Project Detail
In 2014 one of Digital Intelligence clients had a major failure of its steam turbine bypass system which resulted in high steam temperatures beyond rated capacity, burst piping, steam leaks and 3 months loss of production. Fortunately no personnel were injured during the failure.
After root-cause analysis a number of control system protection layers were identified to have failed to operate which would have prevented the failure. Initial findings point towards dangerous systematic flaws in the DCS logic which had gone undetected since a control system upgrade 15 years earlier. The findings also highlighted the lack of periodic auditing of control systems and proof-interval testing throughout the life-cycle of the plant.
Digital Intelligence working in conjunction with Lartec have been tasked by the client with performing a complete audit of the running control system logic, the Original Equipment Manufacturers control system logic, and reviewing the other interfacing systems to ensure the future safety and reliability of the plant.
Digital Intelligence engineers are currently in the process of analysing the control system logic (all 3000 pages of it, split between 4 different programming languages) and then translating it into a series of interlocking logic diagrams that will be easily auditable and traceable.
Stay tuned to learn how the audit recommendations will protect the client from other potential catastrophic failures.