Boiler maker wins Queen's Award for management system

Jason Atkinson, control system engineer for Byworth Boilers, says: "Instead of using different instruments to measure individual parameters such as water and steam pressure, the boiler house needs to be treated as a complete integrated process, so we decided to look for an integrated solution that we could package as a complete product for our users."

Byworth chose the ABB Freelance system, comprising ABB AC700F controllers and S700 I/O units and DIGIVIS, an HMI that runs on standard Windows-based PCs. With training and support from ABB facilities, Byworth software engineers developed Unity, a control system that gives customers an efficient and configurable boiler house.

As well as obtaining information from a PC, data can be accessed from the Cloud, allowing managers to see boiler performance on a tablet. Byworth's engineers can also monitor customers' systems remotely and advise on corrective action or maintenance.

Capable of handling dozens of simultaneous I/Os, Unity is suitable for any boiler house, from control of a single boiler to complex multi-boiler, multi-fuel installations incorporating waste heat and composite boilers.

Using ABB components allows Unity to communicate over Modbus or TCP/IP, simplifying cabling and cutting costs and installation time.

Says Atkinson: "Having better control makes the customer's plant safer and more efficient, as well as reducing emissions.

"We won the Queen's Award through two years of team effort to produce Unity which, as a product, is the first of its kind and represents a whole new approach to managing boiler plants safely and efficiently.

"The support we got from ABB was second-to-none on this project. We also had a swift response to our queries and excellent help in developing the software."