Power Plant Designers Tap Visio Power

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Software Catalog

Power Plant Designers Tap Visio Power

A leader in electric utility power plant design for more than 100 years, Sargent & Lundy, LLC. now uses Visio Technical as the foundation of its unique automated design system.

Not only has this streamlined the development of power system drawings, it has enriched the design process, allowing the firm’s engineers to visualize power system design in ways never before possible.

The automatic schematic: a new generation in power system drawings
It takes anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 schematics and logic diagrams to design and build a large power plant. Sargent & Lundy, the No. 1 power engineering firm in the world, has designed more than 800 power plants worldwide. That adds up to a lot of drawings. Until recently, these drawings were prepared on a UNIX-based CAD/CAE system by day, and then run through various automated data transfers and validation programs in a batch process overnight. As one Sargent & Lundy engineer observes, "The system served us well for many years, but it was time to upgrade to newer technology and create a system that would take our design process to the next level." To this end, Sargent & Lundy has developed three next-generation automation systems for the production of power system schematics and logic diagrams, using Visio Technical as the graphical backbone:

Intelasys (Intelligent Electrical Design Automation System), is used to design power plant electrical systems (schematic, cable, and wiring designs)

CADICE (CAD for Instrumentation & Control Engineers) is used to configure power plant instruments and controls

MSYS (Mechanical Systems) is used to visualize and run calculations on a power plant’s mechanical system (pumps, pipes, heat exchangers, etc.)

A productivity tool for engineers — no CAD skills required
Many factors convinced John P. Wittenauer, Associate and Manager of Electrical Technology Development and Applications at Sargent & Lundy, that Visio Technical was the way to enhance the company’s automated design process. "The open architecture and rich object model in Visio Technical was a key factor," says Wittenauer. Ease of use was another.

According to Wittenauer, the intuitive interface in Visio Technical has changed the design process at Sargent & Lundy from start to finish. "Before Visio Technical, only CAD/CAE specialists could work on the drawings," he explains. Engineers would provide design input, and the CAD/CAE design specialist would create the "smart" schematics and execute various data processing activities.

Now engineers prepare the conceptual design in intuitive, easy-to-use Visio Technical, and the designers take it from there. "There are fewer hand-offs," says Wittenauer. "Instead of passing comments back and forth, they share files, making the workflow much more efficient."

The drawing process is much more efficient, as well. "Our drawings come in a variety of flavors," explains Greg Sensmeier, Instrumentation and Control Project Engineering Division Manager." In Visio Technical, you simply select the type of drawing you want, it loads up the correct template and associated stencils, and you’re ready to go."

Both Wittenauer’s and Sensmeier’s groups have customized Visio Technical to their specific drawing requirements. Equipment blocks, termination points, binary and modulating devices, and other objects are now in the form of SmartShapes symbols with built-in intelligence, so they look and behave just like the equipment they represent.

The combination of drag-and-drop technology, object-oriented SmartShapes symbols, and customizability through built-in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, has led Sargent & Lundy to impressive gains in productivity and efficiency. "We’re seeing a 75% reduction in data input and processing time using Visio Technical," says Wittenauer. "And a better workflow all around."

Symbols of power: a custom solution Engineers at Sargent & Lundy have customized Visio Technical by creating their own SmartShapes symbols for equipment blocks, termination points, and other objects used in power plant design. They have also incorporated Microsoft Agent technology to provide audio-visual feedback. If an incorrect entry is made, a genie appears on the screen to tell you there’s a problem.

Streamlining work by drawing directly from the database
Drawing power was not the only inspiration for the engineering staff at Sargent & Lundy to move to Visio Technical; its ability to link dynamically to their Central Project Database was also a major factor.

"Revisions are an ongoing and necessary part of any design process," observes Sensmeier. "As new plant system requirements are identified and the design matures, you have to update the data on the drawings." And, as he points out, doing this manually is no small task.

There are typically more than 100,000 values—including equipment IDs, cables, conductors, I/O points, and other data—that must be reflected in the drawings. Visio Technical provides a direct link to the company’s Oracle database, making this process automatic and interactive.

In fact, there are any number of data sources from which the engineers might need to draw—and with its open architecture and rich object model, Visio Technical can link to all of them. For example, engineers now can link easily to a Microsoft Access database on smaller utility projects, when a large Oracle database might not be the best solution. "We can map to any column in any ODBC-compliant database and combine data from multiple sources on any project," explains Wittenauer. "It’s a one-time set up that’s completely transparent to the user."

Function	Speed w/CAD-based application	Speed w/Visio Technical-based application
Load Drawing	3-5 minutes	20-40 seconds
Report Data	4-6 minutes	30-60 seconds
Wiring Process	3-5 minutes	2-3 minutes
Term Legend	5-7 minutes	10-20 seconds
Diagnostics	5-7 minutes	2-3 minutes
TOTAL	20-30 minutes	5-8 minutes

A 75% reduction in data input and processing time. Sargent & Lundy has achieved measurable time savings at each stage of schematic development using Visio Technical.

Turnarounds reduced from 12 hours to 5 minutes
As drawings are developed, data is transferred and diagnostics are run to ensure each drawing is complete, equipment references are valid, and other requirements are met. This used to be done overnight in a batch process. Now it’s done online in five minutes using Visio Technical. There’s no waiting and no wasted time.

"It’s like one-stop shopping," says Wittenauer. "You can create the diagram, automatically transfer data, run design diagnostics, see the results, and revise interactively." A cable on the drawing will turn red, for example, indicating an invalid connection or missing input. In addition, Sargent & Lundy has incorporated Microsoft Agent technology to provide audio-visual feedback. Make an incorrect entry, and a genie appears on the screen to tell you there’s a problem.

The end result: more time for better design
With its open architecture, Visio Technical has tapped into yet another source of power for engineers at Sargent & Lundy. As Steve Ornberg, Senior Principal Manager and Associate of Information Technology and Services Division, explains: "We can lay out a schematic, input information about a mechanical component (the flow rate for a pump, for example), then link to an external calculation module in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, MathCAD, or C++ program, and fire off the calculation—all from within Visio Technical."

The results are returned to Visio Technical, displayed on the schematic, and reported in tabular form for quick reference. "Not only do you see the output for that component," says Ornberg, "but its effect on every other component in the system."

As a result, now engineers can spend more time doing "what-if" analyses and other in-depth studies—leading to better design. As Sensmeier points out, the automation achieved through Visio Technical does more than just save time or eliminate tedious work: "It leaves the engineer free to think about the important part of the drawing—the control scheme and operations critical to the safety of the plant," he says. "This is where we want to focus our attention."

"The real beauty of Visio Technical is its flexibility," concludes Ornberg. "We’ve used it to visualize, automate, and connect information in ways we never could before. Its power is almost endless."

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