Control System World

A new ISA standards committee, ISA108, Intelligent Device Management, is currently seeking members. The committee will define standard templates of best practices and work processes for design, development, installation and use of diagnostic and other information provided by intelligent field devices in the process industries.

Intelligent field devices, pervasive in modern process manufacturing, bring the promise of transforming the way information is utilized related to these devices and to the processes they control. Devices with impending maintenance problems, for example, can be identified earlier, and information can be provided directly to process automation systems, plant asset management systems, or any other systems or software in a plant as required.

In many cases, however, the promise remains unrealized, often because users are employing old maintenance work processes with new technology. The new devices and applications are installed, but operators and technicians stick to their traditional approaches to preventive or routine maintenance and do not take advantage of the huge amount of information available to them.

“With more than 80% of smart instrument data not being used or even connected to an online data collection system, the lost revenues to the process industries are tremendous,” said ISA108 Managing Director Ian Verhappen of Yokogawa Canada. “Thus, the need is clear for a series of standards on how to integrate this data into control systems and work practices to achieve the benefits of proactive maintenance.”

ISA108 will hold an initial meeting on 24 September 2012 in Orlando, Florida in conjunction with ISA Automation Week. The bulk of the committee’s work will be conducted electronically.

'ISA New Committee on Intelligent Device Management Seeks Members'

Siemens Industry Automation Division has extended its range of single-phase power supplies: The Sitop smart product family has been expanded with three single-phase 24 V power supplies with rated output voltag s of 2.5 A, 5 A and 10 A as well as two 12 V power supplies with 7 A and 14 A. The output voltage of the new PSU100S power supplies is adjustable over a wide range from 24 to 28 V with the 24 V power supplies and from 12 to 15.5 V with the 12 V models. All devices can supply 1.5 times the rated current for five seconds per minute, to ensure problem-free starting for loads that draw a high current. The 24 V versions even supply 120 percent rated current at ambient temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius.

The power supplies of the Sitop smart product line are designed for standard requirements in automated machines and plants. As for the currently available Sitop smart power supplies, the new single-phase Sitop PSU100S power supplies also feature a signaling contact for evaluating the operating status "Output voltage OK". With widths of only 32.5 mm (24 V/ 2.5 A), 50 mm (24 V/ 5 A and 12 V/ 7 A) and 70 mm (24 V/ 10 A and 12 V/ 14 A) and no sideways clearance requirements, the power supplies require less space on the mounting rail. These slim power supplies feature automatic range switching for connection to 120 V and 230 V supply systems worldwide. A radio suppression level of Class B and line harmonic limiting also permit use on the public low-voltage grid. Certification for GL (Germanische Lloyd) for shipbuilding and ATEX (Atmosphère Explosive) for hazardous environments ensure that the power supplies can be used universally.

For further details click at 'Siemens high-performance power supply for single-phase networks worldwide'

ZUG, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2012-- Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a world-scale grassroots gas-to-chemicals complex in Linhares, Espirito Santo State, southeast Brazil, called Complexo Gás-Químico UFN-IV. Foster Wheeler will provide basic engineering design (BED), front-end engineering design (FEED), and technical assistance and training during the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) phase through to successful completion of the plant performances tests.

The Foster Wheeler contract value was not disclosed. The BED and FEED will be included in the company's third-quarter 2012 bookings. The provision of technical assistance and training will be booked at a later date, after the FEED is complete, when Petrobras advises that it is proceeding with the EPC phase of the project.

Foster Wheeler will act as integrator for the entire complex, managing the overall BED and FEED, including managing the process licensors and Brazilian subcontractors. The BED/FEED phase is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013.

The complex is expected to produce in excess of one million tonnes per annum (TPA) of ammonia and urea fertilizers, methanol, acetic acid, plus formic acid and melamine, helping to reduce Brazil's imports of these products.

"Our proven experience in executing large, complex integrated chemicals projects and our ability to support Petrobras through to start-up of this world-scale facility were key to our success in winning this important contract," said Umberto della Sala, Chief Operating Officer, Foster Wheeler AG.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Aug. 20, 2012 – National Instruments today introduced NI TestStand 2012, the latest version of its automated test management software. With its new modular process architecture, NI TestStand 2012 helps engineers increase the flexibility and throughput of their automated test systems. The new modular framework makes test setup easier, expands test and reporting flexibility, and makes it possible for engineers to simultaneously test and report during parallel testing.

