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In this blog series, I will cover the emerging trends in the valve assembly market,
how these trends relate to the IEC 61511 requirements, and what's in a final
element. When you look at the different devices that go into some of these safety
systems, the final element becomes quite complex.
I will also cover requirements traceability, the verification and validation of that
final element, and practical paths to show compliance in a real environment.
Emerging Trends
Over the past 30 months, exida and OEM equipment suppliers have seen a
marked increase in the number of requests for Certified Valve Assemblies. Five
years ago, I would occasionally hear an OEM say “my customer just asked me if
we had a certificate for this whole assembly”. Today, the request is a lot more
frequent.
I think it reflects that, as the market is maturing, more process owners are
looking at what they need to do to be fully compliant with IEC 61511.
These requests are coming from EPC and Process Owners for specific valve
assemblies related to specific projects. This indicates that Process Owners are
looking to satisfy the requirements of IEC 61511 that relate to the integration
and validation of final elements.
It might seem like overkill. Is it really necessary to buy a certified valve and a
certified actuator? When we look at what goes into these final elements, you'll
see quite a bit of complexity, which leads to the requirement within 61511 to
demonstrate that the equipment used in these safety systems will function
correctly.
Take a look at this graphic. Is the assembly on the left-hand side equivalent to
what might come fully integrated on the right hand side?
There's no prescriptive path in the standard saying that you must buy an
integrated valve assembly or you can't do certain things, but there are
requirements to show that traceability, and to show a reasonable amount of
evidence for verification and validation that the system will function correctly.
When we think about the final element, what immediately comes to mind is the
valve, the actuator, and probably some type of control device like a solenoid.
That's the minimum you need in your final element, but most times, there's
additional things.
Sometimes, some OEMs have these couplings and these connector devices
included in their valve or actuator. They would then be part of the valve actuator
assessment. However, many don't. There's a stem that could be connected to an
actuator stem, but then you need an independent way of coupling it. Or you need
the mounting bracket or you need the hardware to do it.
Understanding if all those parts are included in the OEM scope is important.
Beyond that, there can be things such as feedback devices for automated testing
or proof testing. There can be functional devices like quick-exhaust valves or
volume boosters to make sure that the assembly is moving quickly enough. There
can be double-acting actuators, or hydraulic / pneumatic-assist return
actuators. In that case, the hydraulic supply or the pneumatic supply needs to be
considered as well.
A final element can have quite a few things in addition to the valve and actuator.
In addition to making sure we have the right parts included, we need to be able
to show requirements traceability down through the design of the safety
instrumented function and then to the specific devices in the final elements. I will
cover that in part 2.
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