SuccessfulInstallationand

Successful
Installation and
EffectiveUseofanOnline
PerformanceMonitoringSystem

EricRobinson
PerformanceEngineer
Coronado Generating Station
CoronadoGeneratingStation
St.Johns,Arizona
Salt River Project
SaltRiverProject
2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Project Background
ProjectBackground
1. CoronadoGeneratingStation(CGS):
1.
2.
3.

2coalfiredunits,430GMWeach.
,
30yearsold,lotsoflegacysystemsonplantsite.
PreviousengineersusedPMAXinthepast,Honeywell
system in limited use when project started.
systeminlimitedusewhenprojectstarted.

2. ProjectDetails:
1.
2.
3.
4.

EtaPROinstalledatCGSforbothunitsaspartoffleetwide
i
installation.
ll i
Alsoinstalledanewhistorian(PI).
Projectwasmanagedbyateamlocatedatourcorporate
office.
SystemaccessibleinNovemberof2009,signedoffin
January2010.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Presentation Points
PresentationPoints
1. Lessonslearned
1.
2.

Explainedinthecontextoftheinstallationprocess.
p
p
Discusswhatwentwellwiththeprojectaswellaswhat
couldhavebeenimproved.

2 EffectiveUtilization
2.
Effective Utilization
1.
2
2.

Anoverviewofhowwearecurrentlyusingthesoftware
andsomeofthesuccessesandchallengeswehavefaced.
Di
Discussthepathforward.
h
hf
d

3. Fromtheperspectiveofaplantengineer
1.

Timeislimitedforaplantengineer.
p
g
1.
2.

Outages,otherprojectsandproblemslimitthetimeofmostplant
performancepersonnel.
Supportteamisessentialtodoathoroughjob.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Installation
1. Therearefourkeyareasoffocusduringthe
p
p
installationprocess,listedinorderofimportance:
1.

VettingData
1.
2.

2.

ValidatingtheThermodynamicModel
1.

3.

Backboneoftheperformancemonitoringsystemandcriticaltothe
utilityoftheperformancemonitor.
ili
f h
f
i

ValidatingtheCalculations
1.

4.

Knowingandconveyingthehistory,validityandphysicaldetailsof
requesteddatapointstothevendor.
Dataaretherawingredientsfortheinstallation.

Notmerelycheckingthevendorsmathandscience,but
understanding the philosophy behind the software
understandingthephilosophybehindthesoftware.

CheckingScreens
1.

Focusonessentialperformanceparameters,willmostlikelyevolve
aftertheprojectiscomplete.
p j
p

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Vetting Data
VettingData
1. Theimportanceofgooddata
1.
2.
3.

Majorityofefficiencyproblemsencounteredusuallyendup
being instrument problems
beinginstrumentproblems.
Baddatamakeitmoredifficulttotrackdownorverifythe
rootofanactualperformanceproblem.
Thedatabecometherawingredientsfortheperformance
monitor.

2. Knowandconveythehistory,validityandphysical
detailsofthedatatothevendor.
1.
2.
3
3.
4.

Notamajorissueifyourinstrumentationisalreadywell
f
l d
ll
maintained
Overallthiswentreallywell.
Recommend physically inspecting everything possible even
Recommendphysicallyinspectingeverythingpossibleeven
ifyouarentgoingtoinstallaperformancemonitor.
Youdontneed100%accuratedata.
1.
2
2.

Knowingwheretheproblemsareiskey.
Youllllprobablyfindmoreissuesastheinstallationprogresses.
You
probably find more issues as the installation progresses

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Thermodynamic Model Validation

ThermodynamicModelValidation
1. Thethermodynamicmodelisthebackboneofthe
p
performancemonitor.
1.
2.

Runinthebackgroundinrealtimetogeneratecontrollable
lossestargetsamongotherthings.
Used for parametric studies.
Usedforparametricstudies.

2. Validationwas(andremains)adifficulttask.
1.
2.

Thesoftwarewasnewandunfamiliar,takessometimeto
fi
figureout(aswithmosttechnicalsoftware).
(
ih
h i l f
)
Couldhavegonebetter.
1.
2.

3.

Triedtotackletoomuchintoolittletime.
Takethemodelonecomponentatatime,buildyourownfrom
scratch.

Continuestobeaworkinprogress.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Performance Calculation Validation

PerformanceCalculationValidation
1. Avoidblackboxes.
1.

EvenifGodprogrammedit,digintoit,understandit,
p g
, g
,
,
validateit.Andthentweakitasneeded.Understandingis
critical.
1.

Fixitwhenitbreaks,modifyitwhenthingschangeandbeableto
explaintoothersandbuildconfidenceinthesoftware.

2. Checkeverycalculation.
1.

Thisistimeconsuming,butworththeeffort.
g
1.

2.

Greaterunderstandingoftheprocess.

Couldhavedoneabetterjobinthisarea.
1.
2.
3.