Quotes

“With its new asynchronous processing, NI TestStand 2012 greatly increases our test system performance,” said Alessandro Bernocchi, software manager at Alfamation, a leading test solution provider. “It helps us achieve significant gains in test throughput by immediately testing the next device under test while our data collection for the initial DUT happens in a separate thread automatically.”

Product Features

- Asynchronous result processing makes it possible to continue testing devices while simultaneously generating reports or data logging

- Plug-in architecture facilitates advanced customizations, including multiple report formats, with minimal code changes

- NI Idea Exchange Community-requested features that reduce development time, including drag-and-drop code module files for step autogeneration, improved array and string manipulation, and more

White paper by Amplicon: Ethernet networking has grown beyond office and home usage to become a very successful protocol suite used in many industrial networks. Industrial Ethernet’s accomplishments can be attributed to its heritage in the commercial marketplace where most innovations and the evolution of the protocol suite took place; Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology is no exception.

PoE was developed soon after offices began to adopt Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems, VoIP phone systems allow offices to integrate their data and voice networks together and reduce calling costs, but early incarnations of VoIP phone hardware had the disadvantage of requiring a power supply for each headset - compared to traditional analogue phones which are commonly supplied with power and signal via the telephone wire. This motivated the development of a similar system for VoIP phones which have an Ethernet connection, and PoE was born! Using PoE as a technology for powering end devices other than VoIP phones was an obvious step; the technology has quickly been adopted for many other applications such as remote wireless access points, IP based cameras and devices that are commonly found in industrial Ethernet network deployments.

Read in detail 'Power over Ethernet technology for industrial Ethernet networks'

Houston, Texas — August 20, 2012 — KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced today it has been awarded a project management services contract for construction of the Diamantina Power Station, a 242 MW gas-fired power station in northwest Queensland, Australia. Located about four miles (six kilometers) from the mining community of Mt. Isa, the station will provide power to Xstrata’s MIM copper mine and will be a secure long-term energy supplier to the region.

KBR’s scope of services includes project management, safety, cost, schedule and site construction oversight of the power station’s engineering, procurement and construction contractors. Features of the combined-cycle gas turbine power station include low emissions and a high level of net efficiency for a plant of this nature.

The client, DPS Co., a 50-50 joint venture between APA Group and AGL Energy Limited, predicts a total power station cost of about AU$500 million, with construction to be completed by mid-2014.

Austin, Texas, August 21, 2012 – The Fieldbus Foundation today announced updates to its DesignMATE™ software tool, a software download that allows plant automation professionals to audit segment layouts. The updates cover DesignMATE's library of registered devices, and revised terminology used within the software to align with current FOUNDATION™ fieldbus installations.

The user-friendly DesignMATE automatically audits segment layouts for conformance with the FOUNDATION physical layer specification, which is based on the international IEC 61158-2 (Type 1) standard. End-users can feel confident their fieldbus infrastructure will work with desired parameters such as cable length, number and type of installed devices, and selected power supplies.

The DesignMATE software provides an intuitive graphical user interface and mouse support, enabling fieldbus segment design "on the fly" with drag & drop capabilities. The tool displays fieldbus segments in the form of an exportable image of a stylized topology. A printable report in Rich Text Format (.rtf) is also available. Users can analyze and check key physical layer parameters, such as supply voltage, load conditions at all terminals of power supply, fieldbus couplers and field instruments. An error log indicates deviations from the FOUNDATION specification in clear text visuals for immediate remedy by the user.

To download a free copy of DesignMate, please visit the Fieldbus Foundation website's Technical Reference page. Technical support for DesignMATE is available on Fieldbus Forums. For information about other FOUNDATION fieldbus technology solutions, please visit the foundation's Technical Reference Page, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 512-794-8890, Ext. 21. A short "How-To" video for the DesignMATE segment verification tool is available through the Fieldbus Foundation's YouTube channel.

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (15 August 2012) — The International Society of Automation (ISA) is proud to announce the winners of the 2012 ISA Educational Foundation Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to college and university students who demonstrate outstanding potential to make lasting contributions in the fields of automation, instrumentation and control. The scholarship awards support tuition, related expenses, research activities and initiatives.

ISA awarded a total of $53,874, which was distributed among undergraduate students in two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and to graduate students.

'ISA Announces Recipients of 2012 ISA Educational Foundation Scholarships'