Matrix Technologies Inc., A Better Process for Success.
As our clients and employees know, Matrix Technologies is committed to using Software standards. We choose to follow standards for one very important reason: Having standards makes you more efficient, which can translate to lower costs and better profits.
If you are an end-user of industrial control systems, the benefit of standards means a consistent way for your operators to operate your process systems. If you standardize on your solution across your plant (or better yet across your company) then the reuse of the technology and programming reduce your cost of implementation and ownership. Commonality in applied solutions also reduces the need for variety in your spares, further reducing costs.
Software standards make it easier for your maintenance people to do their job since the programming and configuration from system to system is very similar. It starts at the basic naming and instructions used to program and configure your systems. Make sure PLC, HMI and 3GL programming standards (including naming conventions) are used for every project you implement at your plant. Standards can be applied at very simple levels. For example, standardizing the way various software packages are installed and configured can lead to easier implementation and maintenance in the long run.
If you currently do not have standards, ask your integrator to review their standards with you and consider adopting them as your own. Integrators utilize standards because they allow for efficient generation of programming from project to project. Existing standards are easily adapted to meet specific customer needs or requirements.
Our goal in every project is to efficiently implement a robust system that is easy to understand and maintain. Application of standard hardware, software and programming practices is one of the most important steps toward this goal.
Contact Matrix today to discuss your needs and how Matrix can help you standardize your systems as well.
Platforms are often used in facilities for many applications including mechanical equipment access, observation areas, and as support structures for process and manufacturing equipment or as general access between areas of interest. These platforms are often designed and engineered to fit a specific application.
Design Considerations
There are several things the engineer needs to take into consideration when designing a platform or structure:
• What is the use of the structure?
• Can the platform be supported from the floor, or are foundations required?
• Is the platform meant for access, or to support equipment?
• At what elevation does the platform need to be set?
• Does the framing need to meet specific cleanliness requirements for food, pharmaceutical, or other similar industries?
• What is the design live load? Dead load? Equipment load?
• What are the lateral loads that are applied to the structure?
• Does the construction of the structure require rework of other utilities, such as sprinkler piping, or other domestic or process utilities?
• What materials will be used in the construction of the structure?
• Is there a future use for the platform that needs to be taken into consideration during the design?
• What type of access to the platform is needed?
Since every platform or structure serves a different purpose, the engineer needs to be aware of the functionality and layout of the structure for design purposes. Determining these design considerations early in the project will help the engineer provide a timely design that meets the client’s requirements.
Load Determination
Once the engineer has the basic parameters of the design, engineering work can begin.
The platform support members are designed for multiple loads and load cases. Basic loads used to design the structure are:
Dead loads: These are loads that remain constant over time, i.e., permanent equipment, floor grating, structural members, etc.
Live loads: Loads that are determined by the use and occupancy of the structure. Live loads do not include construction loads or environmental loads, i.e., wind, earthquake.
Wind loads: Loads that generated from wind. Building code and ASCE-7 codes dictate how these forces are to be applied to structures. Throughout most of the United States, building code dictates that structures are to be designed to meet a 3-second wind gust of 90 miles per hour. Southern and eastern seaboard states have higher wind-load design requirements.
Snow loads: Snow loads are based on location of a specific region in the United States. Ground snow loads are identified by maps in the building code, and generally range from zero (north of Florida) to 70 pounds per square foot (psf) in parts of upper Wisconsin. There are areas in northern Wisconsin that have a ground snow load of 100 psf. The engineer needs to consider snow-drifting loads, sliding snow, and ice loading as part of the design.
Seismic loads: Loads that are generated by ground-induced motions. These loads magnify the structure loads by introducing a lateral motion to the structure. Earthquake-loading calculations are based on a number of variables, including Maximum Considered Ground Motion maps, as shown in the building code. These maps identify two (2) areas in the midwest that are subject to substantial ground motions. The eastern side of South Carolina and the western side of Tennessee are subject to higher loads associated with these earthquake ground motions. States west of Colorado also have higher ground motion accelerations due to earthquakes.
Platform Design Process
Once the loads have been calculated, the structural engineer can begin the design. The structure and its loads are modeled into design software where the engineer can assign member sizes. After the sizes have been selected, the structure is designed based on several load combinations determined from the calculated loads. The load combinations provide multiple loading scenarios that the structure may encounter throughout its lifecycle. After several iterations, the engineer is able to analyze the data to ensure that the members selected are adequate for the final design. This data will give the engineer information on the member design stress ratios, joint rotation, and frame drift, information on member deflections, and foundation reactions for each of the load combinations.
Foundation Design Process
The design of the platform structure will yield reactions at the supports of the platform. If the platform is intended to be supported on an existing slab, the engineer will need to determine the slab’s thickness, and whether it will be able to support the imposed loads. If it is determined that the slab is inadequate, foundations will need to be designed and constructed.
