Forays into Fieldbus Technology Pay Off
Another stellar article by John Rezabek, Ashland Chemical, was published in Control’s magazine last month, and I’d like to highlight it. John, as many of you may know, is the End User Advisory Council Chairman for the Fieldbus Foundation, and a big reason for this is his experience, depth of knowledge, and motivation to understand and keep up with the latest trends in fieldbus.
His article covers the message of what some users have heard about “bitter” experiences with fieldbus in its original days. John goes on to explain the key game-changing factors in successful projects as well as advancements that have and will make things even easier for users. There is no reason fieldbus can’t be a highly-successful wonderful experience for users (John is one of many examples of a user reaping massive benefits from smart digital technology).
As usual, there is no reason to spoil the message and writing John has so eloquently put together so follow the link below to read his post.
http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2014/forays-into-fieldbus-technology-pay-off/
Fenced in with Fieldbus
As a marketing professional with the Fieldbus Foundation, I get the opportunity to host and participate in events across the world. Every now and again I get the pleasure of listening to a presentation that breaks through the mundane and challenges the all too often heavily laced technical mumbo jumbo presentations that Process Automation folks are used to hearing. One such presentation, it turns out, comes directly from our very own End User Seminars that the Fieldbus Foundation hosts in North America.
Michael Clark, the President and Chief Consultant for BusCorp, took it upon himself to put together a presentation that would make fieldbus simple for users to understand. As someone who has gone into many meetings with users wanting to upgrade their aging automation systems, he’s well aware of the “unwashed” user that wants the great new features and capabilities technology has unlocked over the last decade (or 2 or 3 decades for many of these sites), but doesn’t know the first thing about installing/using it. The problem of course is that change upsets the norm. That makes people hesitant and worried. They fear the unknown and are uncertain of the outcome. Throw in some technical complications into the mix, and you’ve quickly got a back peddling user worried whether he/she made the right decision.
How could he make things simple to understand? Not just for the user installing it, but for the build/modernization crew? His presentation challenges the notion that just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. Why not make things so simple that there is no worry about whether it could be done? Engineers like to call that Certainty of Outcome. As for Mr. Clark’s presentation, the message is what he dubs “Fence Me In”.
John Rezabek just did a write up on Mr. Clark’s presentation in his latest column on Control magazine. For those thirsting to be “fenced in”, be sure to read the write up here: bit.ly/1jqOQ2p
If you want to be sure to catch Mr. Clark’s presentation in person (trust me you do! It’s one of those that doesn’t translate nearly as well on paper) be sure you attend one of our 2014 fieldbus seminars. This year we’ll be in Calgary, AB Canada, Baton Rouge, LA and Houston, TX. You can find more information on those events as it gets released by going to our Events section.
Latest Registered FF Products!
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/
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| October Fieldbus Flash Newsletter Screen Capture |
Advantages of FOUNDATION in FPSOs
The article, by Suresh P. Nair, was featured in a web exclusive by InTech.
The article explains all the benefits of having a “plug and play” technology that allows for quick modular connections of instrumentation in a very confined space. As we all know, space on a sea-bearing vessel comes at a premium so the smaller the footprint of your equipment, the more room for raw product. More raw product is the bottom line.
In the LinkedIn group posting I linked above, Jonas Berge talks about what this type of installation means beyond just FPSOs. The overarching benefit here is with regards to the ability to modular construct FOUNDATION fieldbus projects. While the immediate benefits for this type of application on an FPSO is space savings, weight savings, diagnostics, cabling savings, ease of commissioning etc (you all know the extensive list of benefits of FOUNDATION fieldbus by now), the true benefits are something bigger.
With the ability to modularly construct projects, easier project implementation on site greatly increases. Jonas points out that the ability to modularly construct a project allows the user to “reduce labor at the isolated site where resources are scarce, using manpower in the yard where resources are plenty.” There is a powerful message to be learned in that statement. I agree with Jonas that we’re not too far off from major mammoth projects being built offsite and shipped modularly for connection. We already see this type of thing happening across other industrial projects like major roadway/bridges and building construction. In fact, many of our regular homes are being built offsite these days with entire walls being pre-fabricated and delivered to site.
