Emerson Updates Turbomachinery Protection and Asset Health Monitoring for Safer Operations

Emerson Automation Solutions 14 seconds ago

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AMS 6500 ATG version 5.0 and AMS Machine Works version 2.4 software enable continuous data streaming for deeper start-up and shutdown analytics

Emerson has enhanced turbomachinery protection and monitoring with updates to AMS 6500 ATG and AMS Machine Works software.
Continuous, unlimited data streaming enables deeper analysis across complete turbomachinery start-up and shutdown cycles.
Improved insights support safer operations and better asset health through advanced trending and real-time visibility.
New programmable dashboards and simplified connectivity improve usability and cybersecurity for critical machinery environments.

Emerson, a global automation leader, has announced updates to both its AMS 6500 ATG online protection system with embedded prediction and the AMS Machine Works asset health monitoring software.

New features in both systems have been designed in parallel to drive improved analytics for critical turbomachinery, particularly to support complex, high-stakes activities such as machinery start-ups and shutdowns.

The latest software developments are designed to provide operators, maintenance personnel and reliability teams with greater access to machine data during some of the most demanding phases of turbomachinery operation. By extending the amount of information available for analysis, the updates can provide a more detailed picture of machine behaviour and asset health.

Continuous data streaming for turbomachinery monitoring

Protection systems are critical to safe turbomachinery operations, but historically, data collection from the most effective systems was typically limited to minutes of operation.

Also, the higher the quality of data collected, the more limited the collection window.

Yet, turbomachinery start-ups or shutdowns can take hours or even days, and operators and analysts need longer information timelines to better understand what is happening during these complex operations.

This presents a particular challenge for operators and reliability teams responsible for critical rotating equipment. A short snapshot of machine behaviour may not provide sufficient information to understand the complete sequence of events during a start-up or shutdown.

The ability to capture and analyse longer periods of operational data can therefore provide additional insight into changes in machinery behaviour, helping teams understand how equipment responds throughout these complex operating cycles.

The AMS 6500 ATG version 5.0 and the AMS Machine Works version 2.4 software have been updated to support continuous, unlimited machine data transmission from the protection system into the analytics platform.

This helps operators better understand what is happening during complex activities while enabling analysts to perform more comprehensive analysis and long-term trending in AMS Machine Works.

The continuous data streaming capability is designed to bridge the gap between machinery protection and asset health monitoring, providing a longer and more detailed record of machine performance.

Improved insight into critical machinery operations

“In complex operations, operators and technicians need precise operational insight, such as the ability to see when machinery reaches its natural frequency so they can improve control speeds,” said Ben Swisher, vice president and general manager of reliability solutions at Emerson. “With continuous data streaming from the AMS 6500 ATG to AMS Machine Works, operators, maintenance personnel and analysts all have the inputs they need for enhanced insight into safe operations and long-term asset health.”

Understanding machinery behaviour during start-up and shutdown is particularly important for turbomachinery, where operating conditions can change significantly as equipment accelerates, reaches operating speed and transitions between different states.

Access to continuous machine data gives users the opportunity to investigate these changes in greater detail. Rather than relying on a limited data window, analysts can examine the machine’s behaviour across the wider operational period.

This can support more informed decisions around machinery operation, maintenance and asset health.

Advanced trending and real-time turbomachinery data

The latest enhancements to the AMS 6500 ATG and the AMS Machine Works software provide users with greater visibility into how their assets and operations are changing.

With access to longer and more frequent data, analysts can use AMS Machine Works to more effectively trend streamed information for the AMS 6500 ATG and data from other sources, and those trends can be tied directly to alarms.

This provides a more connected approach to machinery condition monitoring, allowing historical and streamed data to be examined alongside alarm information.

By linking trends directly to alarms, analysts can gain additional context when investigating changes in machine performance. This can help teams understand not only that an alarm occurred but also what the machinery was doing before, during and after the event.

Operators can also see live data illustrating what is happening in machines connected to the system.

The combination of live machine information, longer-term trending and alarm-related data provides operators with a broader view of asset condition and operational performance.

For critical turbomachinery, this visibility can be particularly valuable when teams need to assess changing operating conditions or investigate potential issues.

Programmable dashboard for turbomachinery performance

The AMS 6500 ATG has also been updated with a web-server-based programmable dashboard to provide visualisation of critical turbomachinery performance.

The dashboard provides operators with a configurable interface for viewing key machine information. Rather than relying on a fixed display, users can configure the available pages and widgets according to their monitoring requirements.

The system can show up to five programmable dashboard pages, each with up to 25 widgets, including trending, Boolean alarm value screens and live measurement fields.

The range of available widgets provides flexibility in how information is presented. Trending widgets can be used to visualise changing machine data while Boolean alarm value screens can display alarm states and live measurement fields can provide current operating information.

New widgets can also display machine components in addition to data points to make it easier for operators to connect those points to the relevant machines and gain a general understanding about the health of assets from a single view.

This approach is intended to make complex machinery information easier to interpret by bringing relevant measurements and machine components together within the same dashboard environment.

The dashboard is available natively via a web browser and is flexible and programmable.

For operators working with critical turbomachinery, having configurable information available through a web browser can provide a practical way of accessing machine performance data without relying on a fixed visualisation arrangement.

Simplified connectivity and cybersecurity

The enhancements to AMS 6500 ATG and AMS Machine Works software also deliver Modbus-independent connectivity for simplified management and continue Emerson’s commitment to ongoing cybersecurity improvements.

Simplified connectivity can help reduce the complexity associated with integrating machinery protection and asset health monitoring systems into wider industrial environments.

The ability to bring together data from machinery protection systems and other sources also supports the broader objective of using asset data to improve operational visibility and long-term equipment management.

Cybersecurity remains an important consideration for connected industrial control and monitoring systems, particularly where critical machinery is increasingly connected to wider plant networks and analytics platforms.

The latest AMS 6500 ATG and AMS Machine Works enhancements therefore combine expanded data access with connectivity and cybersecurity developments.

Supporting safer turbomachinery operations

The combination of continuous data streaming, advanced trending, live machine information and programmable visualisation is designed to give operators and analysts a more comprehensive understanding of critical turbomachinery.

By extending the data available during lengthy start-up and shutdown activities, Emerson’s latest updates address an important limitation associated with traditional machine monitoring approaches.

The AMS 6500 ATG provides online turbomachinery protection with embedded prediction while AMS Machine Works provides the asset health monitoring and analytics capabilities needed to make greater use of the resulting machine data.

Together, the latest versions provide operators, maintenance personnel and reliability teams with improved access to information that can support machinery protection, condition monitoring and long-term asset health management.

For facilities where turbomachinery plays a critical role in production, the ability to monitor machine behaviour continuously and analyse changes over longer periods can provide valuable insight into both operational performance and equipment condition.

Contact Details

Emerson Automation Solutions

0870 240 1978
uksales@emerson.com
Meridian East, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, Leicestershire LE19 1UX GB

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