Plant safety is understandably the highest priority of the nuclear industry as the consequences of an incident can be catastrophic. When it comes to instrumentation within the process, especially within safety systems, substantiation of reliability is essential.
Due to their complexity, smart (microprocessor-based) instruments can never be considered 100% fault proof; additional steps have to be taken to mitigate against that risk.
In the UK, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) along with the main UK nuclear site licence holders developed an assessment tool called Emphasis to substantiate the suitability of smart instrumentation in safety systems. The Emphasis tool is based upon IEC61508 and involves scrutinising:
• The instrument supplier’s top level functional safety management approach
• The hardware procedures and capabilities of the instrument under assessment
• The instrument’s firmware and software
• The production centre via independent audit, covering the full scope of testing activities
The assessment is extremely thorough, taking several months with considerable evidence required at every step of the process. Endress+Hauser has demonstrated its commitment to the UK nuclear industry and at the same time evidenced the reliability and quality of its instrumentation design, testing and manufacture by having several of its instruments substantiated via the Emphasis assessment method.
To date, the Promass Coriolis flowmeter and the Deltabar differential pressure transmitter have successfully passed the assessment and are listed as suitable for use in safety systems in the nuclear industry. Additionally the Liquicap capacitance probe, the Liquiphant vibronic switch and the Cerabar pressure transmitter are currently under assessment.
Our commitment to the Emphasis scheme is just one way in which we endeavour to prioritise the safety of your process, people and environment. From the initial design through to manufacture, application, commissioning, operation, maintenance and proof testing, your safety is fundamental to us. Designed and extensively tested from the outset with safety in mind, our instrumentation will reliably operate in even the toughest applications. Explosive environments are catered for with a complete portfolio of hazardous area protection approvals and for safety critical applications SIL-compliant devices are available for every measurement discipline. With such a comprehensive selection of products available, Endress+Hauser can help you choose the best-fit solution for your process automation requirements.
For more information please email sales@uk.endress.com or call us on 0161 286 5050