant according to an embodiment. Although the plant 1 shown in FIG. 1 further includes configurations not shown, descriptions of the other configurations will be omitted to simplify the explanation.

Plant 1 is an industrial plant that produces products. Industrial plants include, for example, steel plants, paper plants, petrochemical plants, food plants, power plants, and the like. The plant 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a field device 2, a programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC) 3, a server 10, and a human machine interface (hereinafter referred to as HMI) 20.

The PLC 3 and the server 10 are connected via a dedicated control LAN 4 that interfaces data. The PLC 3, server 10, and HMI 20 are connected via a general-purpose control LAN 5 that interfaces data.

The field devices 2 are sensors and actuators for monitoring and controlling the operation of the plant 1. The actuator operates according to a control signal from PLC3. The sensor detects the state of the object. Equipment status signals of actuators and sensors are taken into the PLC 3 via the I/O card.

PLC3 is a controller for plant control. PLC3 transmits a control signal to field device 2. The PLC 3 outputs the device status signal received from the field device 2 to the dedicated control LAN 4. Further, the PLC 3 receives a PLC setting signal from a PLC software engineering tool provided in the HMI 20, and can change the control program or recombine the circuit.

The server 10 is a data collection server for equipment failure monitoring. The server 10 monitors device status signals of sensors and actuators flowing through the dedicated control LAN 4. When the server 10 detects a device failure state from a sensor, which is one of the device state signals, it executes the operation return processing flow shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later. In addition, if an equipment failure state of an actuator is detected, operation shall be resumed after equipment replacement.

The server 10 includes a database 11 that includes various setting tables 12. The various setting tables 12 include a sensor type table A41, a temporary treatment production rate table B42, an inventory table C43, and a replacement time table D44 shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later. Further, the various setting tables 12 include temporary treatment information for continuing the operation of the plant in a state where a sensor is out of order. In the temporary treatment information, a temporary treatment method using PLC software is registered in advance for each sensor.

HMI20 is an HMI & PLC software engineering tool. The HMI 20 has a function of displaying a temporary treatment guidance screen 21 according to a display signal (including temporary treatment information) received from the server 10 (FIG. 1 shows an example of a table display of the temporary treatment guidance screen 21. ). In addition, the HMI 20 has a function as an engineering tool including a PLC software editor 22 that allows the settings of the PLC 3 to be edited by an operator (FIG. 1 shows a display example of the PLC software editor 22). The HMI 20 transmits a PLC setting signal from the PLC software engineering tool to the PLC 3 via the general-purpose control LAN 5.

2. Plant Operation Support System Next, a plant operation support system including the server 10 and the HMI 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the process flow for returning to operation when a device failure occurs in the plant operation support system according to the embodiment. The operation return processing flow shown in FIG. 2 is implemented as software within the server 10 of FIG. 1.

2-1. Outline of operation return processing flow When the server 10 detects a device failure state, it executes the operation return processing flow shown in FIG. 2 . Here, it is assumed that the equipment failure is a sensor failure.

First, in step S100, it is determined whether the current plant operating state is in operation or under regular repair. If it is determined that the system is in operation, the process of step S110 is executed. If it is determined that regular repair is being performed, the process of step S140, which will be described later, is executed.

In step S110, an operation treatment determination algorithm shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later, is executed, and one of steps S120 to S140 is executed depending on the determination result.

If step S120 is selected, the plant continues normal operation. Step S120 is selected when a device that does not affect the production volume breaks down, for example, when a dedicated monitoring sensor breaks down.

If step S130 is selected, the plant is operated with the operator performing temporary treatment on the PLC 3 according to the temporary treatment guidance screen 21 (FIG. 1). Step S130 is selected when automatic operation is changed to manual operation and the production volume decreases, but considering the time required to repair the equipment, it is better to continue operation with temporary measures to suppress the impact on production volume. If temporary measures are taken, the main measures (equipment replacement, etc.) will be carried out at the next regular repair.

A specific example will be explained with reference to FIG. If the operation after temporary treatment (step S130) is selected as the optimal operation, the database 11 in which software temporary treatment methods for the failure of equipment in the plant are registered in advance is searched, and the software temporary treatment method for the target failed equipment is searched. This is displayed on the temporary treatment guidance screen 21 of the HMI 20 in FIG. The operator implements a temporary treatment using the PLC software editor 22 of the HMI 20 according to the temporary treatment guidance screen 21 . The provisional treatment performed by the PLC software editor 22 is reflected in the PLC software in the PLC 3. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the provisional treatment guidance screen 21 provides guidance to jumper the contact A on the MS 10 because the sensor A is currently out of order. Following the guidance, the operator performs a temporary measure to jumper the sensor signal contact A using the PLC software editor 22.

If step S140 is selected, the plant resumes operation after repairing the failed equipment to normal equipment. Step S140 is selected when the malfunctioning equipment cannot be operated unless it is repaired. There are cases in which stopping operations and repairing (replacing) malfunctioning equipment can reduce the impact on production volume rather than continuing operations with temporary measures.

