Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Successful Fieldbus Wiring on Video

Our marketing specialist Talon Petty has done a series of very good videos on best practices for fieldbus wiring.  As any engineer with experience on fieldbus projects will tell you, most of the issues experienced in fieldbus installations are due to poor wiring.  Since FOUNDATION fieldbus is a digital network that runs over twisted pair, there are some things you have to keep in mind and some practices that may be different from what you are used to with analog technology over twisted pair.  I have spoken to many people that go to user installations where they report a problem with fieldbus technology, but it is discovered that wiring was not done right.  Fortunately you can watch these videos and many of these issues can be avoided!







Friday, October 25, 2013

Last Call - FOUNDATION Developer Training in Germany

There are less than 2 weeks until the Developer Training course in Germany and we still have some spots open. Sign-up your technical staff today so they can get up-to-date on the latest with FOUNDATION fieldbus!

See the blog post Larry posted back on October 8th for more information!
http://foundationfieldbus.blogspot.com/2013/10/full-schedule-of-foundation-developer.html

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Reliance Eyes Big Cost Savings from New Technology

Some recent news hit the press in India on dnaindia.com about FOUNDATION for ROM. The news piece was written following the Automation 2013 Mumbai Conference in India.



A brief yet thorough write up on the article can be found on dna's website here:
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-ril-eyes-big-cost-savings-from-new-tech-at-jamnagar-1893559

The event was a great success overall. In fact, Larry did a good write up right here in the blog about it on October 2nd. Click here: http://foundationfieldbus.blogspot.com/2013/10/foundation-for-rom-at-automation-2013.html

You can also find more about F_ROM by visiting our ROM webpage HERE

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Recognizing People in Fieldbus - Terry Blevins

In the Spring Edition of our 2013 Fieldbus Report, the Fieldbus Foundation introduced a new series we are calling "People in Fieldbus". The purposes of this new series is to recognize all of those folks that have worked diligently behind the scenes for years to make FOUNDATION Fieldbus what it is today. Without the hard work and dedication of these people from companies all across the world, FOUNDATION Fieldbus wouldn't be accepted so widely as it is today. It wouldn't be as robust or as feature capable.

It is easy to forget and let the contributions of those behind the scenes fade away into the ether of our busy schedules, yet it is profoundly important to not let it nor to make light of such accomplishments. The member companies of Fieldbus Foundation have offered great support and resources to our organization throughout the years, and without many of the hard working engineers these companies provide, much of what FOUNDATION users enjoy today would not be possible.

Terry Blevins is one of those engineers. Mr. Blevins played an important role in the groundbreaking research of the Interoperable Systems Project (ISP) in the early 1990s and later helped develop the FOUNDATION Fieldbus user layer specification. He has also been extremely instrumental in the continued development and improvement of EDDL through his lead role in working groups.

I encourage everyone to take a minute and read this short write-up on Terry from our Spring 2013 Fieldbus Report. The story starts on page 28


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Latest Registered FF Products!

Did you realize we release the latest list of registered FOUNDATION devices in our eNewsletters? It's a little known fact about our Fieldbus Flash Newsletter that can be quite beneficial to FOUNDATION  users all across the world. It is just yet another way we listen to user feedback here at the Fieldbus Foundation.

I was attending one of our great seminar roadshows a couple of years ago and was asked by a user how they can know when new versions of their favorite products have been registered. The simple answer was to encourage them to talk to their supplier directly, but upon further digging, I realized this was something not being well addressed by the process community at large. How are the users supposed to know when a new device is available? If they don't know they're a newer versions available how can they upgrade an old device that may not have the full capabilities they require in their demanding application?

The answer is to track and update our members and newsletter subscribers about the latest registered products and to direct them to their appropriate registration page for more information.

If you've ever wanted to keep up with learning when new products are available after official registration, be sure to sign up for our electronic newsletter "Fieldbus Flash". You can do so here: http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid=387

For those of you who want to see the latest registered products as of our September newsletter you can view it through our Media Partners web hosted version of the table here: http://www.controlglobal.com/industrynews/2013/foundation-fieldbus-products/

October Fieldbus Flash Newsletter Screen Capture

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Last Seminar of the Year next month being held in the Houston Area - Sign up today!

Next month (November 6-7th to be exact) will be the last seminar of the year in North America and we'll be in the Houston area. One of our prestigious certified training centers, Lee College in Baytown, TX has chosen to host us for our event. We look forward to this really great opportunity.

Lee College offers certified training courses of varying lengths and depths of study and is the only one in the Southern united states to offer this type of vendor-neutral excellent training.

