OVATION USERS GROUP

Checklist: Apply these best

practices for lifecycle care

Y
ou want to believe the lifecycle KICKOFF MEETING Sofware installation
care program purchased with Evergreen projects continuous improvement
your control systems transfers
most of the risk to your OEM. System installation
After all, much like an insurance policy,
you’re paying for protection against tech- Signoff sheet
nological obsolescence and maintenance
issues. But the reality, as illustrated Project forms Site checklist
here through one utility’s experience, is Project checklist Installation plan
that successful implementation requires Hardware Hardware testing
considerable owner/operator-OEM inter- ordering Software testing
action and oversight. Kick-off agenda
Site acceptance
What follows is derived from a pre- Status report
FAT plan Action list
sentation at the 2016 Ovation Users
Group (OUG) Conference, held in Much preparation is required to successfully implement a control-system
Pittsburgh, July 25-28, plus an inter- lifecycle upgrade program
view with a utility representative
who recently concluded a program to
upgrade systems at 13 separate power n Machinery health monitor and User perspective
stations. However, it should be clear trending packages.
that the basic practices can be applied n HART and wireless HART for com- According to Alliant Energy’s Wes
to any control-system lifecycle program. munication with field devices. Whitley, also OUG president, NERC’s
Emerson Automation Systems calls n Replacing old serial link controllers Critical Infrastructure Protection
its lifecycle care program “Evergreen.” (RLC) with Ethernet link control- Standards (CIPS) were the driving
In one sense, it is analogous to an LTSA lers (ELCs), for communication force to upgrade the utility’s entire
or CSA for turbines and generators with virtually all other third-party powerplant fleet through Evergreen
because it not only addresses basic devices and changing of communi- at a cost of millions, 5% to 10% of that
maintenance issues but technology cation protocols without upgrading. for software upgrades. His experience
upgrades and new software/hardware From the OEM side alone, much was greatly assisted with checklists
releases as well. This is critical because preparation is required (figure). The and other tools developed through the
digital and control-system technology scope has to be agreed on, systems OUG executive board.
has a lifecycle of five to 10 years—far have to be walked down and inspected The scope of this program should
shorter than the physical systems. Com- in the field, the “system state” has to be not be under-estimated. “The only
ponents include (depending on what reviewed, the factory acceptance test thing that remained the same was the
is covered in each program) network (FAT) has to be planned, hardware and physical I/O,” Whitley stressed, “and
switches and media converters, control- software have to be tested, and a bill of the screen graphics and control sheets.”
lers, workstations, and power supplies. materials has to be written up. Control Across the fleet, the scope included new
On the advanced technology side, systems interface with other digital Dell computers, replacement/conver-
control systems are becoming “knowl- assets so other party licenses have to sion of older controllers with the latest
edge platforms” and so Evergreens also be reviewed. According to Emerson’s versions, new controller software, new
include the latest operator applications Mike Brown and Chris McClellan, I/O software, new firmware to interface
and algorithms, security programming, “there are at least 15 documents for with the controllers, new monitors, new
wireless capabilities, embedded pro- every Evergreen upgrade, part of the domain controller for NERC-CIPS com-
cess historians, model-based control, internal audit, which must be signed pliance, anti-virus servers, and a new
diagnostics, trending, and decision off on by customer and OEM.” process data historian.
support. Some of these identified in Control-system alarms have to be Let’s face it, it’s almost a new con-
the presentation are: carefully managed to prevent alarm trol system, and a testament to how
n Updated turbine, boiler, and excita- flood to operators. Therefore, owner/ fast the technology advances.
tion control schemes. operators need an alarm-manage- Identified below are a dozen areas
n Updated remote valve positioners ment philosophy incorporated into Whitley suggests you consider for your
(RVP). the upgrade. If the upgrade includes best practices checklist. In his experi-
n Ovation Security Center (a means replacement of the old Q-line I/O with ence, controllers, system registrations,
of constant interface between user Ovation I/O, then you need an accurate and other items were captured well, but
and OEM to attend to cybersecurity list of every Q card in every card frame power supplies were not. Seven of them
and patch management while the in the system, including the attributes were missed at one plant. Circuit break-
plant is online). location, type, and group. ers and fuses also are easy to overlook.
66 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Number 50, Third Quarter 2016
 LM2500
He says you can’t be thorough enough
when putting together the checklist.

