Day two of Emerson Global Users Exchange for the press is usually a huge new product and technology “dump” or otherwise known as the “tornado” as editors and analysts get an overview of a variety new technology advances as seen in new products. Eve Chief Strategic Officer Peter Zornio can’t talk fast enough to get them all covered in the allotted time.
Zornio set the tone for the session telling us that “Pervasive sensing changes the fundamentals of automation.” Pervasive sensing, making use of wireless technologies, provides producers and manufacturers with a strategy, “the more you sense, the more you solve.” Customers can easily improve not only processes but reliability, Energy and HSSE (health, safety, security, environmental).
“Pervasive Sensing” or the idea of enabling installation of sensors easily in a multitude of plant uses has been a theme for Emerson for at least seven years. This coincides with the development of a wireless sensor network technology that became WirelessHART. My take on this has always been that this strategy is a good first step. What Emerson needed in parallel was the software/IT side–historian, analytics, dashboards. One of the announcements this year was a connector to OSIsoft PI. This is a great step forward.
Every theme Zornio introduced was exemplified by a customer application. First, though, Zornio mentioned that the company is taking a broader view of what’s in a plant. Ergon Refining on mobility and taking advantage of wireless; Conoco Philips and Flint Hills Pine Bend for condition monitoring and asset reliability; BP in the HSSE category for monitoring hydrocarbon leaks; and Tanatex Chemicals monitored steam traps to achieve energy savings.
As we survey the product introductions and updates, one important factor emerges. Another Emerson initiative over the past few years has been Human-Centered Design. The concept was implemented such that it would filter to all the business units. Pretty much all the products exhibit the results. As I walked the aisles of the Expo Hall, I could see evidence everywhere.
The first piece of news was that Emerson has licensed royalty free patent rights for its PIDPlus wireless PID controller technology to improve real-time control performance, simplify tuning, and inherently protect against system failures. The licenses will be provided through the HART Communication Foundation, now the Fieldcomm Foundation.
DeltaV version 13 includes Ethernet support as well as a connector to OSIsoft PI.
Smart Wireless Navigator brings together tools for planning, managing and maintaining networks.
Smart Wireless Gateways firmware version 4.5 streamlines wireless network interface, security setup, and field device configuration.
1410D Smart Wireless Gateway allows for flexible antenna installation for use in hazardous locations.
Rosemount 248 wireless transmitter for single-point temperature measurement will be released in Feb. 2015.
Rosemount 705 Wireless Totalizing transmitter installs on new or existing turbine meters or pulse devices.
DeltaV Virtual Studio v2.3 expands virtualization capabilities especially designed for process control and implementation by process engineers without specialized IT training.
Rosemount 8700M magnetic flowmeter with enhanced safety for hazardous area applications along with intelligent diagnostics.
Micro Motion Model 5700 Coriolis flow transmitter uses Human-Centered Design to provide information, not just data.
New version of Rosemount 5400 series non-contacting radar level transmitter designed to overcome specific challenges such as inclining or sloping surfaces, low dielectric properties and high filling rates.
In addition, the new 5708 Rosemount 3D Solids Scanners use acoustic mapping and 3D mapping to provide an advanced picture of solids level and volume measurement as well as predict potential problems due to uneven unloading of a tank.
Said to be the world’s first, an online Guided Wave Radar transmitter and probe testing function available with the
Rosemount 5300 Series transmitters.
Danalyzer 370XA Gas Chromatograph is designed for continuous online analysis of natural gas.
Bettis EHO electro-hydraulic actuator handles critical shutdown situations where dependability is essential.