Our day-long seminar on November 6th will focus on the applications side of FOUNDATION technology and how the technology unlocks more power for your process so you can spend more time at operational efficiency and less time in unexpected shutdown. In case you have not ever attended one of our seminars, you definitely don't want to miss it. Some of the best and brightest minds in FOUNDATION fieldbus are in attendance sharing their knowledge and experience. The best part of it too is that it's completely FREE for all attendees. You can find out more information as well as register on our website: http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=136&Itemid=371

Typical seminar format

Following the end user oriented seminar, we have a Sales Force Training seminar on November 7th that is geared towards salespeople of FOUNDATION fieldbus. The class is a half day training session on the latest news of the technology and how it can be a major part of a customers next installation. The course gives market data and figures for FF as well as some great resource material to help guide you and your customer on every aspect of FOUNDATION technology. Learn how the latest FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management can help your customers see further into their process by reaching out to remote assets and integrating them into their control systems and how they can integrate wired HART, WirelessHART and ISA100.11a into their existing FF infrastructure! Also come hear about our latest announcement on Project Gemstone and how FOUNDATION fieldbus is the only open system out there focusing squarely on making the user experience easier and more intuitive, including device replacement.

We understand how valuable salespeople's time is so we'll have everyone out of the training day before noon so you can still make customer calls and site visits. Sign up today to refresh yourself on the latest FOUNDATION fieldbus has to offer!
http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=136&Itemid=371

Be sure to check out our Twitter page for announcements on the seminars @FieldbusEvents. You can also view videos from previous seminars on our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/FieldbusFoundation.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Full Schedule of FOUNDATION Developer Training Offered in 2013

Device developers may require assistance in implementing FOUNDATION™ technology in their instrumentation product line. That is why the Fieldbus Foundation established a complete Developer Training curriculum. Automation suppliers can put their fieldbus product development programs on the "fast track" by attending one of these informative courses.
The remaining 2013 Developer Training schedule concludes with classes in Frankfurt, Germany and Pune, India:
Introduction to FOUNDATION Fieldbus
Pune, India:
October 22 (Early Reg. Deadline 8/27, Final Reg. Deadline 10/1)
Frankfurt, Germany:
November 12 (Early Reg. Deadline 9/17, Final Reg. Deadline 10/22)
Advanced Principles of FOUNDATION Fieldbus
Pune, India:
October 23-25 (Early Reg. Deadline 8/28, Final Reg. Deadline 10/2)
Frankfurt, Germany:
November 13-15 (Early Reg. Deadline 9/18, Final Reg. Deadline 10/23)

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.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Modbus Integration Into FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management Announced

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that it is developing technical specifications for integration of devices based on the Modbus® communications protocol into its FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management (ROM) technology. Integration of these instruments will help enable an overall remote operations solution in a wide range of industrial automation applications.

The first development of its kind integrating remote input/output (I/O), ISA100.11a, WirelessHART®, wired HART, and Foundation fieldbus H1 protocols into a single, standard data management environment, FOUNDATION for ROM extends the capabilities of FOUNDATION fieldbus to wired and wireless devices installed in some of the world’s harshest and most remote locations. This open, non-proprietary solution provides a unified digital infrastructure for asset management in applications ranging from tank farms and terminals to pipelines, offshore platforms, and even original equipment manufacturer (OEM) skids.

The FOUNDATION for ROM technical specifications for the remote I/O, wired HART, WirelessHART and wireless ISA100.11a interfaces have been completed and were successfully demonstrated at a live end user demonstration at the Petrobras research and development facility (Cenpes) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in April of this year.

The Fieldbus Foundation is now proceeding to develop specifications for Modbus integration into FOUNDATION for ROM. Modbus devices such as well head flowmeters and submersible pump controllers need to be integrated as part of the overall solution in some applications.

The Modbus integration team, comprised of end user and supplier engineers, had their kickoff meeting in May hosted by Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The team completed the use cases in August and finished their review at a meeting in September hosted by MTL in Luton, UK. The team is now proceeding with requirements and specification development.

Fieldbus Foundation Director of Technology Development David Glanzer said: “We have a great team working on the Modbus integration. They have made exceptional progress on the use case development.” Technical Team Leader Todd Shadle of Phoenix Contact agreed, saying, “All of the team members are fully engaged and are eager to complete the specification.”

Whether operating on a wired or wireless HSE backhaul network, the FOUNDATION for ROM solution enables automation end users to bring device data into the Foundation fieldbus infrastructure, which provides a single source of data management, diagnostics, alarms and alerts, data quality control, control-in-the-field capability, and object-oriented block structure.

For more information, visit the FOUNDATION for ROM page on the Fieldbus Foundation’s website.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Fieldbus at Emerson Exchange

Fieldbus is featured at Emerson Exchange in a big way this week through October 4 at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. Emerson is one of the strongest supporters of FOUNDATION technology, with a full spectrum of registered devices, host systems, and applications.  They have some truly knowledgeable people using their products, and some of the best and brightest are at the Exchange this week talking about their experiences with fieldbus and best practices.  Our End User advisory Council Chairman John Rezabek of Ashland Chemcial is there along with EUAC member Rong Gul of Shell, and fieldbus expert Jonas Berge of Emerson.  Stephen Mitschke, Director of Products at Fieldbus Foundation, is also in attendance.