1. Software freeze date. There could be

Owner/operators three to four months between when the
as-configured backup was done and when
the new software was installed. Emerson
Come up to speed on the has a tool to compare control sheets.
latest O&M and design Recommendation: Run the compare
practices for LM engines in tool just before you take the old system
simple-cycle, cogen, and down; it will show every difference.
combined-cycle service to: 2. Controller consolidation. Ask
questions like, “How much capacity is
IMPROVE reliability, available in the current controllers?” and
availability, heat rate “What points come out of the controller
for the upgrade?” There’s the potential
REDUCE emissions to reduce the number of controllers (and
corresponding power supplies).
MAXIMIZE revenue by Recommendation: Run the Emerson
providing grid ancillary program which shows how every con-
services troller is connected to the one under
consideration, or at least gain an inti-
Join more than 500 LM user mate understanding of this in other
colleagues from around the globe at ways. Good money is at stake when
the 27th annual meeting of the considering future upgrades, both in
Western Turbine Users and get: hardware and software costs.
◆ Comprehensive engine-specific
technical training focusing on 3. Setpoints. According to Whit-
current equipment issues. ley, Ovation doesn’t store setpoint
Deliverables include a fully illustrated algorithm values, not even the most
Training Manual developed by WTUI currently used. This is a critical con-
and repair-depot personnel, and a figuration management issue. The
review of current OEM service more you automate, the less opera-
bulletins and letters. Technical tors remember, even the name of the
guidance is provided by Air New setpoint, much less the value.
Zealand Gas Turbines, GE, IHI, MTU Recommendation: Make sure you
Maintenance, and TransCanada have a record of all your set-point
Turbines. values. Adding all setpoints to the
historian is a good idea for both Ever-
◆ User-only open discussion to greens and to trend changes in equip-
share experiences and obtain answers ment operation.
to your questions.
◆ An exhibition that brings together 4. Dress rehearsal. Part of Evergreen
nearly 200 providers of products and is to upgrade controllers. This may
services for LM aero engine operating include media converters (copper to
plants. Learn about new offerings, get fiber, fiber to copper), power supplies,
product updates, evaluate in-service and other attributes. You should know
experience. what the OEM plans to do with each
component of the system.
◆ Benchmark your units against Recommendation: Go to the OEM’s
the fleet with ORAP™ data from field office and review where things are
Strategic Power Systems Inc. located, what will be done with each
device, etc—basically a complete dress
Western Turbine rehearsal. This can lead to overlooked
cables or other equipment, time con-
Users, Inc. straints that may affect other outage
tasks, resource deficiencies, illogical
World’s largest user installation order, etc. Be sure to under-
organization serving LM stand the needs of other outage support
gas-turbine owner/operators such as equipment that needs to run, etc.

