– When it is decided that incremental approach will be used for the modernization programme, it is important to have a migration plan for the control room as well as the I&C systems. There needs to be an iteration process between them to achieve the final migration plans.
– Ease of implementation or design is not the only critical aspect to determine order and scope of projects. Other aspects such as need for replacement should be used to define the order and scope of modernization. Examples are:
• obsolescence,
• aging
• plant reliability, availability
• productivity needs,
• physical layout,
• ergonomic requirements in the control room
• new requirements from regulatory bodies
– Beginning modernization with isolated I&C systems, having a mixture of control and monitoring capabilities, is a good way to gain project experience.
– Coordination between the different, simultaneous modernization projects is necessary but has to be handled carefully.
– Inadequate planning or resources (time, money, people) may mean that the upgraded system will need to be replaced again to fit into the overall plan.
– It may be an advantage to maximize the standardization of I&C platforms. If a standardized platform is selected, it is important to build first the infrastructure in the plant to which new systems will be connected successively.
– Long term agreements with the suppliers are helpful to assure long term availability of spare parts, replacements, and technical support.
– It is advantageous for the operator interfaces in the MCR to use same human–machine interface principles (look and feel).
– It should be determined at the beginning with the supplier how the documents for the new system will be integrated into the existing plant documentation hierarchy.
– The approaches of the supplier and the utility to the modernization contract are different due to their different interests. This has resulted in some negative experiences in the cooperation. It is important to establish guidelines at the beginning of the project for solving potential conflicts.
– The early involvement of the licensing authority is a key point to reduce the licensing risk and cost. In the case of a large I&C modernization project, it can be beneficial to create a project specific licensing plan and agree on it with the licensing authority.
– There can be advantages for having different suppliers do a feasibility study over how the plant can be modernized with their equipment to clearly understand how they would satisfy the current requirements and how the concept can be extended to support new needs in the future.
7.2. PROJECT ORGANIZATION
– All stakeholders (operator, maintenance person, designer, etc.) of a system should participate in the modernization project to make sure that it satisfies their needs as best as possible. This is an important aspect for making the system as good as possible and for getting acceptance of all of the staff who interface with the system.
– It is important to make sure that all members of the project team understand the goals, objectives, guidelines, and basic contract terms for the modernization programme, and after the modernization decisions are made, it is essential that they all work together in the same direction to implement these decisions.
– There must be an adequate number of plant staff with proper level of knowledge and expertise to support the project. It is important that there are not too many projects scheduled that the plant staff cannot give adequate attention to all of the projects.
– Some staff members may have to be assigned full time to the project, and if so they should be released from regular duties.
7.3. PROJECT EXECUTION
– Utility knowledge of the plant and operational experience provides valuable input for I&C modernization activities.
– The new system should support the plant’s naming conventions for pumps, fans, measuring points, and so on. If new naming conventions need to be added, it is important that only a single responsible person or group is allowed to assign names for new signals and objects.
– Even though the supplier is responsible for the design and qualification of the system, the utility still needs to have a clear understanding of the system and perform independent verification.
– When software based systems are installed, the staff has to be aware of version identification, configuration control, and compliance to appropriate standard and requirements
7.4. HUMAN–MACHINE INTERFACE DESIGN
– The migration strategy for the main control room has to be carefully planned because I&C modifications have a strong impact on both plant operation and operator training.
– In the modification of the control room if a complete section of control desk/panel or a complete operational task is modernized at once, it is easier for the operator to operate the plant and the likelihood of human errors is reduced.
– If human cognitive capabilities and human factors engineering practices are not considered, there is a potential for increased human errors with the new systems and interfaces.
– It is difficult to get good results from the requirements specification for the HMI only;
therefore, the HMI design should be an iteration process between the supplier and the utility, preferably using a prototype of the interface or, at a minimum, using screen pictures.
– Changes in the control room often lead to discussions with the licensing authority about whether the operators need to be re-certified before they can operate in the new control room. The changes also lead to discussions about the amount of verification and validation required for the HMI.
– A formal control room modernization process has to be established to identify the activities of the operators in the modernized control room in order to satisfy safety and productivity requirements.
7.5. STAFF TRAINING
– Changes in I&C technology require new skills such as understanding of computer networks, maintenance of digital systems, screen display design, etc. This change in skills must not be neglected and appropriate training must be done.
– Modernization of the control room will require operator training. There needs to be a way to train the operators on the new control room before it is operational. Yet at the same time, the operator must keep up his training on the existing control room. This could require the use of additional simulators, either part scope or full scope.
– During design of the new I & C platform or systems, it is very desirable to have the plant staff work directly with the supplier, perhaps at their site. This is the best training and education the plant engineering and maintenance personal can get and when the system comes to the plant, these people are very familiar with the equipment.