Softwareinterfacewasntachallenge,prettystraightforward.
Werentmethodicalinourcheck,didspotchecksmorethan
anything.Structuredapproachwouldhavehelped.
Someissuesweresporadic,dontreadilynoticeuntilyouhavetrends
to check Easy to miss these things
tocheck.Easytomissthesethings.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Checking Screens
CheckingScreens
1. Important,butlessimportantcomparedtoprevious
threeitems.
1.

2.

Ifthedisplayedvaluesarentcorrectthenitmatterslittle
howprettythescreensareorhowcustomizedtheywere
made.
Highlydependantonindividualpreferences.

2. Youllhaveplentyoftimelatertomodifyandbuild
your own
yourown.
1.
2.
3.

Cannedscreensprovidesufficientinformation.
IfIdiditoveragainIwouldjustgowiththecanned
screens.
Donttrytoputtoomuchononescreen akinto
overloadingagraphwithtoomanytrends.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Utilization
1. CurrentmethodofUtilizationatCGS.
1.
2.
3.

Performanceengineeronplantsitetomonitor.
g
p
Operatorsusetomanagecontrollablelosses.
CentrallylocatedteamatSRPcorporateofficesalso
monitors.
1.

Weeklyconferencecallstodiscussobservations,investigationinto
possibleproblemsandresolutionsforknownproblems.

2. Howthisisworkingoutforus.
How this is working out for us.
1.

Corporatesupportforplantperformanceisnecessary.
1.

2.

Addsextraweighttogettingproblemsresolved,problemsarentjust
plantissuesanymore.

Multipleeyeslookingatdata.
1.
2.

Lessensthechancetheproblemswillbemissed.
Themorepeopletherearethatknowabouttheproblem,the
greatertheoddsaretheitwillberesolved.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Utilization Continued
Utilization,Continued
2. Howthisisworkingoutforus,continued.
3.

Buildingacentralizedperformanceteamfromscratch
g
p
1.

4.

Learningaswego,thingsarealittlehaphazardsometimesbutitis
gettingbetteraswefigurethingsout.

Operatorsdontutilizeasmuchaswedlike.
1.
2.
3.

Someuseit,othersdontevenbother.
Thosethatdouseituseitonlycasuallyandinfrequently.
Generallythereisnohostilitytowardsit,justnoperceivedneed.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

10

10

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Benefits
1. Benefitsfaroutweighanydrawbacksencountered.
2. Enormoustimesavings.
Enormous time savings.
1.

2.
3
3.

Alotoftimesavedcomparedtopreviousworkflow.
Dependingonresourcesavailablepriortoinstallationsome
may not see such a dramatic savings
maynotseesuchadramaticsavings.
NolongerhavingtocalculateNUHR,GUHR,TCHRmanually
hassavedaround26hoursayear.
Spend more time analyzing data than number crunching
Spendmoretimeanalyzingdatathannumbercrunching.

3. Consistencyintheworkflow.
1.
2.
3.

Nomoremultiplespreadsheetsspreadacrossthenetwork.
Everyoneislookingatthesamedataandresults.
Noneedtoreinventthewheel.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

11

11

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Drawbacks
1. Rememberallthattimeyousaved?
1.
2.

Someofitgetseatenupbymaintenanceoftheperformance
g
p y
p
monitor.
Usually4or5hoursaweek.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Checkinginputs
g p
Updateandbuildingscreens
Automaticreportingandalertingfeatures.
Administrativetasks(useraccounts,softwareupdates,etc).
Usuallymoretimerequiredaftertheinitialinstallation,thenthe
demandtapersoff.

2. Softwarelimitations.
1.

Therewillundoubtedlybelimitationsinwhatever
performancemonitoryoubuy.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

12

12

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

The Path Forward

ThePathForward
1. Creationofacentralizedperformanceteam.
1.
2.

Assistplantpersonnelinperformanceanalysis.
p
p
p
y
Fulfilladministrativerolesforthevarioussystems.
1.

3.

PossiblyincludePIandSmartSignal

Assistwithperformancetestingandreportingandissue
Assist
with performance testing and reporting and issue
standardreportsacrossthefleet.

2. Increaseoperatorusageofthesystem.

2011EPRIHeatRateConference

13

13

SuccessfulInstallationandEffectiveUseofanOnlinePerformanceMonitoringSystem

Concluding Thoughts
ConcludingThoughts
1. Amoremodularinstallation
1.

Ratherthanhavetosignoffontheprojectasawholeat
g
p j
theenditwouldbenicetosignoffonapieceofequipment
atatimetomakeitallmoremanageable.

2. FullPIinstallation
Full PI installation
1.

Dontshortchangeyourselfonahistorianupgradeif
required.Alldatashouldbeavailableinoneplace.

3 Operatorusage
3.
O
t
1.

Perhapsincludeindividual(s)fromoperationsinthe
planning,biddingandinstallationprocesstogivethema
stakeinthesuccessofthesoftware.
k i h
f h
f

4. Anonlineperformancemonitorisonlyapartofthe
p
totalperformancesolution.
2011EPRIHeatRateConference

14

14