DCS Commissioning Steps

Table of contents
 Physical Checks
 Pre-Requisites
 Safety
 Brief DCS Commissioning Steps
 Cabinet and console furniture hardware check
 Labeling check 
 Internal Wiring check
 Nest loading and I/O assignment check
 System startup check
 Cabinet Alarm Check
 Redundancy Check
 System Architecture Check
 Time Synchronization Check
 Software License Check
 Graphic Check
 I/O Loop check
 Digital Input Signals
 Digital Output Signals
 Analog Input Signals
 Analog Output Signals
 Logic Check
 Trend & Control Group, Log Reports
 Controller Loading Check
 Online / Offline Program Loading
 Scan Time Check
 Login Users and their access
 Communication with 3rd party systems
 Modification
 Spare Check
 Miscellaneous Checks
  Punch list
 Reports
 Handover

Physical Checks
 All civil works required for DCS cabinet installation shall
be completed.
 Ensure painting work is completed in the area.
 Ensure completion of false flooring in the area, if
applicable
 Ensure proper lighting available in the control room and
Panel Room.
 Ensure HVAC is commissioned for the area or ensure
proper ventilation in the area.
 Ensure proper installation and fixing of the panels at the
location as per GA drawing.
  Check and ensure anti-vibration pads of the panels are in
place.
 Check that dust filter on louvers is clean, for indoor
panels
 Check DCS panels for the physical damage – Door lock,
door limit switch, Fans, Tube lights, internal cables, MCBs,
isolators, modules, racks, controllers, prefab cables, etc.
 Check all the components of the panel as per BOM.
Check for loose supplied items.
 Check and verify all hardware like Engineering and
operator station as per BOM.
Pre-Requisites
 Ensure availability of approved DCS GA drawings, System
Architecture Drawing, Network interconnection, Power
wiring and distribution, Earthing wiring drawings,
Functional design Specification for DCS, I/O list/nest
loading, Instrument list, Bill of Material, Cable
termination schedule, P&ID Drawings, Control
narrative/process description, logic diagram, FAT
Reports, etc.
 Ensure availability of instrumentation technicians,
engineers, programmers, and tools – like Screw Driver,
Tester, Digital Multimeter, Insulation resistance tester,
Earth pit resistance checker, 4-20 mA source, HART
communicator, Loop check tester, short links, etc.
 Ensure UPS (redundant) and Non-UPS (Utility) power
supply is available. Before charging the DCS check
whether UPS and battery banks commissioning is
completed.
 Operator work Station (OWS), Engineering work station
(EWS) HMI are ready with installed software as per
system requirement.  Check Antivirus is installed.
  Ensure the Latest backup of FAT logic, Graphics
configuration available.
  Check the validity of license software for HMI and Logic
software/configuration software.
  Electronic/instrument (IE) and Intrinsically Safe (IS) earth
pit/grid is ready as per installation drawing. Cabling from
earth pit or IS Earth Grid to DCS Panel is completed.
Isolation between instrument Earth and panel earth/
cabinet body earth/system earth (SE).
 Master clock signal is available
 Test schedule, agenda, roles and responsibility matrix
should be available.
Safety
 The area under commissioning shall be tagged and PTW
(Permit to Work) is issued/available.
 To protect personnel and the equipment in the area of
commissioning, “area restrictions” shall be
displayed/tagged.
 Use of PPE is mandatory
Brief DCS Commissioning Steps
Below is a general guideline to have an overview
of commissioning steps.

One has to follow agreed templates/checklists/procedures or

protocols for the entire DCS system commissioning.
Cabinet and console furniture hardware check
Make, model, color, thickness, dimensions, component mounting,
safety sticker.

Verification of component inside the cabinet/console and its

specification w.r.t approved documents.

Labeling check 
It is to verify that the cabinet nameplates and component labels.

All components inside the cabinet (Controllers, firewalls, switches,

I/O modules, barriers/isolators, racks/nodes, Power supply modules,
terminals & its size, relay boards, Safety earth, instrument earth,
MCBs, MCB rating, sockets, cross ferrule, patch panels, convertors,
servers,  etc) shall be properly labeled so that can be easily
identified.

The workmanship is verified.

Internal Wiring check
It is to verify that the cabinet internal wirings are as per the project
specification and approved drawings.

AC power, DC power, signals (AI, AO, DI, DO, RTD, TC, Special
modules) internal wiring, earthing wire color, size, duct color.

Continuity check.

MCBs / isolators check.

Fuse rating check.

Cable dressing check.

Main cable installation, termination, gland plates, and sealing shall

be verified.

Nest loading and I/O assignment check

It is to verify controllers, racks, slots, modules, etc

System startup check

This includes UPS and non-UPS Power check, Earthing check.

When required parameters are within tolerance then power on of

system is done step by step.

Ensure that all components automatically boot up and components

are in healthy condition.

