GEA Westfalia Separator Launches New Controls

GEA Westfalia Separator has launched a new generation control system GEA Westfalia Separator IO which reduces complexity and focuses on user-friendliness. The company aimed to focus primarily on user needs, either the operator, the commissioner or the company’s own service engineer. The aim was to make it simple because, in a world which is becoming more and more complex and difficult to understand, “simplicity is the real sophistication”.

The new operating system will be initially used for the CF decanter series of GEA Westfalia Separators. The company’s marine applications include oily water separators, ballast water treatment systems, sea water desalination and oil and lube filters. The technology will be rolled out across all applications by mid-2014.

With the new system, operating personnel are quickly able to understand and handle the control units of the centrifuge, so the familiarization is relatively short. The reliability of the operation also improves because, if the system only displays what the user needs, the error potential declines automatically. The equation is simple: the fewer the buttons, the lower the probability to hit the wrong one. 

However, this does not mean that the new generation of control units has less functionality. On the contrary, IO offers much than today’s control units. It is the user guidance facility which has been consistently reduced to the essentials to make sure that the user is not consistently overloaded with useless options or information. 

The symbols are self-explanatory, and the color code is based on international standards, either traffic signal colors for statuses or the standard which is used in plant construction for identifying pipework. One glance, and the operator knows not only what is running through the centrifuge but also whether the conditions are good or bad in this particular situation. 

IO is also able to evaluate. In order to provide optimum operation, it is not sufficient merely to display the status of a machine; it is also necessary for the data to be interpreted. And this is where IO proves to be of great assistance to customers, as they are able to see how efficient the centrifuge is running in relation to energy consumption, performance or separation efficiency.

IO also provides assistance to the customer with regard to remedial action to be taken for optimal efficiency and adjustments can be made with the push of a button. IO has remote capabilities so an operator can access the equipment via a tablet or smartphone.