by Gary Mintchell | Jun 23, 2013 | Automation
Honeywell Collaboration StationPerhaps the hottest topic in process control continuing over the past couple of years has been “the control room of the future.” I’ve seen examples at most of the solutions providers’ users groups. Due to overlapping meetings and travel commitments, I could not make it to the 2013 edition of HUG the Honeywell Process Solutions user group meeting in Phoenix last week.
I did participate in two online press conferences and received a ton of news. Following is a brief list of the more interesting announcements.
From some of my sources, it appeared that attendance at HUG has recovered somewhat from the doldrums of a few years ago. Some of my friends shared the excitement that goes along with a conference with new products and solutions and the energy of committed experts.
Two things stood out for me. One is discussion and development of an improved control room. I’ve seen some cool technologies at competitors’ (ABB, Emerson and Invensys) user events. And I know that Yokogawa is working on this as well. Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I love competition as the driver of innovation and advanced benefits for customers.
Secondly, I love these new collaboration boards I’ve been seeing. There are a couple of good ones. Think of the many uses–even outside process control. They’d be cool for Lean stand up daily meetings, for example. Hope more is coming.
News from the press releases:
The company previewed a futuristic console for its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) Orion platform that reduces operator fatigue with an improved, ergonomic design featuring a larger display and new alarm lighting. Honeywell expects to launch the Experion Orion Console – which was designed based on input from operators – with the platform’s next release in 2014 to provide better mobility for operators while improving situational awareness.
“In many ways, the control room of the future won’t be limited to the control room at all, and that concept is perfectly illustrated through technologies like OneWireless, because it extends the control room to the field,” said Jason Urso, chief technology officer, Honeywell Process Solutions. “At the same time, because we expect increasing connectivity, we’ll see a greater need for cyber security management systems like the Cyber Security Dashboard, and collaboration solutions like Experion Collaboration Station. These solutions complement each other to improve overall plant safety, reliability, efficiency, and sustainability.”
The common link between all of these solutions is the ability to help make control-room personnel more quickly aware of what’s happening in their facilities, including:
Cyber Security Dashboard – The Cyber Security Dashboard helps simplify the task of keeping automation systems up-to-date with cyber security requirements. The dashboard consolidates all data onto a single view for better visibility, and it allows users to easily drill down and access more-detailed content such as graphics, trends, documents and applications. Its advanced analytics allow the creation of customized alerts that advise personnel to take actions such as updating anti-virus protection, managing patches, and other ongoing cyber and network security-related tasks. Honeywell is previewing the Cyber Security Dashboard with customers in Phoenix and expects to roll out the tool globally in early 2014.
Experion Collaboration Station – Experion Collaboration Station enables faster responses to both routine and emergency situations by displaying a common view of how distributed assets at multiple locations are functioning. This tool is especially well-suited for production sites with distributed assets such as offshore oil and gas operations, pipelines, and large refineries with centralized control rooms.
OneWireless Network R220 – OneWireless Network is a universal wireless network that can simultaneously accommodate thousands of field devices to form everything from a simple field instrument network, to a completely integrated plant-wide, multi-application network. The new OneWireless Network Software R220 introduces a new interface for the Honeywell Enraf SmartRadar Flexline, which enables the device to communicate with the Honeywell Enraf Entis Pro tank gauging system, as well as the Experion Process Knowledge System platform. This allows storage terminal operators to cost-effectively improve their operations with reliable inventory data available in the control room.
Premium Platform for Experion Virtualization Solutions – Leveraging blade server technology, Honeywell’s new solution is customized to the specific control applications needed by the customer, making it a turnkey virtualization solution. Premium Platform reduces setup time by up to 90 percent, generates up to 40 percent more energy savings and has 22 percent greater density than alternative virtualized server platforms. In addition, the platform has a longer lifecycle, reduced facility footprint and remote management capabilities in a package that is pre-configured, saving time to deploy.
“The common thread among these services and solutions is that they will help shape the plant workforce of the future,” said Darius Adamczyk, President and CEO, Honeywell Process Solutions. “Manufacturers are being challenged to continuously improve operations, respond to ever-changing business conditions, and reduce overall costs. Services like Assurance 360 and Benefits Guardianship directly address those market challenges by making Honeywell technology experts extensions of a plant’s staff, while our Operations Excellence software offerings give operators and engineers better tools to serve as their companies’ most-important business assets.”
