Invensys looks for plant most in need of design and equipment makeover

July 13, 2005

The  Foxboro Automation unit of Invensys Process Systems has announced a campaign  to identify the control room in a North American process plant that is most in  need of a complete design and equipment makeover. 

The  winning company will receive a   "TV-reality-show-inspired" makeover. This will include professional  control room design by User  Centered Design Services (a  consulting company focused on effective control room design and operations); a  conceptual design solution walkthrough videofrom  Smith  LaRock(a professional services firm that provides planning, architecture, and interior  design services); a new operator console from Wright  Line(a manufacturer of consoles, enclosures, and other furniture for  technology-intensive environments); Foxboroworkstation and monitor upgrades; plus appropriate Invensys engineering, alarm  management, and training services, with a total estimated value of up to  $350,000.

"The  control room is the critical operations nerve center in a process plant," said  Paul Steinitz, marketing director at the Foxboro Automation unit of Invensys  Process Systems. "Here, the operators routinely make decisions that impact plant  safety, availability, and performance.   With this in mind, it's surprising how many control rooms are so  obviously in need of an upgrade, either because the ergonomics are poor, the  environment is not conducive to good decision-making, the control system is  obsolete, the alarm sub-system needs to be rationalized, or a combination of  these problems.

"While  we're certainly trying to have some fun by launching this  TV-reality-show-inspired 'makeover' campaign, we also hope to draw attention to  the above situation and encourage North America's brownfield process plants to  take the necessary steps to empower their operators by upgrading their control  rooms."

 Potential  candidates are encouraged to send photos of their control rooms, along with a  control room description and their specific "makeover" goals and objectives to  Foxboro, where an expert team of judges will choose the control room most in  need of a functional and cosmetic upgrade.

For  more information, or to submit an entry, readers should visit www.foxboro.com/crm2. Foxboro will  announce the winner of the control room makeover at the 2005 ISA Show in  Chicago, October 25-27, 2005.

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