“Honeywell managed the entire project for us from start to finish. With its innovative OneWireless solution we were able to save time and money. The leasing of a fixed line was no longer required and since the data transferred from multiple sites was in Modbus format, we did not require a PLC at remote sites but rather interfaced directly with the flow computers, improving data reliability.”
Fatih Golbasi, Instrument and Electrical Engineer, Qenos
Qenos, Australia's leading plastics and rubber company, runs three plants in Altona, a suburb of Melbourne, that needed to interface and exchange product tansfer information as ethylene is produced at the olefins plant and then transferred downstream to the resins and plastics plants. The old metering system consisted of a fixed digital telephone line, which was being phased out by the incumbent telecommunications provider. An existing wireless solution was facing maintenance issues and a new method to accurately provide product transfer data was needed.
Qenos turned to Honeywell and its proven OneWireless™ network solution to help improve data accessibility across all three sites without the added costs of a fixed line but with optimal data reliability and safety. Qenos implemented Honeywell’s OneWireless solution and experienced the following benefits:
Qenos is a leading Australian plastics and rubber company producing materials for products found in every Australian home, including food packaging, appliances, furniture, toys and cars. A subsidiary of China National Bluestar (Group) Co. Ltd., a joint venture between China National Chemical Corporation and The Blackstone Group, Quenos’ plants in Sydney and Melbourne produce a full range of polyethylene products and supply a diverse range of specialty polymers.
The Altona chemical complex began production in the early 1960s and is the largest production centre for petrochemicals and plastics in Australia today. The Qenos site covers 103 hectares and is located approximately 15 km west of the Melbourne central business district. Ethylene is produced at the olefins plant and sent downstream for its plastics and resins plants.
After considering various alternatives, Qenos selected Honeywell’s OneWireless network solution. “We were running out of options and the current combination of wireless and fixed line solution was difficult to maintain,” said Fatih Golbasi, Instrument and Electrical Engineer, Qenos. “We selected Honeywell because of its proven wireless solution and dedicated team of people committed to a successful implementation.”
Honeywell managed the project from start to finish which included installation of serial interface cards for HPM, configuration of multinodes, wireless transmitters and interfacing solution for Modbus data with other third-party flow computers.
“With the use of the wireless network, we eliminated the leasing of a fixed line whilst still experiencing direct connection with our flow computers,” continued Golbasi. The data accessed from the flow computers is in digital format which allowed the daily totals from flow computers to be accessed directly by the olefins DCS instead of having to rely on the previous method of manual collection.
Honeywell’s OneWireless network is an industrial wireless mesh network that extends the process control network to the field to deliver applications that improve plant efficiency, reliability and safety. The wireless mesh network is formed with wireless nodes, called multinodes, that self-discover to create an industrial mesh network within seconds.
Thanks to the reliability of the system, Qenos experienced a quick return on investment and didn’t have to face ongoing maintenance costs. “Honeywell products are reliable and the company has solutions available for almost every application. More importantly, Honeywell has the people with the appropriate training to support and service products locally, which was a great benefit to Qenos,” said Golbasi.
OneWireless™ is a trademark of Honeywell International Inc.