Assurance 360 Services – A multi-year service partnership offering that supports manufacturers in all industries, Assurance 360 Services allow plant personnel to focus on operations while Honeywell performance experts focus on maintaining, supporting and optimizing system performance to help the plant meet its goals. The offering provides remote monitoring, change management, risk mitigation, technology upgrade and new installation support, and performance-based metrics and reporting. Assurance 360 offers two service levels: Performa provides Honeywell support personnel to act in advisory roles across all areas covered by the program; Optima engages Honeywell personnel to both advise and directly handle tasks such as implementing change management, tracking and improving metrics, and scheduling and implementing new technology upgrades and installations.
Operations Excellence – Honeywell’s expanded portfolio of solutions designed to improve operational excellence includes three new software offerings. First, the Intuition Operations Monitoring software, built on Honeywell’s Intuition platform, is used to help operators keep the process within the best operating zone. Secondly, the new Control Performance Monitoring software helps engineers to monitor, identify, diagnose and remedy process control asset issues across all plant layers. Lastly, Honeywell’s latest Alarm Management software helps operators better manage their processes without compromising safe operations.
Benefits Guardianship Program Plus (BGP Plus) – Honeywell has extended its Benefits Guardianship Program, a premium service that delivers expertise beyond traditional product support, providing priority phone access to experienced and qualified specialists, to quickly resolve performance problems, and to deliver the latest software to improve functionality and to safeguard investments. The new BGP Plus service provides reactive and proactive engineering led services to increase uptime of the software, to provide early detection of performance drift and to recommend resolutions to sustain performance.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 19, 2013 | Technology
I just published a podcast interview with Glenn Schulz, managing director of The FDT Group. Glenn gave me a clear description of the technologies of FDT and DTMs plus a good description of the benefits to operations, maintenance and engineering.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 19, 2013 | Automation
My wife went with me to the recent RSTechED event in San Diego and got to witness my networking ability at the Sunday evening reception. The crowd was packed around the pool (no one was thrown in while I was there, anyway) as I made my way around to talk to most of the partners. Here’s a summary of my visits.
Mimic Instructor StationMYNAH Technologies released MiMiC v3.5 offering dynamic simulation for control system development, testing and optimization, operator training, process hazard analysis review, operation documentation validation, and Operation Excellence (OPEx) initiatives.
MiMiC Simulation Studio, the graphical development application for process modeling, has also been enhanced to include a new graphical drawing mode, a simpler way of relocating stream destination, a model recovery feature, and an easier method of tracing data references.
Component Studio, MiMC’s Instructor Station application, includes several significant enhancements for allowing quicker instructor training screen building and providing better run time performance.
WebPort from Spectrum ControlsSpectrum Controls talked with me about some new products including WebPort, a device offering remote access via wireless, Ethernet to PC, Ethernet to controller, or Serial to controller. It also offers VPN connectivity, can improve predictive maintenance schedules, access to data through SMS or email and cloud or onboard SQL database.
PID loop tuning.
eRPortal, asset, materials and maintenance management software, have condition-based maintenance connector to Rockwell FactoryTalk.
KepWare showed its OPC and embedded device communications.
Online Development showed iManager modules for data exchange between computers and Rockwell ControlLogix.
Panduit discussed physical infrastructure for Rockwell’s Ethernet backbone.
SeQent has technology to push alarms to personnel, discussed coming new products to expand on remote alarm notifications usability.
As I become increasingly focused on all the connectivity (new site coming–The Manufacturing Connection–plus discussing operations management and maintenance at a higher level, these are all products and companies that interest me.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 17, 2013 | Automation, Operations Management
Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB CEOHappy Monday. ABB has selected a new CEO to replace Joe Hogan. I actually met him once at SPS when the Discrete Manufacturing Team explained its strategy–which I found to be well thought out, and since has been well executed.
From the press release: The Board of ABB has unanimously appointed Ulrich Spiesshofer, the head of its Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division, as Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Joe Hogan in this role in an orderly transition on September 15, 2013. Hogan will continue with ABB for some months as Senior Advisor to the Board.
