Control System World

At this year's trade fair, HIMA will introduce the new X-CPU 31 processor module with integrated system bus. The CPU complements the HIMax® system family for nonstop plant operation and is used with small and medium-sized safety applications.

The new SILworX® engineering tool V6, used to program HIMax and HIMatrix safety controllers, will also be presented. The SILworX tool now allows the integration of proprietary C programs and C source codes from external tools. In this way, highly complex safety solutions, such as those that are model-based, are easier to implement. The new version also supports Structured Text (ST), which can be especially useful in simplifying implementation of loop programming and CRC calculations as well as for the insertion of functions in text format.

HICore 1, the safety system-on-chip, also makes its world premiere.

The chip includes all functions of a safety-related PLC and comes with an intrinsically safe operating system and middleware. In addition to hardware and software, HIMA offers related comprehensive services. All components of the package are certified according to IEC 61508 up to SIL 3, which greatly simplifies and accelerates TÜV approval. HICore 1 is the ideal foundation for safety-critical applications – ranging from embedded system to control in machinery and plant engineering – that require verification of functional safety.

Apart from logistics/intralogistics, typical HICore 1 applications can be found in medical engineering and energy production plants as well as sensor technology and actuator engineering.

At last year's trade fair, the HIMatrix M45 the prototype was presented. Now in production, this new safe motion control solution includes certified function blocks, high mathematical computing power, backplane bus extension and various encoder interfaces. HIMatrix M45 is especially suited for complex and safety-critical applications in logistics and machine safety, such as storage and retrieval machines, driverless conveying systems, cranes and electric monorail conveyors. The new solution provides an easier, more flexible and more economical implementation of safe motion control tasks.

Premier Oil has awarded Emerson Process Management, a global business of Emerson (NYSE: EMR), a $17 million contract to automate a new offshore production platform in the Solan oil field on the U.K. Continental Shelf. Emerson’s technologies and services will enable Premier to safely and efficiently manage the platform 100 miles west of Scotland from an onshore operations center in Aberdeen.

Designed for unmanned operations, the platform could serve as a model for future developments in marginal fields, where such operations can help increase profits as well as worker safety. The Solan field is expected to produce approximately 40 million barrels of oil, with an estimated initial production rate of 24,000 barrels a day by the end of 2014.

As the project’s main automation and electrical contractor, Emerson will provide full project services including project management, detailed design, configuration, acceptance testing, commissioning, and startup support, all as part of a complete solution.

“We are delighted that Premier recognizes the value of our complete automation solutions for offshore operations,” said Steve Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management. “Our industry specialists look forward to helping Premier turn their vision of a remotely operated platform into a safe, efficient, and profitable reality.”

The integrated solution will use Emerson’s PlantWeb™ digital plant architecture, including its DeltaV™ digital automation system, DeltaV SIS™ process safety system,CSI 6500 Machinery Health™ Monitor, and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software. Other elements will include Emerson’s Rosemount® pressure, temperature, radar level, and vortex flow transmitters; Micro Motion® Coriolis flowmeters; and Roxar™ sand monitors and multiphase flowmeters.

Emerson will also provide electrical switchgear, uninterruptible power supplies, and satellite telecommunication equipment, as well as an operator training solution that simulates real-world situations to prepare operations personnel for incident management.

Building on its worldwide presence and mission of global collaboration, the International Society of Automation (ISA) today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOM) with the China Instrument & Control Society (CIS), the leading academic organization in instrumentation, measurement, control and automation in China.

While the two organizations have maintained a mutually beneficial bi-lateral relationship since 1980—with both entities regularly supporting and participating in the events and activities of the other—the MOM formally declares joint intentions to:

• Further the professional interests of automation and control professionals throughout the world.

• Encourage the exchange and dissemination of technical information.

• Promote understanding and cooperation between the members of CIS and ISA.

“The signing of this MOC is the result of multiple conversations in recent years between ISA and CIS,” says Patrick Gouhin, ISA Executive Director and CEO. “We have established a mutual understanding, based on each organization’s strengths and competencies, that allows us to take the relationship to the next level, benefiting all automation professionals around the world through enhanced information sharing.”

• Specifically, the agreement outlines several opportunities for collaboration, including:

• Co-organized automation and control engineering and technical training courses in China.

• Co-sponsored automation and academic conferences in China, other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, the US and throughout the world.

• Reciprocal membership, enabling members of both associations to gain membership into the other at a discount.

• The translation of more ISA publications into Mandarin, and the translation of more CIS publications into English.

• Greater access to ISA automation and control standards in China.

The Siemens Industry Automation Division has developed a new communication processor for telecontrol applications based on Simatic S7-1200 controllers. Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 from the TeleControl Professional product range connects the controller to a control center, such as a process control system, via DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol). A typical use case for this is the transfer of measured values in widely spread outdoor areas to a central station, for example in sewage and water treatment plants, district heating networks and pump stations, as well as in oil and gas supply, energy distribution and transportation systems.

Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 transfers measured values, setpoint values and alarms to the control station cyclically or event-based. In the STEP 7 engineering tool, the user simply selects the data to be transferred from the Simatic S7-1200 CPU and specifies the required communication parameters. Communication with the control center is based on the established telecontrol protocol according to DNP3 specification 2 (2007/2009) including security mechanisms for secure data transfer via wide area networks. In addition to data transfer, the communication processor also has an e-mail function, for example to inform maintenance staff automatically about previously defined events, such as threshold values being exceeded.

Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 can buffer up to 64,000 values with time stamp in order to prevent data loss when a connection fails. When the connection is re-established, the buffered values are automatically transferred to the control center in the right chronological order. Comprehensive diagnostic options, locally via LEDs or in the STEP 7 engineering tool, offer the user fast and clear analysis of the station status. The communication processor is connected to the local communication network in the outdoor area via Ethernet interface. Appropriate transmission components, such as the Scalance M874 industrial router, are available for remote communication from the local network to the control station.

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Industrial manufacturer Eaton is making use of the easy800 control relay even easier and more convenient, by launching the new easyRemote display app. Available on the Android operating system (for versions 2.2-4), the app enables users to display all the text and functions of the easy800 control relay via a standard smartphone and operate it remotely. Communication between the smartphone and the control relay is via Bluetooth. The app enables users to communicate with the controller outside of the working area, thus not only increasing general user-friendliness but also enhancing safety. The new easyRemote display app can be downloaded for free at: http://bit.ly/easyRemoteApp.

Regardless of the operation required, such as: the showing of display text, the changing of the operating mode, the setting of date and time, the changing of function block parameters, the checking of circuit diagrams or minor programming – the easyRemote display app makes all these functions possible. It enables users to control and operate several machines efficiently with a smartphone at a distance of up to 10m. Additionally, the display contrast of the app can be set and increased easily via its colour scheme, making the display clearly visible even in bright sunlight.

All easy800 control relays are equipped with a Bluetooth adapter (EASY800-BLT-ADP). Each Bluetooth adapter has a unique address and an eight-digit PIN that serves as the security code for communicating with the smartphone, thus preventing any unauthorised access.

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Invensys, a leading supplier of state-of-the-art industrial software, systems and control equipment to the world’s major industries, today unveiled its next-generation process automation system. With advanced tools and applications delivered across a high-speed, fault-tolerant and cyber-secure hardware platform, including the integration of the company’s world-leading Triconex® safety system, the Foxboro® Evo™ process automation system was designed to improve operational insight and integrity.

Current Foxboro I/A Series DCS users can migrate to the Foxboro Evo system with little or no downtime, depending on which version they are running. Users of competing process automation systems, whose wiring terminations are still functional, can migrate to the Foxboro Evo system without ripping and replacing infrastructure, significantly reducing costs and downtime, just as they were able to do with the I/A Series system.

Swiss measurement engineering specialist invests 40 million dollars in new plants for flow, level and pressure engineering. Endress+Hauser is set to serve its customers in North and South America with more US-made products. The Swiss specialist for measurement engineering and process automation has invested over 40 million dollars in expanding its plants for flow, level and pressure measurement engineering in Greenwood, Indiana.

Producing, assembling and calibrating at sites all over the world is one of Endress+Hauser's central business strategies. "We want to move our production as close as possible to our customers," said Klaus Endress, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, during the inauguration ceremony for two new buildings in Greenwood, Indiana. "Being close allows us to respond quickly to the special needs and requirements of individual markets and customers."

One important factor for this concept to work is globally uniform quality standards. "Here in the US we manufacture at the highest level," stressed Hans-Peter Blaser, Managing Director of the flow engineering plant in Greenwood. An extension to the new building occupied only five years ago has created nearly 8,800 square meters of additional space. "This gives us the chance to increase capacity and to produce additional lines of instruments locally." The systems for calibrating flowmeters, unique on the continent, have now grown to include the latest technology for gas calibration.

The plant for level and pressure engineering moves into a new building with over 9,800 square meters of floorspace directly next door. "After years of strong growth, this will make us fit for the future," explained Managing Director John Schnake. The additional production areas will increase the scope of production and will allow more products to be delivered directly from the Greenwood plant. The vacated facilities space will allow for a new visitor and training center for the US sales organization.

Over the past years Endress+Hauser has strongly grown its market share in the United States. Todd Lucey, Managing Director of the US sales center, believes that one of the key drivers of their success is this expanded local manufacturing capability. "Over 80 percent of the measurement instruments we deliver in the USA today are now made in the USA. And we will continue to grow this share into the future," he said, adding: "We are a proud American company – with strong Swiss roots."

Endress+Hauser has had its own sales center in the United States since 1970; for over two decades, the company has also manufactured there – for the US market, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Flow, pressure and temperature measurement devices are produced in Greenwood, Indiana where the US sales center also is headquartered. Endress+Hauser manufactures sensors for liquid analysis in Anaheim, California while the subsidiary SpectraSensors in Houston, Texas, specializing in gas analysis, operates a plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Over 700 people work for Endress+Hauser in the United States – a tight network of representatives with another 350 sales engineers and service technicians supporting customers nationwide.

In August, exida approved the 2-wire, loop-powered SSX and 4-wire, line/mains-powered SST family of safety isolators and splitters for use in a Safety Instrumented System (SIS) up to SIL 3 where only the input circuit is part of the safety function. It is also approved for single use in an SIS up to SIL 2. These new approvals strengthen the usefulness of the SSX and SST and highlight the advantages of our FS Functional Safety Series, which also includes the STA Safety Trip Alarm and the SRM Safety Relay Module.

All products in the FS Functional Safety Series are built to strict IEC 61508 standards, ensuring safe and reliable function in all circumstances. Certification from a leading third-party auditor such as exida affirms Moore Industries' commitment to quality throughout the design and manufacturing process and gives end users confidence that these products are suitable for their specific application.

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