Vision AS HS – The lift for transporting people and materials adapted to Atex atmospheres – the Pertamina refinery project

Have you ever worked on the design and construction of a machine in a place where any spark or ‘hot’ surface could trigger a catastrophic explosion?

This is the case with the project carried out in one of the many Indonesian refineries of PERTAMINA, where we dismantled an old lift and replaced it with a VISION AS HS without ever stopping the production plant.

Explosive atmospheres, the high corrosiveness of the environment, the impossibility of stopping the plant to allow easy installation and the considerable distance of the anchorage points, among other things inherited from the dismantled lift, were just some of the technical challenges that arose during the project.

The SAFI GROUP s.r.l. responded to these with the implementation of an adjustable anchoring system designed to perfectly adapt to the original fixing points on the structure, the installation of certified explosion-proof and micro-pressurised electrical panels for the electrical power components, and a special cable management system capable of supplying pressurised air (in a safe atmosphere) to the cabin at any height.

A PLC is used for general management of the machine and integration into the refinery’s system for signalling operating status and alarms.

The lift is also equipped with a pair of intercoms, which are also explosion-proof, powered by an uninterruptible power supply to cope with emergency situations and a speed-controlled manual emergency descent system that allows the operator to bring the cabin back down (from any floor) in the event of a power failure. This provides greater safety and autonomy for the operator in case of need.

 

As with most permanent installations at high altitude, it is equipped with an anemometer. This allows the lift to be taken out of service in the event of winds of a higher velocity than those for which the structure was calculated, and – in the event that all doors are closed – to move the car back to the ground to reduce the area exposed to the strong wind.