Siemens SINAMICS Perfect Harmony GH180 VFDs Drive Train Analytics

usa.siemens.com/services Across America, many utilities depend on fossil-fueled power stations built in thelast century to provide reliable power for their customers. One such power station,located in the Mid-Atlantic, opened in the 1960s and today supplies electricity toover 4 million customers of its parent utility.To satisfy customer expectations for reliable electricity production, this utility’splant management team was interested in a solution using data-driven intelligencefor their critical variable frequency drives (VFDs) and motor assets. Their objectivewas to produce advance warning of system compromise to minimize downtimeassociated with an in-person equipment inspection and/or a complete failure.Siemens delivered an innovative, cloud-based, analytic and diagnostic servicesprogram to monitor equipment health and provide predictive insights intosystem performance. Customer Challenge To stay competitive in their market, the utility worked with Siemens to modernizetheir operations by installing new SINAMICS Perfect Harmony GH180 VFDs on keyboiler-fan motors that help keep the coal-fired generation units operating. The SINAMICS drives play a critical role in the power station’s ability to generatepower. The drives need to run safely and reliably – often for decades and underharsh conditions. In the course of normal operation, these drives become subjectto extreme wear and tear, creating a potential risk of failure and unplannedproduction downtime. For the power station, any unscheduled drive outageequals significant loss. Even a small part failure can result in costlyunplanned downtime.Benefits• Accelerated troubleshooting andearlier countermeasures • Maximum drive performance • Higher plant availability and reliability • Optimized scheduling of maintenanceand service activities• Cloud-based data analysis • Automated status reports with historicaltrend data collection • Real-time monitoring and evaluationby certified Siemens experts Case Study Drive Train Analytics Siemens digital services help utility preserve equipmentreliability to meet increasing customer demand.80% reduction in break/fix response time withDrive Train Analytics The ability to prevent drive failure isrecognized as critical to maintainingavailability, reliability, and achievingoperating goals. In their currentenvironment, plant maintenancereacted to faults after an event.Diagnosis and fault clearance requiredoperators to manually generate dataand relay it to remote experts to begintroubleshooting.The process was both time consumingand costly – both from an emergencyrepairs standpoint as well as lostproduction. Most repairs take hours andmore significant repairs could requirethe station to purchase electricity fromthe market in order to meet theircustomer demand. This affected theirbottom-line and became the driverfor utility operators to detect drivewear and tear sooner.Siemens Solutions Drive Train Analytics from SiemensIndustry Services provides a measurableimprovement over the utility’s currentreactive maintenance strategy. Using“real-time” condition-based monitoringand data analysis for early detection ofdrive-wear, it identifies impendingdamage and schedules maintenancebefore major issues occur. Drive Train Analytics securely andcontinuously transmits criticalperformance data from the drives.This data is accessed by Siemensexpert analysts and used to monitorand assess the drives’ health andperformance. Real-time status of thedrives is tracked and recorded. If afault occurs, informed diagnostictroubleshooting can begin immediately. Using advanced analytical tools,Siemens experts compare the currentdrive data to optimal state. When it fallsoutside of the plant’s acceptable range,analysts provide recommendations tothe utility. In the event of an unexpectedinterruption, an alert is issued forSiemens and the plant to mobilizeunder a rapid response plan. Implementing the new service beganby connecting the SINAMICS PerfectHarmony GH180 VFDs with MindSphere,Siemens cloud-based, open IoToperating system. A MindConnectdevice – a hardened Siemens SIMATICNanobox industrial PC – was installedto create a direct and secure connectionbetween the drives and MindSphere.MindSphere provides state-of-the-artsecurity during data acquisition inthe field, transmission, and storagein the cloud. The security frameworkof MindSphere is aligned to theprinciples of industry standards(IEC 62443, ISO/IEC 2700) andgovernmental recommendations fordata handling in cloud environments.ResultsWith Siemens Drive Train Analytics,the utility saved nearly $120,000 inoperating expenses in the first year.Operators at the power stationreceive a continuous picture of driveperformance anywhere with an Internetconnection via a web-based dashboard.Using data and predictive indicators,operators were alerted to the faultssooner, began diagnosis faster, andresolved the events in significantly lesstime – 75 minutes versus an averageof 6 to 7 hours. This reduction of MeanTime To Repair (MTTR) has been provento significantly increase the overallavailability of drives. The associatedimprovement in machine Mean TimeBetween Failure (MTBF) is anotherpositive feature of the service. Siemens experts supplement on-sitestaff by providing regular insightson drive performance and beingavailable around-the-clock to helpassess unplanned issues. The utilitybenefits from the added knowledgeof equipment experts and gainspeace of mind from having additionalresources monitoring the drivesthat are critical to its success in acompetitive energy market. Siemens Industry, Inc. 100 Technology Drive Alpharetta, GA 30005 Phone: +1 (800) 333-7421[email protected] Order No. CSCS-DTA1-0418 Printed in USA All rights reserved © 2018 Siemens Industry, Inc