Level 1 HMI System

IPACT uses an off-the-shelf HMI/SCADA package for the Level 1 HMI.  This insures ease of maintenance and upgrade capability in the future.

The Level 1 HMI features large, animated color graphic process mimic screens to give the operator a clear representation of the state of the process in a single glance.  IPACT works with operations personnel up front in order to provide screens that will fit their needs and gain quick acceptance in production.

Another type of screen provides a view of the next N scheduled steps (where N is the maximum hopper look-ahead distance) and their status, as well as current material parameters such as overrun and makeup values.  This screen typically also contains the start, stop, and pause command areas.

The IPACT Level 1 HMI also provides real-time trending of important furnace variables such as stockrod height and armor position.

Equipment functions such as stockrod selection, valve modes, and armor usage are controlled from a Level 1 HMI screen.

Alarm annunciation can be as sophisticated as the customer desires in the IPACT Level 1 HMI.  Typically, there is a small alarm window present on the screen at all times, with full-sized alarm summary and alarm history screens available on command.  Alarms can be displayed based on group and priority, with a very large number of hierarchically arranged groups available.

Another way to annunciate very important alarms is via a separate "pop-up" window associated with the alarm which appears on the operator’s screen.  This window can contain detailed information on the problem, steps to take to resolve it, etc.

The Level 1 HMI also provides screens which reflect the status of the Level 1 system, e.g. primary processor status, redundant processor status, highway status, I/O card status, etc.

Because round data is stored on the IPACT Level 1 system, the Level 1 HMI has screens which support the retrieval, editing, and storage of round data.

Integrated Process Automation & Control Technologies