Plant Modernization with Minimal Downtime

Plant modernization with minimal downtime

For a customer in the timber industry, our partner company SPIE ESCAD Austria carried out a plant modernization with new control technology, including control cabinets and wiring.

Challenge and Objective

The challenge was the modernization of a main goods sorting plant. The saw line was extended there, which necessitated a repositioning of the control room. The following milestones were set:

Preparation of a new control room with new control cabinets
Preparation of the new wiring for the control cabinets (to the actuators and sensors)
Definition of weekends on which parts were to be integrated and connected to the new system.

Our main objective was to implement a new control system, including all required safety standards – and to do so within the shortest possible plant downtime.

Solution

For the project implementation, several SPIE ESCAD Austria experts worked hand in hand. We first thoroughly examined the existing plant. The details of the as-is analysis and the planned innovations were incorporated into a new electrical documentation. This formed the basis for all further preparation steps.

In developing the software solution, we were able to draw on our expertise in the timber industry. In addition, another employee supported us in creating the safety software. In parallel, new SEW drives were installed and the electrical preparations for the weekend conversion were coordinated.

Finally, we began the first conversion on a Friday evening. This process was repeated over several weekends until the entire plant was operating with the new control system. Afterwards, we focused on performance optimization and acceptance of the safety technology.

The following questions guided our actions throughout the entire process:

How do we plan the conversion phases so that production can resume smoothly by Sunday evening?
How do we incorporate the additionally necessary protective measures to ensure the effectiveness of the plant?
How do we train the operators to guarantee that they can handle the new visualization and control system?
How do we prepare the electrical system so that the conversion can be safely carried out during the weekend phases?

Benefits

With the completion of the project, the customer now has a new control system that meets all safety requirements and meets the performance demands of the saw line. Furthermore, the availability of spare parts is ensured.

These strengths of our partner company SPIE ESCAD Austria were utilized

About our customer
Our customer is an Austrian company in the timber industry, active in areas such as wood purchasing, sales, and production.

Industry
Timber industry

Such a conversion only works with perfect cooperation from all parties, and that includes the customer. And that worked perfectly in this project. The customer was satisfied, as was I.

Thomas Neudorfer
Project Manager
SPIE ESCAD Austria GmbH

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