An article in The Vault, the Siemens-sponsored minisite housed by Automation World Magazine, describes how systems integrator Crawford Technical Systems (CTS), safety systems specialist TekSolv and drilling data manager Pason Systems have used Siemens TIA Portal programming framework to develop TekNet, a gas detection and safety system. TekNet provides an ‘open’ protocol that connects to thousands of manufacturers.
Internet and smart phone capabilities are used to alert personnel to hazardous situations through alarms, emails and text messages. The system monitors emissions and tracks gas sensor filter changes and calibration compliance reporting. Early system tests gave a surprisingly high number of alarms—but these were not false positives rather ‘real-world, potentially hazardous situations.’
System components include RAE Systems’ MeshGuard gas detection system and Siemens S7 1215 controller. The TIA Portal exposes a consistent programming interface across Scada and PLC systems along with Siemens controllers and Modbus communications. Programming and configuration is achieved with drag-and-drop. TekNet is presently active at 25 Pason locations, with a dozen more in the works. More from TekNet.
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