Control System World

Rockwell Automation has expanded its portfolio of industrial Ethernet switches with the new Allen-Bradley Stratix 5410 industrial distribution switch. With four 10-gigabit Ethernet ports, the Stratix 5410 switch provides a high-performance connection to the rest of a facility’s network architecture. The switch can be used as a Layer 2 switch or a Layer 3 routing switch, which allows engineers to use it in various applications.

“Our expanded Stratix family of switches gives IT and engineering professionals the broad range of switches they need for high-availability network designs,” said Mark Devonshire, product manager for Rockwell Automation. “The Stratix 5410 distribution switch offers the performance and flexibility needed for designing future-ready network architectures.”

With a 19-inch rack-mount design, the Stratix 5410 switch gives end users a centralized point of network distribution and increased port density. It is ideal for heavy industry applications where resiliency is often required, and has a rugged exterior to help withstand harsh environmental conditions.

With embedded Cisco technology and Premier Integration into the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system, the Stratix 5410 switch provides familiar solutions for information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT) professionals. This helps ease network configuration, management and support. Using the Rockwell Software Studio 5000 design environment, engineers can leverage FactoryTalk View faceplates from Rockwell Automation and add-on profiles to simplify switch configuration and monitoring. In addition, the embedded Cisco technology helps optimize integration with the enterprise network.

Enhanced security features include programmable port access, as well as configurable port security. Capabilities such as encrypted administrative traffic, 802.1x authentication, access control lists (ACL), and TACACS+ and RADIUS support plantwide security as part of a defense-in-depth security approach.

Product Webpage

Construction of IFCo’s $1.8 billion plant began in March 2013. By late 2015, the new plant will begin producing between 1.5 and 2 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer each year. IFCo will be the first world-scale fertilizer plant built in the United States in nearly 25 years. Nitrogen fertilizer accounts for about 60 percent of global fertilizer use. The output of the IFCo plant will drastically reduce US dependence on imported fertilizer. In addition, a domestic fertilizer source will save farmers across the country millions of dollars annually.

IFCo chose Yokogawa as the Operator Training Simulator (OTS) vendor for its IFCo complex due to Yokogawa’s proven capability with OTS in the fertilizer industry and track record in integrating Yokogawa’s OTS seamlessly with CENTUM VP Distributed Control System (DCS) and ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System (SIS). CENTUM VP, ProSafe-RS and OmegaLand were used for the development of the OTS for IFCo. Yokogawa’s simulator offers a highly accurate operator training system with a realistic feel, an environment for examining and verifying control methods, functions for plant optimization, energy saving designs, and online operation support through the use of modeling and simulation technologies. The IFCo OTS implementation is being carried out in the ammonia, urea, and nitric acid units. Yokogawa provided support by designing, developing, implementing, and testing the OTS in the processing units.

About Iowa Fertilizer Company:  Iowa Fertilizer Company (IFCo) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Netherlands-based company, OCI NV, a global leader in nitrogen fertilizer production and an engineering and construction contractor. OCI NV has an international fertilizer distribution platform spanning from the Americas to Asia. IFCo is located in Southeast Iowa and near the western boundary of Illinois.

Download Full Story

Schneider Electric Software, a global leader in industry software and part of Schneider Electric, showcased new innovations and capabilities at its Wonderware Customer Conference, held in last week in Dallas, Texas. The highlight of the event were 11 customer-led presentations proving how innovative Wonderware software and solutions have continued to drive tangible business value across several industries.

"Our customers and partners have unequivocally shown this week how Wonderware software and solutions have delivered business value across every important technology frontier, including Internet of Things, Cloud and mobility, Big Data, model-driven and multi-site MES and even asset performance management," said Ravi Gopinath, PhD., executive vice president of Schneider Electric Software. "We’ve demonstrated a couple of things this week. First, our customers and partners can confidently invest in Wonderware. Second, we will continue to develop and deliver solutions that make our customers’ operations and assets more productive, transparent and accessible, while helping them to maximize profitability, uptime, throughput, responsiveness and enterprise collaboration. That approach isn’t going to change."

During the three-day event, Wonderware customers and solutions partners demonstrated the positive impact new Wonderware innovations have had on their industrial operations. Highlights included:

An Internet of Things presentation from Avid Solutions, who is using Wonderware System Platform as the basis for an IoT implementation. The presentation gave attendees a solid foundational understanding of core IoT concepts, providing real examples of how to integrate these concepts directly into Wonderware System Platform, using real code to extract real savings.

