The Fieldbus Foundation has issued a Foundation Wireless and Remote I/O (WIO) preliminary specification addressing fieldbus transducer blocks for wired HART® and WirelessHART® devices, together with updates to the WIO System Architecture and WIO Data Structures related to the transducer block specification.
Part of the Foundation for Remote Operations Management solution implementing wireless and remote I/O, the new technical specification defines a fieldbus transducer block used to represent HART devices within Foundation for Remote Operations Management devices. Both wired HART and WirelessHART devices may be represented in this block. In addition, the specification describes the expected method for HART configuration tools and asset-managing hosts to access HART devices using the native HART command protocol transported through the Foundation High Speed Ethernet (HSE) network. The specification also defines structures to identify and maintain HART device status in wired multi-drop networks as well as in WirelessHART mesh networks connected to Foundation for Remote Operations Management devices.
The Fieldbus Foundation’s director of technology development, Dave Glanzer, commented, “The new transducer block specification will benefit end users who need to be able to interface HART and WirelessHART devices to Foundation fieldbus to improve their integration with a control system, or with Foundation devices. They may also require a networked method for an asset-managing host to access a large set of HART and WirelessHART devices for HART configuration and maintenance purposes.”
Within the Foundation architecture, H1 and HSE provide a distributed function block capability with HSE serving as a larger pipeline offering increased speed and throughput. The WIO development expands these capabilities by establishing open, non-proprietary specifications for a wired or wireless HSE backhaul network integrating various wireless Foundation for Remote Operations Management devices with interfaces to wireless field device networks.
HSE provides an efficient way to bring large concentrations of discrete and analog field I/O from modular devices back to the control room using a high-speed HSE connection. Employing HSE devices functioning like a smart remote terminal unit (RTU), the technology brings all forms of conventional I/O into the native fieldbus environment easily. This solution makes discrete-in, discrete-out, analog-in, analog-out and H1 fieldbus available over a common Ethernet network. The addition of remote I/O further tightens the integration of process instrumentation within a Foundation control system infrastructure.
Issues affecting the world of FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
FDI Cooperation LLC is Formed
You may have read last week about the formation of the FDI Cooperation LLC. The five major technology foundations, including the Fieldbus Foundation, Profibus International, HART Communication Foundation, FDT Group, and OPC Foundation have all agreed to cooperate on the following objectives:
• To complete the standardization of FDI under the IEC (International Electrical Commission)
• Managing the FDI Specification
• Finalizing the FDI tool kits for system and device manufacturers
In its simplest terms, FDI is a converged solution of EDDL and FDT technology. The full realization of FDI requires a focused effort, and that's why this LLC was created. Part of the effort is EDDL harmonization. FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Profibus, and HART all use EDDL as a common core technology, but each has their own specific implementation of EDDL. The simple logic is that if we get better harmonization of EDDL, it will make it easier to integrate with FDT. You can read about it in this PowerPoint presentation that was given by Achim Laubenstein of ABB at Hanover Fair back in April. Achim is the new Executive Director of FDI and has been active in the fieldbus and FDT world for many years.
FDI Cooperation, LLC originated from efforts at the EDDL Cooperation Team (ECT) to accelerate deployment of the FDI solution, which was kicked-off at 2007 Hanover Fair. Since then, the project has carefully shaped the technology direction for the converged FDI solution. FDI is a unified solution for simple, as well as the most advanced field devices, for the various tasks associated with all phases of their lifecycles, such as configuration, commissioning, diagnostics and calibration.
FDI Cooperation, LLC membership includes five major automation foundations: FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communications Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and the OPC Foundation. In October 2009, ECT broadened the scope of the FDI project to harmonize EDDL across communication protocols and provide FDI Design and Test Tools including a common EDD Interpreter. Implementation of the extended scope was supported by seven major supplier companies: ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens and Yokogawa.
We look forward to the progress made by the FDI team and will continue to update you.
• To complete the standardization of FDI under the IEC (International Electrical Commission)
• Managing the FDI Specification
• Finalizing the FDI tool kits for system and device manufacturers
In its simplest terms, FDI is a converged solution of EDDL and FDT technology. The full realization of FDI requires a focused effort, and that's why this LLC was created. Part of the effort is EDDL harmonization. FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Profibus, and HART all use EDDL as a common core technology, but each has their own specific implementation of EDDL. The simple logic is that if we get better harmonization of EDDL, it will make it easier to integrate with FDT. You can read about it in this PowerPoint presentation that was given by Achim Laubenstein of ABB at Hanover Fair back in April. Achim is the new Executive Director of FDI and has been active in the fieldbus and FDT world for many years.
FDI LLC Signing Ceremony with Representatives from the Five Major Foundations
FDI Cooperation, LLC originated from efforts at the EDDL Cooperation Team (ECT) to accelerate deployment of the FDI solution, which was kicked-off at 2007 Hanover Fair. Since then, the project has carefully shaped the technology direction for the converged FDI solution. FDI is a unified solution for simple, as well as the most advanced field devices, for the various tasks associated with all phases of their lifecycles, such as configuration, commissioning, diagnostics and calibration.
FDI Cooperation, LLC membership includes five major automation foundations: FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communications Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and the OPC Foundation. In October 2009, ECT broadened the scope of the FDI project to harmonize EDDL across communication protocols and provide FDI Design and Test Tools including a common EDD Interpreter. Implementation of the extended scope was supported by seven major supplier companies: ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens and Yokogawa.
We look forward to the progress made by the FDI team and will continue to update you.
Check out our Detroit End User and Sales Force Training Seminars
Our series of seminars continues next week with end user and sales force training seminars in Detroit. We will be hosting our end user seminar on Tuesday, October 11th, from 8:30 AM to around 4-4:30 PM (depending on how long discussions run) at the Henry Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. You can register electronically here. Registration is free and you also receive Professional Development Hour certificates for attending. These are hands on seminars that actually teach you best practices for commissioning fieldbus devices, implementing control in the field, and taking advantage of device diagnostics.
On Wednesday, October 12th, we will host a sales force training seminar at the Henry that will run from 8:30 AM to 12 PM. You can register electronically here. Sales force training seminars are specifically targeted at salespeople. You will hear end users talk about what drove them to choose FOUNDATION technology.
Detroit End User Seminar Electronic Registration
Detroit Sales Force Training Seminar Electronic Registration
On Wednesday, October 12th, we will host a sales force training seminar at the Henry that will run from 8:30 AM to 12 PM. You can register electronically here. Sales force training seminars are specifically targeted at salespeople. You will hear end users talk about what drove them to choose FOUNDATION technology.
Detroit End User Seminar Electronic Registration
Detroit Sales Force Training Seminar Electronic Registration
Friday, September 16, 2011
FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management Media Day at Lee College
The Fieldbus Foundation has announced plans to unveil its FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management (ROM) technology at an automation industry media day to be held on December 1, 2011, at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.
FOUNDATION for ROM provides a wireless and wired infrastructure for remote assets and applications, integrating wired infrastructure, remote I/O, ISA100.11a and WirelessHART®, providing users with direct access to device information and diagnostics. As the name suggests, FOUNDATION for ROM is targeted at applications such as pipeline SCADA, tank farms and terminals, and offshore platform automation. Remote operations management is one of the fastest growing fields in process automation, and FOUNDATION for ROM is well positioned to allow users to accelerate their next generation ROM strategies.
The media day will include both a demonstration of the progress that the foundation has made on the specification. The foundation will also incorporate a tour of the fieldbus training center at Lee College, one of the Foundation’s Certified Training Program (FCTP) partner locations and one of the largest and best equipped fieldbus labs in the world. Lee College is training the next generation of process automation operators and technicians.
End User and Sales Force Training Seminars Updates
Next week we have our end user seminars in Calgary and Fort McMurray, as well as our sales force training seminar in Calgary. The Calgary end user seminar is pretty full, but there are plenty of openings at the sales force training seminar on September 21st and Fort Mc Murray end user seminar on September 22nd at the Sawridge Hotel and Convention Center right in Fort McMurray.
Our valuable partner for both Calgary and Fort McMurray seminars is our Fieldbus Certified Training Partner (FCTP), the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). SAIT instructors will be joining us for the presentations and demonstrations of FOUNDATION technology.
Here is the agenda for Fort McMurray end user seminar and the link to e-register.
On October 11th we host our end user seminar in Detroit -- an area that actually has quite a lot of fieldbus isntalled in industries such as nuclear power. The Detroit agenda can be downloaded here.
We will also be hosting a sales force training seminar in Detroit on October 12th.
Our valuable partner for both Calgary and Fort McMurray seminars is our Fieldbus Certified Training Partner (FCTP), the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). SAIT instructors will be joining us for the presentations and demonstrations of FOUNDATION technology.
Here is the agenda for Fort McMurray end user seminar and the link to e-register.
On October 11th we host our end user seminar in Detroit -- an area that actually has quite a lot of fieldbus isntalled in industries such as nuclear power. The Detroit agenda can be downloaded here.
We will also be hosting a sales force training seminar in Detroit on October 12th.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
How Much Does Customization Cost the Process Industries?
One of the primary advantages of fieldbus is the elimination of customization in your project. What do we mean by customization? It's all the additional work you have to do to get everything to plug in and play together with everything else. The early days of digital process automation were an ugly mess of different proprietary protocols, from proprietary digital protocols at the instrument layer to proprietary control networks at the control backbone, to an even bigger mess of proprietary technologies at the operations management and business layer.
Users can spend more than half of their project costs on activities that can be directly traced to customization. At the field device level, analog technology creates unnecessary work processes because of the lack of direct, bidirectional digital access to devices for commissioning and diagnostics. Instrument engineering alone can account for 20 percent of overall automation project costs. Even if you are using digital devices, customization and proprietary technology at the application and network level meant that much of the data from intelligent devices may not even be accessible, and certainly not easily so, by the people that need it when they need it.
Many of the stringent objections I get from people in the industry regarding fieldbus technology is that many suppliers already have the capability to do some of the things that fieldbus does without fully adopting the technology, so where is the advantage in adopting fieldbus? Eliminating the billions of dollars worth of customization seems to be a good reason. You can have a proprietary digital protocol, a proprietary control network or backhaul network, and proprietary technologies for getting data from one place to another. But what does that add to the installed cost of your application? What does that do to the cost of your solution, from products to services to lifecycle and operational costs, maintenance costs, and more?
That's the catch. While the installed cost of an automation solution may be just a fraction of the total cost of a process automation project (in refineries automation can be less than a percent of overall project costs), the impact of the automation solution on the lifecycle and operational costs of a plant is immense. The automation system is the ultimate factor in plant uptime. It is your window into what is happening in your plant and your process. If you are still relying on technology that is 30 years old, you should rethink your approach.
FOUNDATION technology is an open specification that provides seamless data access from the field all the way up to operations management applications. Supplier products are tested and registered to ensure they conform to this specification. We then take input from end users and evolve our specification based on their functional requirements. It's a level playing field, but suppliers also have the ability add their own specific functionality and expertise on top of the standard solution. Looking at your supplier's fieldbus offerings is a good way to gauge their level of willingness to provide open solutions.
Users can spend more than half of their project costs on activities that can be directly traced to customization. At the field device level, analog technology creates unnecessary work processes because of the lack of direct, bidirectional digital access to devices for commissioning and diagnostics. Instrument engineering alone can account for 20 percent of overall automation project costs. Even if you are using digital devices, customization and proprietary technology at the application and network level meant that much of the data from intelligent devices may not even be accessible, and certainly not easily so, by the people that need it when they need it.
Many of the stringent objections I get from people in the industry regarding fieldbus technology is that many suppliers already have the capability to do some of the things that fieldbus does without fully adopting the technology, so where is the advantage in adopting fieldbus? Eliminating the billions of dollars worth of customization seems to be a good reason. You can have a proprietary digital protocol, a proprietary control network or backhaul network, and proprietary technologies for getting data from one place to another. But what does that add to the installed cost of your application? What does that do to the cost of your solution, from products to services to lifecycle and operational costs, maintenance costs, and more?
That's the catch. While the installed cost of an automation solution may be just a fraction of the total cost of a process automation project (in refineries automation can be less than a percent of overall project costs), the impact of the automation solution on the lifecycle and operational costs of a plant is immense. The automation system is the ultimate factor in plant uptime. It is your window into what is happening in your plant and your process. If you are still relying on technology that is 30 years old, you should rethink your approach.
FOUNDATION technology is an open specification that provides seamless data access from the field all the way up to operations management applications. Supplier products are tested and registered to ensure they conform to this specification. We then take input from end users and evolve our specification based on their functional requirements. It's a level playing field, but suppliers also have the ability add their own specific functionality and expertise on top of the standard solution. Looking at your supplier's fieldbus offerings is a good way to gauge their level of willingness to provide open solutions.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Terry Blevins of Emerson Talks About Optimizing Gain Through FOUNDATION Fieldbus Characterizer Blocks
Terry Blevins of Emerson Process Management has an excellent blog on modeling and process control. Hist post of August 8th has some interesting things to say about process gain and how it can be optimized with FOUNDATION fieldbus. Process gain is often called the "sensitivity of the process", and shows how the PV reacts in responses to changes in controller output (CO). Blevins asserts that, from a process control perspective, process gain should be constant.
Blevins states that it is not always possible to change valve characteristics to compensate for changes in process gain during commissioning because of the time and expense involved. If you have a FOUNDATION fieldbus installation, however, the block structure of FOUNDATION technology allows you to use a characterizer block between the PID and analog output blocks. You can achieve a consistent response to load disturbances and setpoint changes even if the final control element has non linear installed characteristics. Read the rest of the post to get the whole story:
Terry Blevins Modeling and Control Blog: Commissioning Control Systems -- Installed Characteristics
Blevins states that it is not always possible to change valve characteristics to compensate for changes in process gain during commissioning because of the time and expense involved. If you have a FOUNDATION fieldbus installation, however, the block structure of FOUNDATION technology allows you to use a characterizer block between the PID and analog output blocks. You can achieve a consistent response to load disturbances and setpoint changes even if the final control element has non linear installed characteristics. Read the rest of the post to get the whole story:
Terry Blevins Modeling and Control Blog: Commissioning Control Systems -- Installed Characteristics
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)