When designing foundations, the following items should be taken into consideration:
• Frost depth if the construction is exterior to a heated building
• Allowable bearing pressure of the soil, coordinated with a geotechnical engineer’s soil report
• Deep foundations (caissons/piles) versus shallow foundations
• Water table levels
• Undermining of existing adjacent foundations
• Existing underground utilities and sewers
Platforms are an important part of the process and manufacturing success. Platform and structure design involvement varies with the complexity level associated with each design. It is important to note that both simple and complex platforms should be designed by a registered engineer for code conformance.
If you have a building, structure, or platform that you need incorporated in your manufacturing process, please contact Matrix Technologies for more information.
UL stands for Underwriters Laboratory and was founded in 1894. There are five testing laboratories in the United States and subsidiaries worldwide with the common goal of testing products for general safety. For many applications using electrical control systems in North America only UL products are acceptable.
There are two types of UL product labeling, “UL recognized” and “UL Listed.” The “UL recognized” components are not complete in terms of their particular application. These components are given restrictions for use to keep the recognized label. The “UL Listed” components can be used without restrictions because they passed UL testing and are fully functional.
UL 508 describes the standard for Industrial Control Equipment including control panel enclosures. In addition the UL 508 is divided in sections A,B,C ... to classify the application field of the tested devices:
The most widely accepted standard for control panels in North America is UL 508A. UL 508A combines all necessary UL standards including UL 508 which are necessary for the control panel to be “UL listed.” This standard includes requirements covering open industrial control panels, Industrial control panel enclosures, and enclosed industrial control panels.
Industrial control panel enclosures – Empty enclosure with one or more enclosure type ratings intended to be used as part of an enclosed ICP at the factory or for field installation.
Enclosed industrial control panels – Industrial control panel installed within a complete enclosure at the panel manufacturer’s location.
Open industrial control panels – An industrial control panel that includes factory wiring, field wiring terminals and components mounted on a sub-panel without a complete enclosure. The enclosure is intended to be supplied/completed at the installation.
Once a panel has the UL 508A the panel then is in compliance with the NFPA, NEC 2005 Article 409. Article 409 was added because of the increasing misapplication of Industrial Control Panels caused by inadequate short circuit ratings. This article set basic guidelines for panel shops to follow to ensure proper short circuit ratings are calculated and then shown on the panel. With certification to UL 508A a panel can be installed as required by Article 409 and the NEC.
Some of the Industrial Control Panel (IDC) standards and requirements that the UL 508A covers are:
• IDC’s operating 600 volts or less and temperatures less than 104°F.
• IDC’s intended for flame safety supervision.
• IDC’s that include two or more power circuit components.
• An evaluation of the controls and protective devices contained in IDC.
• Equipment intended for use in hazardous locations.
• IDC’s incorporating intrinsic safety barriers and intended for circuits residing in hazardous locations.
• Equipment for the control of fuel cells, photovoltaic systems, or utility interactive systems are covered by the Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources, UL 1741.
• Emergency alarm equipment or control panels containing emergency alarm equipment are covered by the Standard for General-Purpose Signaling Devices and Systems, UL 2017.
• Control equipment intended for use is physical access control systems, which provide an attended or unattended means of monitoring or controlling traffic through portals of a protected area for security purposes.
Contact Matrix today for your control panel needs.
Eleven ways to keep employees working their best
If you – like most – believe that people are your most important asset, here are 11 tips on how to keep your staff working at their best.
Give your staff the tools and resources to do their jobs effectively. Nothing can be so frustrating and defeating as making an employee struggle with equipment or tools that are obsolete and ineffective.
Constantly tell your employees how important they are, and show it in small and large ways. Don’t take credit for anything – give the kudos to your staff.
Celebrate the special days in the lives of your employees. Birthdays top the list, but employment anniversaries are important dates to remember too.
Praise publicly and criticize privately. Catch your team doing something right and praise them – publicly.
Look for tangible ways to let employees know how important they really are. A note of thanks with a small token or gift is a good example.
So long as the team doesn’t take advantage of your spirit, be sensitive to the family and personal responsibilities of your employees.
Match the person to the job. “Anybody can do anything if they really put their minds to it” might be a good tale for your children, but the truth is anyone who works in a job they’re not well-suited for due to lack of experience or sheer ability will be prone to stress and poor job performance.
Give every employee a business card and encourage them to give out the cards to identify themselves and your group.
Keep the lines of communication open. Each employee needs to be informed and you ought to convey to them the role they play in the company’s success.
Make sure all of your goals and projections are doable. Then, encourage competition between departments. Spur energy and enthusiasm.
Pollack, Irwin. "Eleven ways to keep employees working their best." Fort Worth Business Press 19.23
(2006):27. Regional Business News. EBSCO.Web. 12 Oct. 2011
Click here to view the .pdf.
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