Specialist safety systems integrator Hima-Sella has just completed the first UK installation of HIMax at a major UK refinery. In 2008, engineers from the UK refinery travelled to Germany for a global engineering conference then visited the HIMA factory where HIMax was initially designed and developed. Having seen a demonstration of the new HIMax technology, Hima-Sella was awarded a £130,000 contract in November 2008, to design and commission a SIL rated fire and gas detection system, complete with field devices and incorporating the HIMax programmable electronic system (PES).

Based on HIMA’s XMR technology, the new HIMax offers nonstop operation and unprecedented levels of redundancy and fault tolerance, without restriction and achieving safety integrity level 3 (SIL 3). It’s a highly scalable system with features and tools that make it much easier to use than many systems currently available and it complements HIMA’s safety controllers, HIQuad and HIMatrix.

Andy Tonge, sales manager at Hima-Sella, explains, “Compared to a standard platform, HIMax redefines what you can expect from a safety system. It’s intuitive, more efficient and with its guarantee of uninterrupted system operation during the life of a processing plant facility, offers significant potential for improving productivity and profits.”

All safety-critical applications in the process industry can be implemented with HIMax including emergency shutdown systems (ESD), burner management systems (BMS), fire & gas systems (F&G), turbo machinery control (TMC), or pipeline automation. Having flexible system architecture, various rack sizes, different assembly and wiring concepts, and centralized and distributed installations, HIMax can be adapted for virtually any application requirement. Its flexibility allows for integration into any distributed control system (DCS) and by using open-standard protocols guaranteed by HIMA, enables customers to choose the best DCS for their plant.

Andy Tonge adds, ”Now that this first system has been successfully commissioned, we’re exploring options for specifying HIMax for other industrial applications in the UK, including North Sea applications for the replacement of obsolete and legacy systems, where HIMax is the ideal solution.”

About Hima-Sella

Hima-Sella is a market leader in engineered solutions for safety, control and automation applications in the oil & gas, petrochemical, rail, steel and power industries. Services include completely integrated systems, panel building, sub assemblies, product development and on-site support. The company, based in Stockport, currently has one hundred and five staff and a turnover of £10m. Established as Sella Controls in 1974, the company was appointed agent for HIMA Paul Hildebrandt for safety system products in 1983, becoming Hima-Sella in 1994 and in 2001 received the first ever CASS certificate awarded for functional safety management in accordance with IEC 61508. Hima-Sella’s quality management system has been approved to BS EN ISO 9001 since 1989. Hima-Sella is an active member of the following:

• First Point Assessment Limited (FPAL), the industry database from which the oil and gas industries select their contractors and suppliers

• Link-Up – the standard database from which rail industries select contractors and suppliers

• Joint Qualification Scheme (JQS), the prerequisite for suppliers to the oil industry in Norway and Denmark, used by the top 20 oil companies in those countries.

Hima-Sella is also a member of several associations and industry-based councils, including the Energy Industries Council, the Institute of Measurement & Control, the Nuclear Industries Association and the Railway Industries Association, keeping the company up to date with the changes in legislation and standards. For more information contact: Hima-Sella Ltd, Carrington Field St, Stockport, Cheshire. SK1 3JN. UK. Tel: +44 (0) 161 429 4500. www.hima-sella.co.uk

About HIMA

HIMA is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of automated safety solutions in the process industry. With an installed base of more than 20,000 systems in more than 80 countries and presence in more than 50 countries around the globe, HIMA offers a wealth of knowledge and experience to users providing scalable TUV SIL 3 certified solutions for Emergency Shutdown (ESD), Fire & Gas (F&G), Burner Management (BMS), Turbo Machinery Control (TMC), and a range of other safety applications. Founded in 1908, HIMA was the first company in the world to develop TUV-certified safety-related automation controls in the 1960s and has been at the forefront of safety-related control technology for more than 40 years. Over the past 100 years HIMA has grown to become a premier worldwide specialist supplier, delivering unique solutions through combination of maximum safety and maximum availability. Based in Brühl, Germany, HIMA remains an independent, family-owned business whose sole focus is to design, manufacture and deliver the most advanced safety-related technology and solutions to its customers.