Spiesshofer joined ABB’s Executive Committee in 2005 and was named responsible for DM in 2009. He has led a doubling of the division’s revenues by organic and inorganic means, and the integration of Baldor – ABB’s largest ever acquisition. He has increased profit margins through a turnaround in Robotics, as well as the profitable growth and relentless execution of the motors and drives activities.
“ABB has developed a strong bench of talent: I am extremely pleased that the new CEO comes from within the company, and brings a solid track record and deep knowledge of the portfolio,” said ABB Chairman Hubertus von Grünberg. “Ulrich has been a key force in shaping and implementing ABB’s strategy, and the integration of Baldor stands out as a benchmark for successful large acquisitions.”
Spiesshofer also initiated other business expansion activities in DM based on organic growth and acquisitions. These have helped DM to grow faster than the market and to expand into new business areas such as e-mobility and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), as well as to better balance the business geographically. The planned acquisition of Power-One would make ABB a leading global supplier of solar inverters. A successor to his role in DM will be announced in due course.
CEO Joe Hogan said: “Ulrich has done a tremendous job in DM based on the solid knowledge and experience acquired in many successful years within ABB and outside. With his strong contribution and team-oriented collaboration, our mid-term strategy has been making great progress.”
Prior to taking over DM, Spiesshofer was responsible for Corporate Development, leading strategy development and implementation across the power and automation businesses, in very close collaboration with all of ABB’s teams. This included ABB’s roadmap for mergers and acquisitions and the formation of ABB’s technology venture arm. In this role, he strengthened ABB’s operational excellence and procurement processes, laying the groundwork for the cost savings program which has been executed over the past few years of global economic crisis.
“I am excited about the opportunity to lead ABB and serve our customers, building on Joe’s success,” said Spiesshofer. “I am looking forward to keep working with all my colleagues in the Executive Committee and the entire ABB team. Together, we will continue to drive profitable growth and relentless execution for the company.”
Before joining ABB, Spiesshofer spent three years at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and 11 years at A.T. Kearney management consultants, where he built successful consulting businesses in industries including oil and gas, utilities, telecoms and automotive, in Europe, Asia and the Americas. He has a master’s degree in Business Administration and Engineering, and a PhD in Economics, both from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 16, 2013 | Automation, Operations Management
Some manufacturing and automation news including interesting conferences, acquisitions and product and solution updates.
Water/Wastewater Symposium
For you Water/Wastewater and related Automation and Controls people, here is an announcement of the 2013 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls Symposium.
It will be held August 6, 2013 – August 8, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza-Universal Hotel in Orlando.
Now in its eighth year, the symposium offers a unique opportunity for automation, instrumentation and SCADA professionals in the water and wastewater sectors to share ideas, network and earn continuing education credits. This 3-day symposium focuses on the challenges associated with providing reliable, secure and cost-efficient automation for the world’s municipal water/wastewater infrastructure.
This year’s program includes over 40 technical speakers, networking events, poster session and supplier showcase. The keynote is by IBM’s Carey E. Hikada on using data to make smarter investment decisions. Two short-courses on SCADA cybersecurity and flowmeter section/sizing are also offered. Registration is $425 and includes breakfasts/lunches.
Invensys Acquires SmartGlance Software
SmartGlance ScreensNot a surprise here, Invensys has acquired the SmartGlance mobile reporting product of Sarla Analytics, LLC, a privately held company headquartered in Barrington, R.I.
Founded in 2010, Sarla Analytics is part of The Sarla Group of software companies. SmartGlance, an industrial mobile reporting business app, delivers secure, on-demand access to rich, graphical reports from any operations data source via mobile devices, allowing industrial personnel to make smarter, faster decisions from anywhere, at any time and on any device.
SmartGlance provides connectors for accessing data from different manufacturing sources, including both Invensys and non-Invensys systems. SmartGlance permits the ability to push data from virtually any data source, including popular process historians and any SQL database.
As part of the acquisition, the SmartGlance product will be part of the Invensys Wonderware portfolio of software product offerings.
PAS Provides Live Chat
Here’s a feature I love on consumer sites coming to you from an industrial B2B site. PAS announced live chat support on the company website. Live chat allows visitors to PAS website to quickly gain access to company resources.