2017 Conference & Expo 5. On-scan vs off-scan points. Some

South Point Hotel & Casino rationale needs to be imposed on which
Las Vegas, Nev points will be scanned and which ones
won’t. Otherwise, operators may suffer
March 19-22, 2017 with nuisance alarms. Limit switches
Register online at www.wtui.com must be checked as well. Some may
513-604-8018 have failed without anyone (or the
right people) knowing about it. Alliant
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Number 50, Third Quarter 2016 67
 LM6000
found upwards of 50 suspect off-scan
points at one unit. Emerson Process
Recommendation: Review every
point for its value, if it is not being Management now
Owner/operators scanned; fix points/switches/field Emerson Automation
devices as necessary.
Solutions
Come up to speed on the 6. Reconciling control sheets. All Emerson Electric Co has consoli-
latest O&M and design tuning, timers, setpoints, and dead- dated its five business segments
practices for LM engines in bands have to be reconciled in the (Emerson Process Management,
controllers. Temporary changes have Network Power, Industrial Auto-
simple-cycle, cogen, and
to be accommodated. Alliant found mation, Climate Technologies,
combined-cycle service to: 200 points not reconciled at one plant. and Commercial and Residential
IMPROVE reliability, Recommendation: Conduct a con- Solutions) into just two: Emerson
trol-sheet audit onsite. Automation Solutions and Com-
availability, heat rate
mercial and Residential Solutions.
REDUCE emissions 7. Ovation Control Builder (OCB) Emerson Automation Solutions
points. These can connect to the essentially is what was Emerson
MAXIMIZE revenue by graphics on the HMI screens. The Process Management, the entity
providing grid ancillary Evergreen upgrade process can gen- likely most familiar to owner/opera-
services erate new OCBs which can cause tors of generating equipment, plus
graphics errors. An Emerson tool is a few other companies. Some busi-
Join more than 500 LM user available that searches for every OCB nesses, such as Network Power,
colleagues from around the globe at point connected to graphics. which makes power systems that
the 27th annual meeting of the Recommendation: Create names work with telecommunications and
Western Turbine Users and get: for every OCB point used on graphics, data networks, were spun off.
rather than relying on, searching for, The restructuring, announced
◆ Comprehensive engine-specific and replacing new OCB points. in mid-2015, was finalized Oct 1,
technical training focusing on 2016 to build value for custom-
current equipment issues. 8. Licensing. Users are entitled to a ers, employees, and shareholders.
Deliverables include a fully illustrated certain number of points in the histori- The realignment is said to create a
Training Manual developed by WTUI an; however, you can’t discover that on highly focused portfolio organized
and repair-depot personnel, and a your own, Emerson has to tell you how around a solutions-centric business
review of current OEM service many you are allotted and how many model to deliver on the company’s
bulletins and letters. Technical you have used. Licenses from others, promise: “Consider it Solved.”
guidance is provided by Air New like the PI database and Emerson AMS
Device Manager (which provides intel-
Zealand Gas Turbines, GE, IHI, MTU
ligent diagnostics for individual field 11. ELC cards. Users can’t generate
Maintenance, and TransCanada
devices), have to be considered. mass database files for an ELC card
Turbines. Recommendation: Review the Ova- (third-party devices, PLCs, etc). This
◆ User-only open discussion to tion licenses (especially the historian could result in the user having to add
share experiences and obtain answers and ELC) as well as all third-party hundreds of points.
to your questions. licenses. Recommendation: Set up ELC cards
◆ An exhibition that brings together prior to the FAT.
nearly 200 providers of products and
9. IP addresses. These are critical
for NERC CIPS compliance. Lots of 12. Network switch configura-
services for LM aero engine operating
work is involved if you enter an incor- tions. These may change because of
plants. Learn about new offerings, get rect address. NERC CIPS.
product updates, evaluate in-service Recommendation: Be overly cau- Recommendation: Fully discuss
experience. tious with IP addresses and provide new network topologies at the kickoff
◆ Benchmark your units against any proposed changes to Emerson as meeting.
the fleet with ORAP™ data from soon as possible. At a minimum, notify Once the upgrades are complete,
Strategic Power Systems Inc. Emerson of impending changes at the retain all the results of the site walk-
kickoff meeting. down for future Evergreens. Some
Western Turbine 10. Workstations. There may be
components, such as power supplies,
are not captured via software. Special
Users, Inc. redundant operator workstations and
an opportunity to consolidate or reduce
or non-standard equipment may not be
captured either. Keep a running log of
World’s largest user them. New graphics cards now avail- changes/additions/subtractions, etc, to
organization serving LM able allow multi-window viewing on minimize the potential for errors next
gas-turbine owner/operators HMI screens. time. Include notes such as reduction
Recommendation: Be careful not to of controllers, HMIs, I/O cards, ELCs,
2017 Conference & Expo put Network Interface Cards (Ethernet) etc. This provides a history of what was
South Point Hotel & Casino in the full slot. Quite often the HMIs changed and why.
Las Vegas, Nev have only one empty full slot and using These practices were very suc-
March 19-22, 2017 this for a NIC card will make it difficult cessful in upgrading Alliant’s entire
to add a multi-window graphics card fleet. At some plants, Evergreens
Register online at www.wtui.com because the Ovation Highway Interface were implemented with as little as
513-604-8018 may need to be fully uninstalled, which four hours of downtime on a four-unit
can be very time consuming. network. ccj
68 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Number 50, Third Quarter 2016