Offshore Oil Platform Automation

On separate but related projects, ProtoLink integrated systems that allowed personnel on one platform to remotely control operations on an unmanned platform.  In the first instance, ProtoLink employed InTouch and an Allen-Bradley 5/03 PLC, separated by a three mile, spread-spectrum communications link.  We constructed an enclosure to house the PLC and associated instrumentation.  We programmed the PLC to control platform operations and monitor safety conditions.  We also built a remote alarm annunciation panel to notify operations personnel of upset conditions.  ProtoLink was responsible for all hardware, software, and integration, including both panels, associated drawings, InTouch application development, and PLC programming.

In the second instance, which involved another set of offshore platforms, ProtoLink implemented a similar system but substituted a Koyo PLC for the Allen-Bradley product due to low-power requirements imposed by the use of solar panels.  Both systems mandated strict adherence to Safety Analysis Function/Evaluation (SAFE) charts.