“As a series of initiatives to enhance our customer experience, we have integrated the latest technologies to allow customers real-time access to our support staff,” said Bijan Habibi, Co-founder and Executive Vice President at PAS. “With live chat, visitors to our website will be able to quickly communicate with us from anywhere and at any time”.
Live chat enables PAS customers to initiate support chat conversations in seconds. A click on the “Live Chat” icon will launch a chat window for real-time communication.
TwinCAT 3.1 from Beckhoff Adds Features
As a continuation of the company’s next generation PC-based control software, Beckhoff Automation has announced the release of TwinCAT 3.1 with new features for eXtended Automation. One of the core concepts of eXtended Automation involves the convergence of automation with the domain of IT and computer science.
A key update with TwinCAT version 3.1 is support of 64-bit operating systems and the Microsoft Windows 8 operating system. Support of IEC 61131-3 programming languages, object-oriented programming (OOP), C/C++ and Matlab/Simulink is continued and provides numerous optional tools to the TwinCAT programmer.
Another highlight in TwinCAT 3.1 is the possibility to reserve individual CPU cores of a multi-core processor exclusively for TwinCAT. This feature, known as “CPU Isolation,” gives the full performance of the reserved cores solely to TwinCAT.
A step toward simplifying and advancing TwinCAT is the integration into Microsoft Visual Studio, making use of the most widely used IDE in the world.
The integration of TwinCAT into Visual Studio also offers the option to use familiar source control techniques used by the IT world. In addition to saving and backing up source code, source control is increasingly used for revision control. Comparison tools are available in TwinCAT 3.1 for displaying the differences between the versions and it is possible to view which nodes have been modified. If a difference is detected, more details can be made visible by a double click. The comparisons are available in all IEC 61131-3 languages.
Honeywell Introduces Turnkey Virtualization
Honeywell launched the newest Experion Virtualization Solutions package, said to be the industry’s first turnkey blade solution that is optimized for virtualization and the needs of the process control industry, enabling offshore oil and gas, refining and petrochemical customers to increase operations availability and reduce the total cost of ownership of their control system.
Virtualization is a major productivity and efficiency tool for commercial and industrial operations. Process controls typically require separate servers to support different applications – requiring additional space, hardware and significant maintenance costs. Virtualization allows a single server to simultaneously run multiple operating systems and applications, insulating the operating systems from hardware changes, improving overall server utilization, simplifying maintenance and reducing costs.
The newest member of the Experion Virtualization family, called the Premium Platform, is based on blade server technology. It provides an alternate offering for the ultimate in lifecycle and availability features being demanded by the process industry. The Premium Platform reduces setup time by 90 percent, generates 40% more energy savings, has 22% greater density than alternative virtualized server platforms and allows recovery from a processor failure in minutes.
The new Premium Platform leverages blade server technology from IBM. IBM’s long term support along with its significant worldwide support infrastructure and the maturity of this platform were considerations in our decision.
IQMS Goes Mobile
IQMS, a manufacturing ERP and MES developer, released six mobile apps as part of its expanded mobile offerings initiative. These are compatible on all Android devices, such as tablets and smart phones, as well as IQMS’ proprietary rugged shop floor control device, the RTStation.
The Mobile Application Manager allows users to track, assign and organize their app licenses for any IQMS supported device, then freely reorganize them when different needs arise. Recently released mobile apps include:
• Carton Builder App: Interface directly with a weigh scale to calculate total parts by weight, then print labels with the push of a button once the package is full.
• Inventory Transactions and Locations App: View inventory location information and perform inventory transactions, such as creating new locations, adding and removing inventory and moving items between locations.
• Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) App: View existing MRO work orders or create new work orders for any piece of MRO equipment.
• Opportunity Central App: Gain enhanced CRM control by managing contact information, tracking the progress of specific customer or partner leads and viewing action items assigned to your opportunities
• ScanID App: Print box labels based on item BOM standards and ensure a correct box count instead of having to rely solely on your packaging personnel for accurate counts.
• Signature Capture App: Electronically captures and stores the signatures of your shipping company’s drivers for review or to be printed on associated bill of lading (BOL) reports.