2-2. Operation Treatment Determination Algorithm The details of the operation treatment determination algorithm executed in step S100 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in step S200, the server 10 executes sensor type determination using the sensor type table A41. Sensors are classified into three types. Type 1 is a sensor that does not affect the continuation of operation at all in the event of a sensor failure. Type 2 is a sensor that affects operations in the event of a sensor failure, but can continue operations with temporary measures. Type 3 is a sensor that affects operations when a sensor malfunctions, and it is impossible to continue operations with temporary measures. In an example of the sensor type table A41 shown in FIG. 4, sensor A is defined as type 2, sensor B as type 1, sensor C as type 2, and sensor D as type 3.

In step S200, it is determined whether the failed sensor is of type 1. When it is determined that the failed sensor is of type 1, the failed sensor is a device that does not affect the production amount, for example, a monitoring-only sensor. Therefore, the plant continues normal operation (step S210). Step S210 corresponds to step S120 in FIG. After that, it is up to the operator to decide whether to continue operation or not.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S200 that the failed sensor is not of type 1, the process of step S220 is executed.

In step S220, the server 10 uses the sensor type table A41 to determine whether the failed sensor is type 2 or type 3. If it is determined to be type 2, the processes from step S230 onwards are executed to determine whether temporary treatment operation (manual operation using temporary treatment) is possible. On the other hand, if it is determined to be type 3, provisional treatment operation is not possible, so the processes from step S270 onwards are executed.

In step S230, the server 10 uses the inventory table C43 to determine whether spare parts are in stock. In the inventory table C43 shown in FIG. 4, the inventory status for each sensor is determined. If there is a spare part for the sensor (type 2), the process of step S240 is executed. If there is no spare part for the sensor (type 2), the process of step S250 is executed.

In step S240, the server 10 uses the temporary treatment production rate table B42 and the replacement time table D44 to compare the amount of production decrease due to the temporary treatment operation and the amount of production decrease due to repair of the faulty sensor (type 2).

The server 10 determines that the production amount after provisional treatment when the plant continues operation by performing temporary treatment according to the temporary treatment information, and the production amount after replacement when operation is resumed after replacing the failed sensor with a normal sensor. It is determined whether or not the value is greater than or equal to the value. Specifically, the production amount after temporary treatment is the value obtained by multiplying the temporary treatment production rate by the remaining operating time from the current time to the regular repair time. The production volume after replacement is the value obtained by multiplying the production rate of normal operation using a normal sensor by the remaining operating time minus the replacement time (the time required to replace a faulty sensor with a normal sensor). It is.

A specific example will be explained. The temporary treatment production rate table B42 shown in FIG. 4 defines the production rate by manual operation after temporary treatment with respect to the production rate (100%) by automatic operation when the target sensor is normal. In the example shown in FIG. 4, sensor A is set to have a temporary treatment production rate of 70%, and sensor C is set to have a temporary treatment production rate of 40%. Further, in an example of the replacement time table D44 shown in FIG. 4, the replacement time for sensor A is 8 hours, and the replacement time for sensor C is 4 hours.

As a first example, a case will be described in which the failed sensor is sensor A and the time until the next regular repair is 10 hours.
The production volume when performing temporary repair operations is 100 if the production rate is 100% for 1 hour, plus the temporary production rate of 70% and the remaining operating time until the next regular repair (10 hours). ), which is 700.
On the other hand, when replacing the failed sensor A, the replacement work requires 8 hours (replacement time table D44), and the production rate during that time is 0%. Even if normal operation is performed at 100% production rate for the remaining 2 hours, the production amount will be 200.
That is, in the first example, the decrease in production is smaller if the temporary treatment operation is implemented. In step S240, if it is determined that implementing the (a) provisional treatment operation results in less decrease in production, the process of step S250, which will be described later, is executed.

As a second example, a case will be described in which the failed sensor is sensor C and the time until the next regular repair is 10 hours.
The production volume when performing temporary repair operations is 100 if the production rate is 100% for one hour, plus the temporary production rate of 40% and the remaining work time until the next regular repair (10 hours). ), which is 400.
On the other hand, when replacing the failed sensor C, the replacement work requires 4 hours (replacement time table D44), and the production rate during that time is 0%. If normal operation is performed at 100% production rate for the remaining 6 hours, the production amount will be 600.
That is, in the second example, the decrease in production is smaller if normal operation is resumed after the sensor is replaced. In step S240, if it is determined that (b) returning to normal operation after sensor replacement will reduce the decrease in production, the process of step S290, which will be described later, is executed.

In step S240 described above, if it is determined that implementing (a) temporary treatment operation will reduce the decrease in production, or if it is determined in step S230 that there is no spare parts in stock, the process of step S250 is performed. executed.

