Siemens Process Control: APACS+ and QUADLOG Product Lifecycle

The unprecedented speed was due to advanced planning and help from a simulation program.

Transitioning the automation system to PCS 7 results in improved asset management, system capacity, expansion capabilities, and functionality.

The UNIX based HMI and engineering tools were replaced, the Siemens DP/IOBus was installed in a redundant H-system while also upgrading the PC and networking infrastructure to modern standards. 

Four Roses now has the enhanced process control capabilities of the PCS 7 DCS, including the flexibility and added capacity of multiple scan rates (up to 10 milliseconds). The modernization also provides higher fault tolerance, flexible modular redundancy, higher safety (SIL 3 independent of redundancy), integrated asset management, integrated safety fieldbus, and integrated Ethernet.

Don't take our word for it, watch and listen to what Ryan Ashley, Director of Operations at Four Roses Bourbon has to say about his distillery's migration from APACS+ to SIMATIC PCS 7. You may not laugh or cry, but you'll be impressed with how easy it was for him to upgrade using his existing I/O and field wiring.

It's tough to go it alone in any context, but it's especially ill-advised and often impossible for controls in most process applications such as oil refining. No matter how competent and independent any end user happens to be, process controls must maintain some level of support from their suppliers—and when that support is unavailable, usually due to obsolescence, it's time to upgrade.

To avoid losing thousands of dollars a day in income, Marquis Energy wanted to migrate to the new system during a planned facility shutdown over a weekend.

Optimized operations with improved alarm management and high performance graphics.

PCS 7 APACS+ OS HMI modernization  improves system reliability while extending the life of installed automation assets.

Building materials manufacturer improves boiler reliability and operations for a multi-product facility with a focus on system availability, safety, and environmental requirement compliance.

Distributed PCS 7 architectures allows easier process changes and reduced start-up time.

Phased modernization improves system reliability and provides for common HMI.

System reliability, alarm management, production trending, and data historian were improved.

A specialty chemical plant located in Southeastern United States needed to implement an effective DCS life-cycle management program to maintain their competitive advantage in the marketplace. The plant, in operation for over 25 years, produces a chemical that is used as a feed additive for helping farmers to deliver food to the table in a more efficient end environmentall friendly way.

Pulp processor Mississippi River Corporation converts highly customized control system to  a new HMI platform.

The customized faceplates and graphics were converted to use the standard PCS 7 APACS+ OS library for better future upgrades. The project converted over 100 graphics and 1000 tags to the PCS 7 APACS+ OS and the installation was done in a 3 day shutdown.