Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the June 12 release of CENTUM® VP R5.03, an enhanced version of the company's flagship integrated production control system.

Yokogawa has been continuously developing and enhancing CENTUM VP as a cornerstone of its IA business's VigilantPlant® vision for operational excellence. In accordance with the strategies set out in the Evolution 2015 mid-term business plan, CENTUM VP has been enhanced with a variety of new functions.

New Features Include:

• Wide area communication (WAC) router for control via public communications networks

Yokogawa has developed a WAC router that enables a CENTUM VP system to remotely monitor and control equipment over a wide area network (WAN) established using public communication lines, satellite links, and the like. The WAC router provides the same high reliability and security as the Vnet/IP control network that is used with Yokogawa production control systems.

• Enhanced batch functions

The CENTUM VP R5.03 batch package*1 is based on ISA-88 and has enhanced functions that allow greater flexibility when accommodating changes in production procedures. The number of operating procedures has been increased and the recipe*2 procedure has been provided with additional levels.

• Easy integration with intelligent electric devices (IEDs)

CENTUM VP R5.03 supports the IEC 61850 communication protocol, which has been widely adopted in the electric power industry and other industries that operate extensive electrical facilities.This latest version of CENTUM VP can integrate data from intelligent electric devices and be used to monitor the operations at power plants whose electrical facilities have been designed based on the IEC 61850 standard.

• Eight-loop operation keyboard

A new keyboard has been released with sets of dedicated function keys that can be used to simultaneously adjust eight control loops.

ARC Advisory Group, the leading technology research and advisory firm for industry and infrastructure, released its new Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Software Supplier Selection Guide. The guide includes both selection criteria and guided workflow steps for choosing the correct EAM system and supplier. The scope of the criteria covers key aspects of EAM systems including asset information management, work order management, materials management, labor management, service contract management, financial management, reporting, and technology architecture. The guide has attributes tailored for industrial organizations, and allows those involved in a EAM selection process to make improved decisions more quickly.

Ralph Rio, Research Director, stated, “The key metrics for maintenance managers involve uptime, asset longevity, cost control, and safety across a diverse set of assets and technologies. To meet these critical objectives, executive management recognizes the requirement for a modern and reliable EAM system. In addition, the EAM system needs to integrate with other systems including condition monitoring and corporate finance.” Ralph continued, “The improved economy has unleashed a backlog of projects for new EAM systems among industrial organizations. To support the growing demand for help with supplier selection, ARC created the EAM supplier selection guide. ”

Details of this release can be found on ARC Web

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced today a partnership with GlobaLogix to provide a new SCADA Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that is based on ABB’s SCADAvantageTM product. The partnership is aimed at providing a robust and open SCADA service to reduce operation risks and maintenance burden, while also lowering upfront costs.

As the industry demands more security and reliability from SCADA systems, the architecture and maintenance of a system has become increasingly important. Some of the largest and most robust SCADA installations have been compromised recently and continue to operate without adequate protection.

GlobaLogix has built a highly secure and redundant cloud-based infrastructure to host ABB’s SCADA platform. The infrastructure provides access to 53 Data Centers in North America with 2048 bit encryption that exceeds the current Department of Defense standards. The infrastructure also complies with the most stringent Tier 4 data center standards from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for mission critical computer systems. The standard requires fully redundant subsystems and compartmentalized security zones.

Additional security is provided by Citrix authentication installed on each of the client’s laptops, desktops and tablets that provide access to the cloud-hosted SCADA system. Field operators can optionally be provided with password protected web access to read-only data and key information to reduce exposure to malicious attacks and prevent operator errors.

“This cloud-based SCADA infrastructure can save companies money and time by eliminating the need to build and maintain their own dedicated server rooms, while reducing SCADA administration costs and overall risks,” said Sandy Taylor, Head of ABB’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical business unit. “The overall return on investment time can be reduced by 25-30% or more.”

The client is given full access to a completely customized set of their own SCADA screens. All data is housed in a database historian within the cloud. As needs evolve the system can be fully convertible at any point in the future to a traditionally hosted solution on a company’s dedicated servers.

ARC Advisory Group has released its new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) for Oil and Gas Production and Pipeline Markets Supplier Selection Guide. The guide includes both selection criteria and guided workflow steps for choosing the correct SCADA and supplier. The scope of the criteria cover the needs of SCADA systems including communications with other systems, instrumentation, and networks. The guide has attributes tailored for oil and gas organizations, and allows those involved in a SCADA selection process to make quicker and improved decisions.

Dave Woll, VP Consulting, stated, “The need for a highly reliable SCADA system has never been more important than it is today. In addition, a modern SCADA needs to be able to easily integrate with other systems and technologies from a distributed remote environment, to the central site. Not only is it necessary to ensure uninterrupted flow of oil or gas, but it is also necessary to ensure the return on assets (ROA) that is required by all modern business practices.” Dave continued, “Many pipelines are operating with SCADA systems that are well over 20 years old. In many cases not only are the components difficult to find to maintain these systems, but also the personnel skills required to keep them functioning are becoming more and more scarce.”

For more information on the SCADA for Oil and Gas Supplier Selection guide, please visit our Supplier Evaluation and Selection Service.​