PLC's-Mostly Modicon: Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Service Call

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Service Call

Friday we received a call from the local Power Company about a problem that they were having with one of their PLC systems at one of their two Nuclear Power plants in Virginia. A service call was scheduled for Saturday. After the lengthy security process, the field service engineer examined the system and found an intermittent remote I/O driver module. This part was exchanged and the system was up and running. Later that same day, the plant personnel replaced the same part with one that they had gotten from a sister plant. The system went down. They swapped the part back, but it was down hard. Another emergency call was made and our field engineer went back the plant. He arrived there at 11:30 PM. It was quickly determined that the problem was now in the fiber optic modem on the I/O communications that had failed. The plant had no spares. The Delta engineer made a call and another field engineer was dispatched with a new set of a different manufacturers fiber optic modems. These modems were delivered on-site. It was then discovered that the older fiber cable installed at the plant had SMA connectors, naturally the newer modems utilize St type connections. Luckily the Delta Automation service van is stocked with all sorts of these types of items. Inside there were enough adapters to properly connect the modems to the system. The system was up and running properly immediately. At 3 AM, all was well at the plant.
This is the type of service that our clients have come to expect from Delta Automation, Inc.

2 Comments:

a female Faust said...: would love to interview you at your earliest convenience in light of current developments...

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_Daily_Report_2011-12-15.pdf item 34.

female [dot] faust [at] gmail.....

your point of view respected.

be seeing you.; 10:07 AM
Yasa said...: oh, that is cool

Baldor Electric Motors; 2:32 PM

Name: Bob

Location: Richmond, Virginia, United States

I have worked in the industrial electronics field for over 25 years. The most relevant position to this blog is my lengthy tenure with the manufacturer of the Modicon line of PLC's and associated products. At the peak of my employment there I was one of two system specialists in the world. We were tasked with making systems work and function as needed all over the globe. The buck stopped with us two. Today, since the procurement of that company by another corporation, those positions no longer exist. However,the need is still there, hence the creation of Delta Automation, Inc. in 1996. Over the past ten years in business, clients continue to require on-site assistance with PLC products and applications.

View my complete profile

FAQ's:
How long were you employed by Modicon? I was employed there from 1981 to 1996.
What corporations have owned the Modicon product name over the years since it was introduced? When I started in 1981 it was with "Gould" previously it was "Modicon" itself. Later the company was sold to "AEG". Then it became involved in a joint venture between "AEG" and "Schneider Electric". Eventually "Schneider Electric" took complete control. "Schneider Electric's" market channel in the USA is through the "Square D" distributon network which they had purchased a few years earlier.
Are you still involved in performing service on Modicon products? Yes, I am. Since I started Delta Automation, Inc. in 1996, one of our strengths is our ability to perform on-site service, 24-7.
My "Modicon" salesman keeps trying to convice me to upgrade my systems because he says that they are no longer supported by the manufacturer. Is this true? What are my options? You have to keep in mind, the manufacturer is in the business of selling NEW products. It is in their best interest to sell you more product. For that reason they do end support for some items. They try to force the market. Certainly you can upgrade to a newer system, but you need to consider these things: Are you having problems with your existing system? Do you need any of the additional features on the newer products? If the answer is no, then don't be forced into spending money needlessly. We here at Delta Automation, Inc. have literally millions of dollars of mature products on our shleves ready to go to support clients such as yourself.
I see that there are a lot of people/companies selling Modicon products on the internet such as on e-bay. What is my risk when purchasing these items? Yes, indeed e-bay has opened a whole new world of outlets for these and other industrial products. Most of these folks have no idea what it is that they have. They just want to make a buck on it. You may get something at a great price, but it may not function. Or it may not even be the correct piece. Anything purchased from Delta Automation, Inc. is throughly tested before it is shipped, and since I worked for Modicon, we KNOW how to test the item. Some folks,even some of my competitors, just put power to an item and if it lights up...it works! That won't do you or your plant any good!