Safety System Provides Uninterrupted System Operation

HIMA, a designer and manufacturer of safety automation solutions, showcases HIMax -- a safety system said to provide uninterrupted system operation throughout the entire life of a processing facility by maximizing plant availability, productivity and safety. It is based on HIMA’s Nonstop XMR technology that combines diagnostic-based SIL 3 safety integrity with a scalable fault-tolerant architecture that eliminates false trips and provides for unlimited changes, modifications, expansions, upgrades and regulatory proof testing without taking the plant off-line. HIMax is said to enable higher plant efficiency while reducing capital/project expenditures. With its system architecture, centralized, distributed and remote I/O, it is easily integrated into a peer-to-peer communications network with no “engineering overhead” required, according to the company. “In many of today’s processing plants, productivity is often held hostage by the reliability of the automated safety system. If a spurious trip causes the plant to shut down, or a simple software upgrade requires the safety system to be shut down, thus stopping production, the cost to the plant can be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in lost productivity and start-up costs,“ said Sven Grone, President of HIMA’s USA Operations, headquartered in Houston.