In step S250, the server 10 outputs a signal to display temporary treatment information when the production amount after temporary treatment is equal to or greater than the production amount after replacement. The HMI 20 that has received the signal displays a temporary treatment guidance screen 21 according to the temporary treatment information. The operator implements temporary treatment using the PLC software using the PLC software editor 22 of the HMI 20 in accordance with the temporary treatment method shown on the temporary treatment guidance screen 21. The plant is operated after the temporary treatment (step S260). Step S250 and step S260 correspond to step S130 described above.

On the other hand, in step S220 described above, if it is determined that the failed sensor is of type 3, then the process of step S270 is executed next because operation cannot be performed unless the failed device is repaired.

In step S270, the server 10 uses the inventory table C43 to determine whether spare parts are in stock. If there is a spare part for the sensor (type 3), the process of step S290 is executed. If there is no spare part for the sensor (type 3), the sensor is procured in step S280, and then the process in step S290 is executed.

The process of step S290 is performed after the process of step S280, or if it is determined in step S270 that there is no spare parts in stock, or if it is determined in step S240 that the production volume after temporary treatment is less than the production volume after replacement. is executed if In step S290, the server 10 outputs a signal to display replacement information instructing sensor replacement work. The HMI 20 displays replacement information on the screen. The operator takes measures such as replacing the faulty sensor with a spare part. Thereafter, the plant resumes normal operation in step S300. Step S290 and step S300 correspond to step S140 described above.

3. Effects As explained above, according to the routines shown in Figures 2 and 3, when a sensor failure occurs during plant operation, normal operation can be continued, operation can be restarted after temporary measures have been taken, and operation can be resumed after repairing the failed equipment. The system can automatically select the operating method that minimizes the drop in production from a productivity standpoint. In addition, for operations using temporary software measures, which is one of the operational measures, the temporary measure method is registered in advance for each target device, and the content of temporary measures is displayed as guidance when a device failure occurs. Therefore, it is possible to support restarting operations in the shortest possible time and improve productivity.

4. Modification By the way, although the plant operation support system of the embodiment described above includes the server 10 and the HMI 20 separately, it is also possible to include a single device having the functions of both the server 10 and the HMI 20. good. Alternatively, three or more devices may be provided.

5. Hardware Configuration Example FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the server 10 and the HMI 20.

Each process of the server 10 described above is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured by connecting a processor 10a, a memory 10b, and a network interface 10c. The processor 10a implements each function of the server 10 by executing various programs stored in the memory 10b. Memory 10b includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The memory 10b stores the above-mentioned temporary treatment information and various setting tables 12 in advance. The network interface 10c is a device that is connected to the PLC 3 and the HMI 20 via a computer network and is capable of transmitting and receiving signals.

Each process of the HMI 20 described above is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured by connecting a processor 20a, a memory 20b, a network interface 20c, an input interface 20d, and at least one monitor 20e. The processor 20a implements each function of the HMI 20 by executing various programs stored in the memory 20b. Memory 10b includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The network interface 20c is a device that connects to the server 10 via a computer network and is capable of transmitting and receiving signals. The input interface 20d is an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel. A plurality of monitors 20e may be provided.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the embodiments described above, when the number, amount, amount, range, etc. of each element is referred to, unless it is specifically specified or it is clearly specified to the number in principle, the mentioned number does not apply. This invention is not limited. Furthermore, the structures described in the above-described embodiments are not necessarily essential to the present invention, unless explicitly stated or clearly specified in principle.

1 Plant 2 Field equipment 3 PLC
4 Dedicated control LAN
5 General-purpose control LAN
10 Server 10a Processor 10b Memory 10c Network interface 11 Database 12 Various setting tables 20 HMI

20a Processor 20b Memory

20c Network interface

20d Input interface 20e Monitor 21 Temporary treatment guidance screen A41 Sensor type table B42 Temporary treatment production rate table C43 Inventory table D44 Replacement time table

Claims

Sensors installed in the plant and used for operation,
comprising at least one processor and memory;
The memory is
storing temporary treatment information for continuing operation of the plant in a state where the sensor is out of order;
The processor includes:
In a state where the sensor is out of order, the production amount after provisional treatment is the same as the production amount after temporary treatment is performed on the plant according to the temporary treatment information and the operation is continued after replacing the failed sensor with a normal sensor. outputting a signal for displaying the provisional treatment information when the production amount is equal to or higher than the post-replacement production amount when restarting;
A plant operation support system featuring:
The processor includes:
outputting a signal for displaying replacement information instructing replacement work of the sensor when the production amount after temporary treatment is less than the production amount after replacement in a state where the sensor is out of order;
The plant operation support system according to claim 1, characterized in that:
The memory is
a temporary treatment production rate in the operation after temporary treatment according to the failed sensor;
storing a replacement time required for replacing the failed sensor with the normal sensor;
The production amount after temporary treatment is the value obtained by multiplying the temporary treatment production rate by the remaining operating time from the current time to the regular repair time,
The production amount after replacement is a value obtained by multiplying the production rate of normal operation using the normal sensor by the time obtained by subtracting the replacement time from the remaining operation time,
The plant operation support system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by: