Chief Engineer for Sinopec Engineering will Deliver Keynote Address at General Assembly

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that Lin Rong, vice chief engineer for Sinopec Engineering Incorporation (SEI) will deliver the keynote address at its 2013 General Assembly, to be held in Shanghai, China, on March 12-15, 2013. This annual event is open to Fieldbus Foundation members and non-members, and will be attended by leading FOUNDATION fieldbus suppliers, end users and industry participants from around the world.

Mr. Lin has more than 26 years of professional engineering experience on large-scale petrochemical projects. He recently served as an instrumentation & control (I&C) team leader for the feasibility study, PMC and EPC phases of the FUJIAN Refining & Ethylene Project, which is a joint venture of Aramco, ExxonMobil and Sinopec. He has also led and assisted on 12 technical research and development (R&D) projects for SINOPEC and SEI.

Mr. Lin was named councilior of the China Instrument and Control Society in 2011. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Process Automation degree from Zhejiang University. 

The highlight of the General Assembly is the conference to be held March 14. The conference program is focused on automation end users and will provide an overview of the many FOUNDATION fieldbus developments across the globe. It will include updates by leading fieldbus experts on the latest initiatives in FOUNDATION technology, as well as presentations by major end users who have installed fieldbus in their industrial operations.

Representatives of Fieldbus Foundation member companies are invited to attend the General Assembly business meeting on March 15.

For more information and registration, please visit the Events page on the Fieldbus Foundation's website or call 512-794-8890.

Fieldbus Foundation General Assembly 2013

2013 General Assembly Agenda

Fieldbus Training Center and Instructor Receive Accolades

Trine University in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of our Foundation Certified Training Program (FCTP) partners.  Trine's chief instructor, Dave Lancaster, is a long-time fieldbus professional with experience managing the world's largest fieldbus projects.  Recently, the Indiana Council for Continuing Education (ICCE) awarded Trine’s FF400 – FOUNDATION Certified Professional course as “Course of the Year” and instructor, David Lancaster, as “Faculty of the Year”.

Mr. Lancaster has developed the curriculum for both FOUNDATION Fieldbus certified courses and numerous other custom FOUNDATION Fieldbus training programs. His excellent teaching skills and profound involvement in FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology since 1999 make him a valuable asset to Trine University, the Fieldbus Foundation, and everywhere FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology is used.

Trine University offers FOUNDATION Certified Professional and Technical Specialist courses, both in hybrid format (online plus four days of hands-on training in the FOUNDATION Fieldbus lab at Trine’s Indianapolis Regional Campus), providing students with more time for hands-on learning and savings on expenses.

Registration is currently open for FOUNDATION Certified Professional course, April 22 - 25, and FOUNDATION Certified Technical Specialist course, April 15 – 18. Registration deadline is April 1. Tuition discounts are available to Fieldbus Foundation members, groups, and attendees of Fieldbus Foundation End-User Seminars.

For more information, course descriptions, or to view the 2013 course schedule, please visit Trine’s website.http://www.trine.edu/conted/foundation_fieldbus/

Come See Fieldbus Foundation at Oil and Gas Asia 2013

We are pleased to announce that Fieldbus Foundation will participate in Oil and Gas Asia 2013, The 14th Asian Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Engineering Exhibition, 5 - 7 June 2013, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Malaysia. Users in the Malaysian Oil & Gas industry can visit the Fieldbus Foundation booth to see all the leading systems, device, and accessory vendors in a single booth.   Come and see the latest improvements to the technology, including ITK6 interoperability, NAMUR NE107 device diagnostic alarm management, graphical device user interfaces, and host profile interoperability registration.

Oil and Gas Asia 2013

Control Engineering Video on ISA108

Peter Welander of Control Engineering magazine interviewed Herman Storey and myself about ISA108 after our face to face meeting at the ARC Orlando Forum the week of February 11.  We talk about some of the reasoning behind ISA 108, particularly the need for some coherent and easily shared work processes that can help end users take advantage of the diagnostic data coming from the huge installed base of intelligent field devices.  Remember, you cannot get the full lifecycle benefit out of intelligent devices unless you implement the right work processes!

