When it comes to monitoring natural gas systems, safety concerns are paramount. Exact and dependable measurements are vital for natural gas operations—both by companies and their customers. As the world gets more connected, so do the hidden systems that people rely on. With this in mind, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) announced the launch of its new gas metering solution, Connected Plant Measurement IQ for Gas, which can easily monitor the health of gas meter systems.
“Traditionally, it’s been difficult to get metering diagnostics and meaningful analytics from the metering stations to others in the organization, and no one had visibility of the whole operation,” said Eric Bras, Honeywell Process Solutions product marketing manager. “With Measurement IQ, operations, maintenance and enterprise-level users can access real-time diagnostics and collaborate to find the best solutions, wherever they are. Engineers can diagnose faults before they go to the metering station, operators get real-time alerts when key parameters exceed limits, and leadership can connect people and draw on expertise across the enterprise.”
Measurement IQ for Gas, part of the Honeywell’s Connected Plant suite, provides natural gas operators with a big picture view of their entire metering operation. As gas companies face a broader hydrocarbon mix, potential contaminated gas and dispersed sites, they need an efficient solution for tracking the health of all their metering assets. Users can get a real-time view of the metering system’s health and even create tailored alerts.
Each metering station has a device capable of connecting to company’s cloud. Using a browser interface on a device such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone, users can connect to Measurement IQ for Gas. The solution then collects real-time data from across sites, which can then be viewed in an integrated at-a-glance dashboard, along with advanced diagnostics and intelligence analytics.
Since the solution monitors significant changes in the flow meter, process and environment, it can anticipate issues with the system. This allows time-based or risk-based calibration to be transitioned to condition-based monitoring, which provides its own cost savings benefits.
According to Honeywell, this simple connection allows users to “detect and correct costly mismeasurement, anticipate equipment failure, reduce gas losses and eliminate unnecessary maintenance.” This puts the user in control of metering operations and allows for quicker decision-making if an issue is detected. It also extends time between preventive maintenance and recalibration, as well as adds another layer of safety.
For more insight into the connected factory, check out “What’s the Promise of the Connected Factory?”