Emerson announces Winners of 2009 Smart Wireless Innovators Contest

Emerson Process Management has announced the distinguished winners and finalists in its 2009 Smart Wireless Innovators Application Contest. Designed to recognise creativity and business value from applications of the company’s Smart Wireless solutions, entries in this second annual contest were from various production, manufacturing, and distribution industries around the world.

A cross-industry panel of end user judges reviewed the anonymous entries to understand the application, challenges addressed, benefits obtained, and reason for the use of wireless. They evaluated all entries to select the "most innovative" and "best business results" winners.

The "Innovation" criteria included the extent to which use of wireless was novel; the identification of previously unknown process issues; the degree to which wired technology wouldn’t have been possible; and the extent of real operations improvement.

The winning score went to CalPortland, a manufacturer and distributor of cement and concrete in the southwestern United States, for its application to monitor a rotating 165 metre-long, four metre-diameter cement kiln at its plant in Glendora, California, USA. The devices rotate with the cement kiln at almost twice a minute and help the company meet NOx emissions regulations. The rotation, extreme temperature and cement dust, and the location of the kiln (at 6 to 12 metres above ground level), made using a wired solution impossible.

The "Business Results" criteria included demonstrated savings in operations; installation savings compared to a wired approach; time savings for implementing with wireless; and the extent to which safety or environmental impacts were improved.

There was a tie in the Business Results category, and the co-winners were CHS Inc. refining and Severstal Wheeling steel. CHS is using wireless to improve monitoring of several tanks. The installation cost savings was €342,000 compared to a wired solution. A previous tank overfill cost the refinery €1.03 million in tank repairs and €34,000 in soil remediation. This solution will prevent similar incidents and the resulting repair/remediation efforts. Severstal’s extensive wireless installation included applications to protect assets, prevent production loss, and improve safety. Smart Wireless applications enabled Severstal to gain €205,000 by preventing production loss. Valuable assets which cost €137,000 to replace are protected from damage. Severstal was also able to update their fire safety system to meet insurance requirements at 60% savings compared to a wired solution which was estimated at €40k - €70k.

“As illustrated by the Innovators Contest winners and other exceptional entries, the wide range of wireless applications has shown how easy the technology is to install and operate, and how flexible it is for enabling safety, environmental, and efficiency improvements that have until now been out of reach,” commented Bob Karschnia, vice president Wireless, Emerson Process Management.

"Not only are more customers experiencing the ease of use and benefits of wireless for specific applications, but early adopters are growing and expanding their wireless networks for even greater results.” Karschnia continues, “We’re impressed with the innovation our customers continue to show in exploiting wireless technology for real business value.”