Cabinet Alarm Check

It is to verify the cabinet alarm functionality when a hardware failure
occurs.

Verification of temperature switch, fan modules, Power supply

modules, etc.

This should be used for cabinet diagnosis purpose.

Redundancy Check
It is to verify that system operation is uninterrupted when the active
hardware fails.

This test is conducted for

 redundant power supply (bulk and system power supply),

 redundant controllers/ CPU,
 Redundant communication buses(I/O modules to
nodes/racks,
 nodes to controllers,
 controllers to switches,
 switches to stations,
 redundant I/O modules,
 redundant servers,
 GPS systems, etc
System Architecture Check
It is to verify that all components are completely networked.

Interconnection of components to be verified.

Ensure that all IP addresses are properly configured uniquely for

each station including printers.

Time Synchronization Check

It is to verify time matches & synchronizes with the GPS time.

This includes visual checking of

 GPS antennas,
 GPS receivers,
 NTP/SNTP switches, and their power on.
GPS time shall appear in all synchronized stations.

Software License Check

It is to check all applicable licenses for Workstation (Operator,
engineering) and its applications like a logic builder, HMI, reports,
server licenses, etc.

This shall be documented as part of BOM and verified in each

station.

Graphic Check
Graphics layouts checking w.r.t P&ID, shape, size, backgrounds, and
icon color when status changes (red, green, blue, etc).

Faceplate, tagging, the description shall be checked.

Functionally as per the requirement of the process (Auto, manual,

local, remote, bypass, etc) shall be implemented.

Few activities can be done in parallel to I/O loop checking.

I/O Loop check

I/O Assignment is configured properly in PCS. Marshalling wiring
and termination matches with I/O allocation.
This can be done either cold loop or hot loop testing. Cold loop
checking means loop checking is done without powering on
instruments.

Only wiring continuity is checked from field to Junction Box and

then to the control room. Hot loop checking is done by powering
the instrument.

At the site, it is good to perform a cold loop check first and then
perform a hot loop check with actual instruments and interfaces.

All the I/Os connected to the system is checked.

Digital Input Signals

Digital Output Signals

Analog Input Signals

Analog Output Signals

Logic Check
It is to verify Control Algorithm Implementation with reference to
logic diagrams, functional schematics, or control narrative.

Nest loading is also important to know associated I/O tags and their
addresses.

Alarm and trip value to be verified. Closed-loop control (PID

parameters) and controller action to be verified.

Logical opening/closing of valves/dampers, starting or stopping of

drives (pumps, compressors, etc) to be verified.

All interlocks, start permissive and first-out logics are tested.

Trend & Control Group, Log Reports

It is to verify Trend Input, Historical message, Alarm summary, SOE.

Trend group is necessary during logic/ loop testing and plant

operation to know the accurate functioning of relevant inputs and
outputs.

Log reports are necessary to know the overall inputs, outputs, and
performance of the plant and to plan the resources and future
maintenance. Along with this, printer functionality is also tested.

Controller Loading Check

It is to verify Controller loading shall not be more than 60 %.

As some spare capacity is required for future expansion or

modification.

Online / Offline Program Loading

It is to verify system behavior Online or offline
Configuration/Modification from the engineering station.

System vendors detailed procedure shall be followed while doing

so.

Scan Time Check

It is to demonstrate that controller’s actual scan time is within the
project specification. This is more relevant to the safety system.

However, this can also be performed for DCS.

Login Users and their access

It is to verify what type of access the operator/engineer or manager
has.

Communication with 3rd party systems

It is to verify system communication with third party systems.

Usually, this communication will be Modbus RTU (RS 485), Modbus

TCP/IP, OPC, and IEC 61850 for electrical systems.

Configurations, software, and hardware are verified.

Graphics and logics testing is done.

Modification
Change management procedures to be followed and documented.

Spare Check
It is to verify the installed spares within the system, commissioning
spares, operational spares as per contract requirement.

Sometimes this also includes Spare space checking inside the

cabinet, Hard drive space, etc.

Miscellaneous Checks
depending upon project scope of work other functionality of
hardware or software can be checked like

 Asset management,
 cybersecurity,
 alarm rationalization,
 Partial stroke testing,
 HART multiplexer (master and slaves), etc
Punch list
It is to document all non-conformances or faults found on the
system during the acceptance test along with their corrective
actions.

At the site, one can have an overview of open punch points during
the FAT test at vendor works. These non-conformances can be
attended as per the agreed schedule and resources.

Reports
once all the tests are completed, all the relevant test reports shall be
preserved and handed over to end-user.

All the changes in affected drawings, documents, configuration shall

be properly marked for As-built documentation.

Handover
once all the non-conformances are clear, a certain performance
period is over, DCS can be handed over to the end-user.

It is essential to have proper training in the DCS system before

working on the same.

Author: Jatin Katrodiya

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Source: DCS Commissioning Steps - Distributed Control System (instrumentationtools.com)