Be sure to read the full article on InTech’s website here: Advantages of FOUNDATION for FPSOs
Also, be sure to read all of Jonas Berge’s insights on the project on our LinkedIn group here: FOUNDATION Fieldbus LinkedIn Group – FPSO
As a side note I can’t help but be reminded of the story of a hotel just south of us in San Antonio that is sitting along the riverwalk that was build in a modular fashion for the Texas World Fair in 1968. It took only 46 days to “build” 496 rooms on the 21 story hotel.
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| Click Image to Read about the Modular Construction of the San Antonio Hotel |
InTech Article on Fieldbus Project Commissioning
This month’s InTech has a great article about fieldbus project commissioning written by Augusto Pereira and Ian Verhappen. Augusto and Ian have done a lot of fieldbus projects and they have written a good book on fieldbus that is available through ISA at their bookstore. In this article they give some good tips on necessary equipment for your fieldbus installation, commissioning practices, and they have some interesting things to say about fieldbus network diagnostics. Key takeaways are you can save yourself a lot of time by investing in registered products, including cable, and follow a few simple rules to keep your installation painless.
FOUNDATION Technology Study Day – London, 26 February, 2013
Shanghai SECCO Uses FOUNDATION Fieldbus Valves for Big Savings
A friend from Emerson Process Management forwarded me an excellent article from the June 2011 edition of Chemical Processing on how Shanghai SECCO refinery uses FOUNDATION fieldbus valves to obtain some significant savings. It’s a quick read and worth it! It is also timely since out General Assembly this year will be held in Shanghai, which is quite close to the SECCO plant, which is one of the world’s largest FOUNDATION fieldbus installations.
Endress+Hauser Installs FOUNDATION Fieldbus System on Water Treatment Plant
Did you know that Endress+Hauser has a control system that is also a FOUNDATION fieldbus host system? The ControlCare Field Control System also sports an HSE linking device, and the system was recently installed at a chemical plant in Italy. You can read the article at here EngineerLive.
From the article:
“La Vichimica, located in Novara, Northern Italy, specialises in the reprocessing of solvents from different process industries, notably pharmaceuticals. During reprocessing, these solvents are separated from dangerous by-products.
Every day, tankers carrying contaminated solvents arrive at the works. The contents of the tankers are transferred into the storage tanks for the columns. At the start of the process the solvent is slowly heated. In the subsequent re-circulation phase, the solvent vapour is continually pumped through the columns until the required degree of purity is attained.
The program’s configuration, which is implemented in both field controller and devices such as the valves, control the process. After completion of the process, the purified solvent can be reused and the residues are sent for disposal. The two columns that are controlled by ControlCare can be connected together to form a super-column, increasing the range of applications for which the product can be used.”
As you can see from the article, the system also utilizes control in the field capabilities.
Endress+Hauser ControlCare System Brings Fieldbus to Italian Chemical Plant
Emerson Wins Large Fieldbus Project for Zinc and Lead Smelter in China
Emerson Process management has won another fielbus project, this time at large Zinc and Lead smelter in China. The project will expand Yunnann Chihong Zinc & Germanium lead and zinc processing pant in Yunnan province to over a million tons of capacty over the next five years. The project will incorporate a DeltaV digital automation system with FOUNDATION fieldbus and WirelessHART devices with an AMS plant asset management system.
According to the press release, “The new automation system will help improve smelting efficiency and reduce energy consumption in the lead ISA furnace process and zinc pyrometallurgy process, as well as efficiency in sulfur dioxide emission control and waste heat recovery.
Emerson will provide a state-of-the-art control solution that includes its DeltaV™ digital automation system with DeltaV S-Series hardware, AMS Suite asset management software, and smart field devices using Foundation fieldbus and IEC 62591 (WirelessHART®) communications technology. AMS Suite will provide predictive field diagnostics to enable early detection of potential issues and proactive maintenance planning. Using wireless technology to monitor multiple hearth furnaces will eliminate the extensive cabling that would normally be required, reducing engineering complexity for the project.”
The company hopes to reduce both maintenance and energy costs with the project.
Mangalore India Refinery Installs FOUNDATION Actuators from AUMA
India continues to be a global leader in the installation and use of FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology. This recent story from EngineerLive shows how one refinery in Mangalore installed FOUNDATION Fieldbus electric actuators from AUMA to achieve more flexible and reliable production.
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