Overview
In a refinery process area, the instrument enclosure is part of the specification. Pressure, temperature and level must be read at points where a general-purpose housing is not accepted, and the reading has to arrive without a technician standing at the point. The measured values feed both the operating picture and the maintenance record.
The points are spread across the unit and are not always next to a cabinet. Wireless reporting keeps the run short and avoids opening new cable routes through the area. The transmitters are specified for the environment they sit in, with protection against dust and water ingress in addition to the explosion-proof construction.
Challenges
The enclosure is part of the spec
Pressure, temperature and level are read at points where a general-purpose housing is not accepted, on top of the dust and water ingress requirements.
No new cable routes
The points are spread across the unit and are not always next to a cabinet, so opening new cable routes through the area had to be avoided.
Reading without a technician
The measured values feed both the operating picture and the maintenance record, and had to arrive without someone standing at the point.
Solution
The explosion-proof transmitters are mounted at the process points. Each reads its value and sends it through the WES-WIO wireless terminal protocol to the WE-X280 edge gateway, which converges the wireless nodes and any wired device on site.
From the gateway the readings travel over 4G or Ethernet to the WES device management platform. Threshold overrun, abnormal change and low battery conditions are detected along the path, and the platform notifies maintenance staff by SMS and email when a value crosses its limit.