A presentation on Mobility and Cloud from Louisiana-Pacific, part of a continuous improvement practice. The presentation focused on Louisiana Pacific’s IT manufacturing team's use of Wonderware solutions and how they have helped the company’s operations improvement and progress over the past 15 years. The discussion emphasized how to utilize Wonderware products as part of an Information Management system, including the application of Wonderware Historian, Historian Client, QI Analyst, Intelligence and SmartGlance software.

A presentation on Model-Driven MES from Wonderware partners Callisto Integration and Crossmuller Technology. The presentation centered on the business impact model-driven MES is having on a global quality implementation for the Campbell Soup Company, who is 18 months into a global quality solution rollout, driven by a need for ongoing product quality guarantees, savings in raw material consumption and a platform for other performance and traceability initiatives. The project provides standardized statistical process control methodologies across the company’s production lines.

Today, leading technology and automation executives will convene at the 2015 Partner Exchange hosted by Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation. Preferred Distributors from more than 20 countries specializing in a wide range of industry verticals (including Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, and Power & Utilities) will gather at Kepware’s headquarters in Portland, Maine, to discuss industry trends, share global challenges and success stories, and preview the company’s road map.

“We are thrilled to have our international partners join us here in Portland,” said Brett Austin, President, Kepware. “The Partner Exchange is the perfect platform to showcase the advancements Kepware has made in the past year. Bringing together the corporations behind our worldwide distribution channel allows us to enhance our business efficiencies, both here in Maine and outside of North America.”

The three-day event will provide the Connected with Kepware™ partner program members with a unique opportunity to network with fellow business peers from around the globe and participate in more than twenty sessions lead by Kepware subject matter experts. Presentations will address new corporate initiatives—from products and services to applications and marketing.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be a major focus of the event, including a keynote presentation from Matthew Littlefield, President and Principal Analyst at LNS Research, on capturing the business value of the IIoT. “For IIoT technologies to truly deliver rapid value to manufacturing organizations, it will take more than a single vendor and instead an entire partner ecosystem of solution providers across connectivity, cloud, big data analytics, and application development capabilities.”

Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Yokogawa, President: Takashi Nishijima) announces that it has worked with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology of Japan (NICT, President: Dr. Masao Sakauchi), Professor Yasuo Okabe of Kyoto University, and former Associate Professor Hiroki Takakura of Kyoto University to jointly develop a technology that visualizes and analyzes control system traffic to verify its integrity. This technology, which has been integrated by Yokogawa in an industry-first network healthiness check service, can quickly detect security incidents such as a malware infection. This combines visualization technology with the collection and analysis of traffic data to verify the integrity of control system networks, and is expected to improve the security of control systems used in public utilities.

Control system security has become a serious concern in recent years due to the proliferation of cyber-attacks targeting critically important infrastructure like public utilities: electric power, gas, and water. As control systems increasingly rely on operating systems and standard protocols that are both open and versatile, cyber attacks are very common now with various infection routes not only via the Internet but also via USB memory devices and other media, making it difficult to prevent all malware infections. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technology that can quickly detect security incidents. Such technology should not have an impact on control system availability (stable, continuous operation) as these systems need to keep operating without interruption for very long periods, even as long as several decades.

NICT, Yokogawa, and Kyoto University jointly developed a technology for visualizing and analyzing control system traffic to verify its integrity and quickly detect security incidents such as malware infections.

Unlike general information systems where the amount and direction of traffic keep changing, it is easier with control system networks to identify when traffic conditions are normal as these systems are designed and used for a specific purpose. We focused on this characteristic. Our technology saves data on normal control system traffic conditions as a white list. With reference to this list, the technology monitors the dynamic state of the control system network to detect any abnormalities such as an increase in traffic or communication with an unknown IP address that could be caused by malware.

Furthermore, by using NIRVANA*, a real-time traffic visualization system developed by NICT, we improved this technology to comply with unique communications protocols used by control systems. As a result, this technology can identify traffic conditions much easier when an abnormality is identified (Figures 2 and 3).

Since there is no need to install detection software on each control system host (or server), this technology is easy to be introduced and does not impact control system availability.

Schneider Electric Software, a global leader in industrial software for the process industries, recently completed the installation of its Avantis® PRiSM predictive asset analytics software at EDF Group’s Norte Fluminense power generation plant.