Peter Welander Interview with Herman Storey and Larry O'Brien on ISA108

ISA Charters New Committee on Intelligent Device Management

Fieldbus Foundation To Participate In Field Communication Lounge At 2013 Hannover Messe

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced it would join The FDT Group, HART Communication Foundation, OPC Foundation and PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) in co-sponsoring and promoting the third annual Field Communication Lounge exhibit at the 2013 Hannover Messe, April 8-12, in Hannover, Germany.

Inside the Field Communication Lounge, the leading process and factory automation organizations and their members will exhibit their respective communication and integration technologies in a co-located demonstration and display area, making it convenient for show visitors. The lounge will be located at a new location in Hall 9, Stand D76 this year.

The Field Communication Lounge creates a single exhibit area for fair visitors to learn about and experience the latest in field communication and integration technologies, and discuss how they are used to deliver powerful results that may quickly improve a company’s profitability. Attendees will have a central place to discuss the different technologies, including their advantages, applications and relevance in practice.

Major automation suppliers will also display and present practical demonstrations of their individual solutions in the Field Communication Lounge, including intelligent field devices, analog and digital communication protocols, configuration solutions, asset management applications, control applications, wireless technology, and integration technologies. All of the companies provide products, solutions and services that demonstrate the value of using available information from smart devices. Typical participants include suppliers such as ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Siemens, VEGA, Yokogawa and many others.

For more information, please visit the Field Communication Lounge website or go to http://www.hannovermesse.de.

First Ever Open Enrollment Developer Training in Pune, India, Coming April 23-26

The Fieldbus Foundation, for the first time ever in India, will offer open enrollment training classes for FOUNDATION fieldbus product developers April 23-26 in Pune, India. The training sessions, meant for developers of FOUNDATION fieldbus products, will be held at UL Group of Companies, Katraj, Pune.

In order to keep pace with the growing adoption of FOUNDATION technology in India, as well as the increasing trend of companies moving their development sectors there, the Fieldbus Foundation plans to provide regularly scheduled developer training in the India region.

Two comprehensive developer courses will be offered in Pune: "Introduction to FOUNDATION Fieldbus" on Tuesday, April 23; and "Advanced Principles of FOUNDATION Fieldbus" on April 24-26. These courses are designed for beginning and advanced fieldbus development professionals, respectively.

The vendor-neutral "Introduction to FOUNDATION Fieldbus" course is intended for developers, marketing professionals, applications engineers, system integrators and others interested in obtaining a fundamental knowledge of FOUNDATION technology. Students will become familiar with the basic concepts and new terminology related to the FOUNDATION integrated architecture. They will understand the key strategies for wiring and installation of a fieldbus network. Special emphasis will be placed on design issues such as power requirements, device types and topologies.

The "Introduction to FOUNDATION Fieldbus" course assumes little or no prior knowledge of FOUNDATION technology, but students should already be familiar with process control and existing 4-20 mA technology found in present-day installations. The vendor-neutral "Advanced Principles of FOUNDATION Fieldbus" course is intended for manufacturers and developers of fieldbus hardware and software. The course is best suited for development engineers, test engineers, and all who wish to understand the detailed inner workings of a fieldbus device. The "Introduction to FOUNDATION Fieldbus" course is a prerequisite for this advanced class. Students should be familiar with the basic terminology of FOUNDATION technology, and have a general understanding of its communications protocol, function block execution, linkages and DDs.

Link to Fieldbus Foundation Developer Training and Registration Information

Fieldbus Foundation at ARC Orlando Forum

Several of us are attending the ARC Orlando Forum this week at the Renaissance Hotel Sea World.  Fieldbus Foundation is participating in several activities, including the ISA108 standards meeting on Monday,   the ISA100 meeting on Tuesday.  The Thursday morning session on using field networking technologies to manage field devices will feature panel discussions including both myself and our End User Advisory Council Chairperson John Rezabek,  Sven Seintsch, a representative of the user group NAMUR, will also be on hand to discuss developments in Field Device Integration (FDI) on Thursday morning.  We hope to see you there!

Seventeenth Annual ARCWorld Industry Forum

New White Paper on Portable Tools

We have published a new white paper on how portable tools can make your FOUNDATION fieldbus experience a lot easier.  There are some very good reasons for using portable tools and a wide range of products available with different functions and price levels. Read the paper to find out more!

Portable Tools Can Make Fieldbus Easier