Solvay Boosts Maintenance Productivity by 15% Using Emerson's AMS Suite

Solvay’s largest chemical facility in Tavaux, France, has achieved 10‑15 % gains in maintenance productivity by deploying Emerson Process Management’s AMS Suite predictive‑maintenance platform.

With a total of 15,000 field devices—over 20 % classified as complex instruments—Solvay needed a robust diagnostics solution to inform smarter business decisions. AMS Suite’s Intelligent Device Manager, paired with Emerson’s DeltaV digital‑automation system, delivers real‑time plant‑floor data to the entire enterprise, enabling crews to anticipate and prevent equipment failures before they occur.

Within a single day, the AMS Suite populated a comprehensive device database, allowing Solvay to scale management of sophisticated instruments and valves without adding staff. Maintenance teams now use the platform for calibration, documentation, and trend analysis, streamlining operations across the site.

“During the start‑up of the EPICEROL unit—where Epichlorohydrin is produced from glycerine—AMS Device Manager ensured the DeltaV control system was configured correctly the first time, saving critical set‑up time,” said Giacomo D’Andrea, Solvay’s automation and instrumentation service manager. “The suite is invaluable during commissioning and serves as our daily tool for standardizing, configuring, and referencing instruments.”

The plant’s chlorine service is critical; Solvay employs Emerson’s AMS ValveLink, a SNAP‑ON add‑on to AMS Device Manager, to monitor control valves. These valves are fitted with Fisher FIELDVUE DVC6000 digital controllers, enabling a “partial‑stroke” test every month without shutting down the plant. This approach boosts valve reliability and reduces manpower compared to full testing. The procedure already identified a valve anomaly that was corrected before any plant upset occurred.