These experts and others such as Alan Dewey, Klaus Erni, and Marcos Peluso of Emerson comprised the panel of fieldbus experts at the "New Generation of FOUNDATION Fieldbus Solutions" technology forum held on Tuesday afternoon, and again today from 1:15 to 2:45 PM.

A quick look at the conference catalog reveals all the FOUNDATION fieldbus related sessions.  Stephen Mitschke's session on enhancing fieldbus usability and the Gemstone continuous improvement project was held Tuesday:

6B-5013 - Leverage the Benefits of Intelligent Devices with FOUNDATION fieldbus through Enhanced Usability
Project Gemstone, a new Fieldbus Foundation initiative, provides a short and long term vision for users to achieve the benefits of intelligent devices by simplify engineering, commissioning and maintenance workflows. New specifications make device configuration easier with vendor supplied device templates. And, when the device needs to be replaced, a device with a newer revision can automatically be commissioned with an existing configuration. Future directions including ITK 7, ISA 108 and FDI make it easier and more effective to manage automation assets.

Rong Gul of Shell and Bob Lattimer of Emerson were co presenters in this session.  Our Project Gemstone is a continuous improvement project at the Fieldbus Foundation focused in improving the usability of the technology, helping the user realize the true economic potential.  Gemstone is making things like device replacement easier.  We have already made device replacement quick and easy for "like for like" devices in the latest revision of our Interoperability Test Kit.  

Al Dewey knows a lot about portable tools and has a great session on that as well.  Making templates for fieldbus devices is a great way to provide consistency and save time during the commissioning process, and there is a session on that led by Sarah Hough, Scott Hokeness, and Rong Gul.  There's just too many other sessions to list them all here, but we'll provide you with a report after the show.  

FOUNDATION for ROM at Automation 2013 Mumbai

We had a great week in Mumbai, India last week as we unveiled our FOUNDATION for ROM demonstration at the Automation 2013 trade show.  India has one of the largest installed bases of FOUNDATION fieldbus on a country by country basis.  Reliance refinery in Jamnagar, for example, is our largest installation in the world, with over 30 thousand fieldbus devices, many thousands of segments, all done with nearly flawless project execution in cooperation with major engineering and construction partners like Bechtel. Many other industries in India have FOUNDATION fieldbus installed as well, including metals, power chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and more.  This is one of the primary reasons the Fieldbus Foundation held our General Assembly in India in 2011.


The ROM demonstration was great but that was only part of the picture.  Monday September 23rd was the first day of the show and included keynote presentations from Dr. Peter Martin of Invensys, Dr. Gunther Kegel, CEO of Pepperl+Fuchs (also chairman of the board of the Fieldbus Foundation), Larry O'Brien, global marketing manager of Fieldbus Foundation,  and Mr. Nandakumar, founder of Chemtrols, a major Indian solution provider to the process industries.

Tuesday we began to discuss FOUNDATION for ROM and overall FOUNDATION fieldbus technology in earnest with a full day seminar that attracted close to 200 attendees, most of them end users, from the Indian process automation business.  Mr. B.R. Mehta, senior vice president of Reliance Industries and Chairman of the FOUNDATION Fieldbus India End User Council, began the seminar with some opening remarks about the significant presence of FOUNDATION fieldbus in India. Other presentations included the effect of fieldbus on cyber physical systems by Dr. Gunther Kegel and the FOUNDATION for ROM business value proposition, development roadmap, and demo program by Larry O'Brien.  Several presentations from our key supplier sponsors for our live demo project were also given, including Ravi Venkatramana of Invensys, Jonas Berg from Emerson Process Management, Prasad Samudrala from Honeywell, and Andre Fritsch from Stahl.


Wednesday and Thursday we delivered presentations on ROM at the booth, which included a live demonstration of FOUNDATION for ROM technology with the full range of devices integrated, including WirelessHART devices, ISA100.11a devices, H1 devices and electric actuators, remote I/O, the ROM devices themselves, and the wireless backhaul network based on HSE, all hooked up to an Invensys host DCS.

We were also very fortunate to win the Technology Advancement Award at the show for our ROM booth!

You can access my presentations from Automation 2013 at the Fieldbus Foundation Slideshare account here:

http://www.slideshare.net/Fieldbus-Foundation/foundation-for-rom-2013-14-presentation

http://www.slideshare.net/Fieldbus-Foundation/automation-mumbai-2013-fieldbus-update

http://www.slideshare.net/Fieldbus-Foundation/automation-mumbai-2013-presentation

A big thanks to our FOUNDATION Fieldbus India Committee (FFIC) for helping us organize this event. Thanks to our FOUNDATION for ROM sponsor companies for helping us get the booth organized.  Thanks to IED Communications for helping organize the show, and our very active end users in India who are the reason we are doing all this in the first place!

Link to Flickr Photoset of ROM Booth and Seminar at Automation 2013 Mumbai