Expanding on its use of PRiSM to monitor a number of assets across its fossil-fuel, nuclear and hydropower generation fleets in Europe, EDF is now implementing the technology for real-time asset health and performance monitoring of a combined-cycle plant in Brazil. The Norte Fluminense plant, with 780 MW of generating capacity, is committed to ensuring system reliability in the entire metropolitan area of ​​Rio de Janeiro and generating energy for a population of more than two million.

“As a utility known for our commitment to social responsibility and our focus on sustainable development, we place great importance on safe and reliable power generation,” said Marcio Marques, engineer O &M at EDF Group. “PRiSM helps us achieve those goals by improving the availability and performance of our critical assets.”

PRiSM uses a proprietary algorithm, machine learning and advanced pattern recognition to identify and alert on subtle changes in equipment behavior for early warning notification and diagnosis of asset health and performance problems. The software has the proven ability to alert plant personnel of asset failures days, weeks or months before problems occur, leading to increased equipment reliability and reduced unplanned downtime. Customers state that the use of PRiSM has allowed them to reduce equipment downtime by up to 25 percent.

“EDF Group is a long-time customer that has continued to expand its PRiSM deployments after experiencing significant avoided costs,” said Rob McGreevy, Vice President of Information, Operations at Schneider Electric. “We take great pride in the fact that they trust our technology to identify potential issues and achieve the greatest return on every asset.”

"Combining machine learning, like PRiSM’s advanced pattern recognition technology, opens new opportunities for improving uptime and asset longevity - which are the leading metrics for asset management,” commented Ralph Rio, Research Director, ARC Advisory Group. Ralph continued, “This software enables users to move up the maintenance management maturity curve from corrective and preventive approaches to more effective predictive and proactive strategies.”

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its subsidiary, Yokogawa America do Sul, has received an order from AREVA Renewables Brazil, a subsidiary of the French firm AREVA SA, to deliver a control system for a biomass power plant that will be the largest facility of its type in Brazil. The plant is being constructed by Bolt Energias* in Sao Désiderio, Bahia, in the northeastern part of the country.

This biomass plant will have three power units with a total capacity of 150 MW, and will burn eucalyptus as its fuel. For this facility, Yokogawa will deliver the CENTUM® VP integrated production control system, ProSafe®-RS safety instrumentation system, and other products. Yokogawa will also be responsible for engineering, and for providing installation support and commissioning for these products. The plant will be connected to the power grid in mid-2017.

Although Brazil and many other countries in South America have relied largely on hydroelectric power, this power source has been less reliable in recent years because of severe water shortages. There is thus an urgent need in such countries for the construction of power plants that utilize alternate energy sources. As Brazil is the world's largest producer of eucalyptus pulp and sugar cane, biomass power plants that can utilize this energy source are a promising solution.

Yasuharu Shoda, President & CEO of Yokogawa America do Sul, commented, "Yokogawa has a solid track record in Brazil, having installed more than 500 of its control systems at a wide variety of industrial facilities. Yokogawa's solutions help our customers operate their facilities safely and with a high degree of efficiency. Encouraged by this order, Yokogawa will continue to focus on the electric power and renewable energy fields in Brazil and other countries in South America, and will help to provide a stable energy supply."

Honeywell recently announced a new multi-year agreement to provide comprehensive services and support for Lundin Norway, Norway’s fastest-growing upstream oil and gas company. Honeywell’s new Assurance 360 program will help Lundin achieve continual and optimal performance of its automation system at the Edvard Grieg field in the Utsira High area of the central North Sea.

Under the program, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) will provide all necessary technology, processes and support for the system over the next four years, including hardware refresh, software updates and upgrades, and remote support. Key performance indicators in the contract will allow Lundin’s management to monitor delivery of the service, while dedicated program management provides a single point of accountability for performance.

“A company like Lundin will really benefit from the Assurance 360 services program,” said John Rudolph, vice president and general manager of HPS’s Lifecycle Solutions and Services business. “It takes workload for ongoing services, maintenance and upgrades off their plate so they can focus on their core capabilities, while Honeywell focuses on the areas where we are experts such as control systems, safety systems and operator training. Lundin Norway is focussed on oil and gas exploration, development and production in Europe’s biggest oil producing nation.

“This contract forges a close partnership with Honeywell that gives us certainty in terms of both costs and performance of the automation system at Edvard Grieg,” said Kari Nilsen, Head of Operations at Lundin Norway. “With Honeywell providing all the technology and people necessary, it allows Lundin to maintain its lean operating structure, even as we grow and look to develop existing and new opportunities more fully.”